Cops: Arrest for driving without alcohol lock

A Port Jefferson Station woman was arrested Monday evening after police found her driving a vehicle without an ignition interlock device -- a condition placed on her license after a drunken-driving conviction, police said.

Jessica Mendola, 30, of Clymer Street, was charged with operating a motor vehicle without the interlock device and was issued a summons for failure to obey a traffic control device after her arrest Monday at 6:09 p.m. in Port Jefferson Station.

Suffolk County police said Mendola was arrested after a Sixth Precinct officer stopped the 1999 Infiniti she was driving west on Norwood Avenue.

The officer found any vehicle she drove was required to have an interlock device as a condition of her conviction following a 2010 arrest.

The device tests the breath of a driver before the vehicle can be operated. If the device detects a breath-alcohol concentration of greater than the programmed amount, police said the engine is disabled and the car cannot start.

Mendola's car was impounded.

It was not immediately clear who was the registered owner of that vehicle or how it came to be driven by Mendola.

SEE PHOTOSNotable LI crimes

Mendola was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday in First District Court in Central Islip.

Arraignment details were not immediately available.