At 6:09 p.m. on June 28, Verona State Police arrived at Verona Beach State Park in response to an allegation of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
When troopers arrived, they saw the disputed car parked in a spot with multiple skid marks surrounding it.
According to the vehicle owner, who was interrogated by troopers, a man from Oneida, later identified as Joel M. Emerson, age 33, stole her car while she was in the water and then drove it recklessly through the public parking lot.
A State Park Ranger who saw Emerson driving the car erratically across the parking lot was also questioned by troopers.
Emerson, who seemed to be intoxicated, was then interviewed by troopers.
Troopers noticed that Emerson’s clothes and the car had a distinct smell of burned marijuana.
Standardized field sobriety testing was administered to Emerson, who later failed it.
Then Emerson was taken into custody.
Once at State Police Sylvan Beach, Emerson was charged with driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of narcotics, aggravated unlicensed operation while under the influence of drugs, and operating a vehicle without a license.
Emerson was also discovered to have an arrest warrant out of Texas with full extradition for assaulting a public worker and attempting to grab an officer’s firearm during processing.
After that, Emerson was taken to the Oneida County Jail for arraignment after being turned over to the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation as a fugitive from justice.
