Police: Pearl River Man Accused of Felony DWI, Suspected in Nanuet Shoplifting Attempt

A Pearl River man suspected in connection with a shoplifting attempt in Nanuet has been accused of drug possession and drunken driving with a child in his car after he was stopped by police in Pearl River, according to Orangetown police.

Town police said Denis M. Collins, 46, of 126 E. Carroll St., was stopped at 7:30 p.m. Thursday after he was seen driving erratically on East Carroll Street. Police were in the area looking for a 2012 Honda Accord registered to Collins after Clarkstown police alerted Orangetown that they were seeking Collins in connection with an incident at the Eastern Mountain Sports store in Nanuet.

When Collins was stopped, police said, he appeared intoxicated and failed sobriety tests. In addition, he had a child under age 15 in the car with him.

Collins was taken to Orangetown police headquarters in Orangeburg, where he was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated under Leandra’s Law, a felony. Police said a search also found that Collins had a small plastic bag containing cocaine in his wallet, there was an open container of alcohol in his car and there were also two new pairs of sneakers and assorted new clothing items still with store tags in the car.

Collins was also charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and traffic violations. He is also under investigation in connection with the Nanuet attempted shoplifting incident and police are trying to determine where the merchandise found in his car came from, police said.

Collins was arraigned in Orangetown Town Court in Orangeburg and was released pending a hearing on Wednesday.