Uniondale man arrested on drug, gun charges

A Uniondale man was found with a crack cocaine and a handgun after Nassau County police foiled a drug deal late Saturday in Hempstead, police said.

Third Squad detectives said that about 11:05 p.m., police officers followed a 2000 Nissan driving erratically on Hempstead Turnpike.

The officers said a man got out of the back of the vehicle at Devon Road and Hendrickson Avenue and approached another man on the corner.

Police believed a drug transaction was being made, and when they got out of their patrol car the two men ran off, police said.

The driver of the Nissan then tried to flee, but he backed into a street sign, disabling the car, police said. The driver also ran off, but officers were able to arrest a passenger in the car, Kenneth Houston, 23, of 521 Northern Pkwy., police said.

Police were unable to find the other three suspects. When they searched the car they found three bags of a substance believed to be crack cocaine and a .22 caliber handgun, police said.

Houston was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Hempstead and is due back in court on Wednesday.