Nassau County police have made their first arrest under a new local law banning face masks, officials announced on Tuesday.

Police responded on Sunday night to reports of a suspicious person near the Levittown and Hicksville town line, where they found 18-year-old Wesslin Omar Ramirez Castillo dressed in black clothing and wearing a black ski mask that covered his face except for his eyes.

Ramirez Castillo displayed other suspicious behavior, including attempting to hide a large bulge in his waistband and refusing to comply with officers’ commands. Upon further investigation, officers discovered the bulge was a 14-inch knife. He was arrested without further incident.

Ramirez Castillo was arraigned on Monday in First District Court in Hempstead on misdemeanor charges of criminal possession of a weapon and obstructing governmental administration, according to the Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly’s office.

Police spokesperson Lt. Scott Skrynecki stated that Ramirez Castillo would also face a misdemeanor charge for violating the face mask law in the coming days.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican who signed the mask ban into law earlier this month, said the arrest demonstrated that the new rule is effective. “Our police officers were able to use the mask ban legislation and other factors to stop and interrogate an individual carrying a weapon with the intent to engage in a robbery,” he stated. “Passing this law gave police another tool to stop this dangerous criminal.”

Keith Ross, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, noted that while police could have stopped and questioned Ramirez Castillo without the new law, it provided additional justification for their actions.