45°
At around 1 a.m. on Saturday, an officer on patrol in Darien saw a 2016 VW Jetta speed through a flashing red traffic signal while going west on Post Road. The car was stopped near the intersection of Post Road and Hecker Avenue, and the driver identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Panagiotopoulos of Stamford, told the officer he was coming from a restaurant in Norwalk, police said.
The officer saw that Panagiotopoulos's eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and detected the odor of alcohol, police said. Panagiotopoulos admitted to consuming alcohol, and in the center console was a cup with brown liquid, which he said was alcohol, police said. When he was getting out of the car to perform a field sobriety test, he said there was some cocaine in the car, according to police.
Panagiotopoulos failed a field sobriety test and was arrested, according to police. While searching the car, officers found 0.3 grams of cocaine on the floor, police said.
Panagiotopoulos was charged with operating under the influence and possession of narcotics. He consented to urine testing while at police headquarters, and samples were sent to the state forensics lab for analyzation. He was released on a $500 bond and given a court date of Dec. 19.
Click here to follow Daily Voice New Canaan and receive free news updates.
