Police: Port Chester Driver, with 5-Year-Old Boy In Car, Charged With Felony DWI

A Port Chester driver stopped on Westchester Avenue because one of the headlights on his car was out is charged with felony drunken driving, cited for violating Leandra's Law because there was a 5-year-old child as one of the five passengers in the car.

Port Chester police said the child's mother, another one of the passengers, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child in the incident on Monday on Westchester Avenue.

Dennis Arroyo, 22, of 25 Arnett St., Port Chester, was stopped in a Honda Civic by police for the headlight violation and police said they found Arroyo to be intoxicated. Police said they also spotted the 5-year-old boy in the car, not sitting in a child safety seat.

In addition to being charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, police said Arroyo was charged with felony DWI for a violation of Leandra's Law — enacted in New York to create tougher penalities for drivers convicted of driving drunk while children were in their car.

Police said the boy's mother, Tiffany Mancero, 23, of 41 Grove St., Port Chester, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child as a result of the incident. After the arrest of Mancero and Arroyo, police said the child was turned over to a member of Mancero's family.

Arroyo was later released on $1,000 bail, and Mancero was later released on $250 bail. They are scheduled to appear in Port Chester Village Court on Tuesday.