Brooklyn man gets 10 years after Monroe DWI stop uncovers cocaine

A late-night DWI stop in Monroe ended with a Brooklyn man headed to state prison for a decade after New York State Police found more than a kilogram of cocaine in his vehicle.

Rodney Allen, 58, was sentenced Tuesday in Orange County Court to 10 years in state prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision. He had already pleaded guilty on Feb. 18 to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree.

The case began at about 10:52 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2025, when a New York State Police trooper stopped Allen in the Town of Monroe for speeding and signs of impairment. Prosecutors said Allen failed field sobriety tests and resisted arrest before troopers took him into custody. A later search of the vehicle uncovered over a kilogram of cocaine.

At the plea proceeding, Allen admitted he unlawfully possessed more than eight ounces of cocaine. The amount recovered in the stop pushed the case far beyond a routine impaired-driving arrest and into a major narcotics prosecution.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said the case showed the value of careful policing and prosecution in disrupting drug trafficking in Orange County. He said drug dealers looking to operate in local communities should expect consequences. Assistant District Attorney Cassidy Turi prosecuted the case, and the New York State Police handled the investigation.

For Orange County, the sentence is another sign that traffic stops can expose larger criminal activity on roadways that connect Monroe and the rest of the Hudson Valley to New York City and beyond. In this case, a speeding vehicle in the Town of Monroe led investigators to a felony drug case, a guilty plea and a 10-year sentence that will keep Allen in state prison well into the next decade.