HADLEY – Hadley Police arrested Thomas J. Pitoniak, 26, of Southampton early Saturday morning. Pitoniak was originally stopped for driving with a revoked license, but officers found heroin with him and placed Pitoniak under arrest, according to police.
Pitoniak will be arraigned Monday, according to Hadley Officer David Isakson.
The arresting officers recognized Pitoniak from a previous encounter while he was at a convenience store, according to a police report. After confirming with dispatch that his license had been revoked, the officers followed and stopped him near the Coolidge Bridge on Russell Street at about 2:06 a.m., the report said.
Pitoniak told the officers that he was driving because he needed to go out and buy cigarettes, according to police. Upon searching both Pitoniak and his vehicle, officers said they found “several baggies” of what appeared to be heroin, a Schedule I substance, and placed him under arrest, the report said.