Man pleads not guilty to DWI, hitting police car

A Center Moriches man was indicted Thursday on multiple charges, including felony DWI, for allegedly rear-ending a police cruiser last month. Police say Carlos Morocho, 27, admitted to drinking eight

News 12 Staff

Feb 5, 2016, 4:52 AM

Updated 3,146 days ago

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A Center Moriches man was indicted Thursday on multiple charges, including felony DWI, for allegedly rear-ending a police cruiser last month.
Police say Carlos Morocho, 27, admitted to drinking eight or nine beers before crashing into a patrol car driven by veteran officer Dennis O'Conner on Sunrise Highway. O'Conner suffered a concussion in the crash.
Investigators in court said they recovered a receipt from the night of the crash showing he actually bought four buckets of beer with five or six bottles in each.
Authorities say Morocho took off into the woods after he crashed into the patrol car. He was caught by K-9 officers and allegedly gave multiple false names.
He pleaded not guilty during his arraignment to charges including felony DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and assault.
According to court records, Morocho has a 2010 conviction for misdemeanor DWI. He had a felony DWI conviction in 2012, and he was convicted in 2013 of failure to use an interlock device that would have prevented him from starting and driving a car after consuming alcohol.
If convicted, Morocho faces up to seven years in prison.