A New York man was charged on drug counts and driving with a juvenile considered a runaway this morning on Interstate 95.

Captain A.M. Harris of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Deputy Michael Bishop of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program conducted a traffic stop shortly after 4 a.m. near the 164 mile marker after observing a driver fail to maintain lane control. Bishop initially suspected Diaaldeen Yahya Alzabidi, 26 from Bronx, New York, of driving while impaired.

A search following the stop yielded marijuana, paraphernalia and currency.

Harris said a juvenile was in the car with Alzabidi and did not have the permission of the parents to leave the state of New York. The juvenile is considered a runaway.

Harris said Alzabidi was arrested and charged with possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, simple possession of marijuana and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

He received a $3,500 bond and a March 18 court date.

New York Police assisted in the investigation and the juvenile was provided transportation back to New York.

Lieutenant C. Emerson Carroll and Deputy Jake Pignanello assisted with the stop and the investigation.

STEP stats, outreach and education

• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
• Click to open image! Click to open image!
•  

Since its formation, STEP has conducted five checkpoints, made 304 traffic stops, assisted 14 motorists, searched 19 vehicles, wrote 171 warning tickets, made 54 traffic-related charges, made 13 drug charges, seized a quantity of marijuana and had several hours of training.

Carroll has met with representatives of the Halifax County School System to arrange speaking with the driver’s education classes and future traffic operations that will be conducted. “The team has been very active in several communities in the county and they are working to improve seatbelt usage, decrease speeding, identifying possible impaired drivers and reducing criminal behavior,” Harris said.

They also attended Law Enforcement Trauma Care: Self Care and Aid training in Raleigh. 

This course focused on how the team can render medical aid to themselves and others. 

They learned tactical responses, bleeding control and evacuation techniques in order to bridge the gap until more advanced medical personnel arrive. “This course was designed to teach the officers not only to save themselves, but to save others under stressful situations, such as shootings, stabbings, and vehicle collisions,” Harris said.

Members of the team also attended training in Wilmington put on by the Wilmington Police Department and the N.C. Governor's Highway Safety Program. The training consisted of Winning Cases with Reports, How Drugs and Alcohol Work and Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Refresher courses. 

Carroll was one of the speakers and instructors.