According to the Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, a…

According to the Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol, a Rome man was arrested for Felony DWI with three children in a vehicle following a BOLO (Be on the lookout) in the Town of Marcy.

On January 20th, 2026, at approximately 8:23 p.m., a member of the public contacted the police regarding a vehicle that was driving erratically on State Route 49 in the Town of Marcy. Upon receiving this information, the Oneida County 911 Center issued a BOLO for the vehicle. At this time, Road Patrol Deputies were on scene of a disabled vehicle on State Route 49 in the area of the BOLO and observed the BOLO vehicle pass them. While passing the two Marked OCSO Patrol Vehicles that had their emergency lights activated, the vehicle in question failed to move over as required by law. Deputies then conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle and upon contact with the driver, Deputies detected indicators of impairment from the operator of the vehicle. A Deputy assigned to the STOP DWI Unit responded to the scene and determined that the operator of the vehicle was intoxicated. Deputies also discovered that there were three passenger children in the vehicle (ages ranging from less than one year old to nine years old). While Deputies were taking the operator of the vehicle into custody, he attempted to pull away from Deputies and prevent them from making the arrest. The operator was ultimately arrested and was found to have a .22 blood alcohol content, which is over double the legal limit in the State of New York. The operator of the vehicle, Evans Oduro-Firikyi (Age 40) of Rome, NY, was arrested and charged with the following:

(3) Counts of Felony Aggravated DWI "Leandra's Law", child under the age of 15 in the vehicle- Class E Felonies.(3) Counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child- Class A Misdemeanors.(1) Count of Aggravated DWI (0.18 or higher BAC)- An Unclassified Misdemeanor.(1) Count of DWI (0.08 or higher BAC)- An Unclassified Misdemeanor.(1) Count of Common Law DWI- An Unclassified Misdemeanor.(1) Count of Resisting Arrest- A Class A Misdemeanor.Along with other various Traffic Violations.

Oduro-Firikyi was transported to the Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Building for processing, where he was held at the Oneida County Jail pending his arraignment in CAP Court. Child protective services were contacted on behalf of the children in the vehicle, and the children were turned over to a sober relative.