Long Island crime briefs

HEMPSTEAD

HARBORCops: Boater intoxicated

A Garden City man was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated, Nassau County police said yesterday.

Officers from the Nassau Police Marine Bureau were on routine patrol at 9:30 p.m. Saturday when they saw a 1999 Proline boat operating without navigation lights going south in Hempstead Harbor off Harry Tappen Beach.

Police stopped the vessel and observed that Nikolaos Katrakazos, 23, of 41 Fenimore Ave., Garden City, had watery, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. The boat was released to a passenger who was not intoxicated.

Katrakazos was charged with boating while intoxicated, operating an unregistered vessel, navigation lights not displayed, improper display of validating stickers and no distress flag or flares. He was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday at First District Court in Hempstead.

UNIONDALEPolice: Suspect had drugs

A Hempstead man, who was arrested and charged in a Uniondale robbery early yesterday morning, had small plastic bags of what is believed to be cocaine, Nassau County police said.

Police said Patrick Hawkins, 27, of 29 Clark Place, was charged with robbery, criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest in the incident.

Officers from a criminal intelligence rapid response team saw him about 1:30 a.m. pushing a 29-year-old man against a wall at 1049 Front St., according to a police news release.

He ran when officers approached and struggled when caught, police said.

Police said they found several plastic bags on him with what they believe is cocaine.

It was also discovered that the defendant had forcibly taken an undisclosed amount of cash from the victim, police said.

Hawkins was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday at First District Court in Hempstead.

STONY BROOKSuspicious pipe blown up

Suffolk police detonated an apparently harmless section of PVC pipe found at Strathmore Park in Stony Brook yesterday.

Police conducted the controlled detonation, known as a "render safe" operation, after a jogger reported seeing a suspicious device in the park.

Nearby Sycamore Drive, which briefly closed because of police activity yesterday afternoon, was reopened by 1:30, a police spokeswoman said.

Suffolk's Arson Section is investigating the incident. Emergency Services officers responded and detonated the pipe.

RIVERHEADDWI charge after accident

A seafood deliveryman from Southold was charged with drunken driving after police stopped him at 7:59 p.m. Saturday for leaving the scene of an earlier accident, Southold police said yesterday.

Brian M. Pressler, 25, was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, police said.

The accident was in Riverhead, police said, but when they found Pressler, he was driving the Braun's Seafood delivery truck on Route 25 in Laurel. After an investigation, police said they concluded he was intoxicated.

He was held overnight and was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday.