Like all cops, Southold Town police can never know what’s coming next, and last week delivered another colorful litany of North Fork surprises: graffiti artists, intoxicated wanderers, drag-racing complaints involving “exotic sports cars,” a boozy, bruised up man-on-the-street mystery, a suspicious beach sign and even a donation bin dropped where it didn’t belong.
Mixed in were a number of serious suspected crimes, including an arrest in a Greenport gas station stabbing, an alleged $5,000 forgery and a trio of DWI arrests.
Most concerning among last week’s 73 incident reports is one in which a Greenport electrical supervisor told police that damage discovered after a “substantial” village power outage that affected a local hospital appeared to be the result of intentional sabotage.
‘Ghost Girl’ vanishes without a trace
June 22 – Around 9:30 a.m., Southold Dept. of Public Works employees reported that sometime between June 15 and June 22, someone spray-painted what “appears to say ‘Ghost Girl’ w a smile face,” on Second St. in New Suffolk, according to a police report. A similar incident was reported by the DPW in the bathrooms at Goose Creek, off North Bayview Road. In that incident, the words ‘stop trtw I will never’ were spray painted in the bathrooms. There were no security cameras facing the Second St. building or within the bathrooms at Goose Creek, according to the reports, and police have no suspects at this time.
Around noon, police received a report of a man in a sweater, jeans and a scarf drinking an alcoholic beverage on Front St. in Greenport. When police arrived, there was no person matching the description in the area, and no open alcohol containers found in the immediate area.
Around 5 p.m., two police officers on patrol were approached by a “highly-intoxicated” Greenport West man, 40, who told them he wanted to report having lost his identification. “He was unable to explain to [the officers] how he lost his ID or where he last saw it.” Police advised the man to “sober up and call [police] in a few hours to document” the loss “if he still can not find it.” No further action was taken.
Around 6:30 p.m., police received a report of an intoxicated male “bothering patrons” at an establishment on Third St. in Greenport. Upon arrival, they located a man fitting the description, who is well-known to local police. He was advised that the owners of the established complained about his behavior, and he left without incident, according to a report.
High tide, low compliance?
June 23 – Just after 8 a.m., police responded to the beach off New Suffolk Road, at the request of the Town Trustees’ office, about a possibly unpermitted sign on the beach. Responding officers observed a sign, about 15 feet from the waterline, reading “End of Public Beach.” No homeowner was on scene, but police contacted an 86-year-old homeowner by phone, who told them she was out of town. She told police “the sign had been in place on the beach for several years and that she believed it was permitted or otherwise acceptable to the Trustees.” She was issued a summons and advised to contact the Trustees’ office to obtain the appropriate permit.
Around 9:30 a.m., more than a dozen items lost by patrons at the Mattituck Lions’ Strawberry Festival were turned over to police. Efforts to locate the owners were unsuccessful, according to a police report, and the items were secured in the police property drop box.
Around 1:30 p.m., police received a report that a man was “laying on the ground and drinking” on Front St. in Greenport. Responding officers identified a 50-year-old man with no known local address who told them he was “trying to get back to Arizona and did not mean to cause a disturbance.” He was escorted to the First St. bus stop, according to a report, and provided with a bus pass. He got on a westbound bus without incident.
Around 2:30 p.m., a landlord at a location on Main Road in Mattituck contacted police to report that someone had left a donation bin on the property. The bin had blue writing on it, requesting shoes and clothing and providing a phone number. Police were unable to reach anyone through the phone number. An investigation is ongoing, according to a report.
Greasy blaze in Greenport
June 24 – Around 2:30 p.m., police and Greenport firefighters responded to a residence on Marine Place in Greenport West, for a report of an outdoor grill fire. Firefighters shut down two gas supply valves and extinguished the blaze. A Greenport Fire Dept. investigation determined that the fire was caused by “a grease tray that was full of grease.” The resident was advised to have her landlord contact a qualified professional to inspect and service the grill before using it again.
Around 8 p.m., police received a Flock camera notification of a vehicle with a suspended registration, and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, a 26-year-old Bay Shore man, told police he wasn’t aware his registration was suspended for lack of insurance. While speaking with the driver, the officer smelled cannabis coming from the vehicle, according to a report. The driver “stated he had a vape containing cannabis in the … center cupholder of the vehicle and confirmed this by showing” the vape to the cop. The car also had a windshield tint that was more than 6 inches from the top of the windshield. The driver was issued multiple summons, and a tow truck towed the car away. The driver was escorted to the train station to call a cab.
‘Subtantial’ power outage investigation
Just before midnight, Greenport’s electrical supervisor reported alleged criminal tampering that appears to have caused a “substantial” power outage that affected a “significant” portion of the village, including a local hospital. Three operating bolts on a power switch had been removed and were missing, and the bracket used to hold the switch handle in position was also damaged. The electrical supervisor told police the damage “appeared intentional due to the specific components that were targeted and the function of the equipment.” The supervisor and his team were able to restore power to the affected areas, according to the report. A local hospital was “temporarily placed on diversion status due to the power outage,” though no injuries or adverse outcomes were reported as a result of the outage. An investigation is ongoing.
June 25 – Around noon, a Mattituck woman reported to police that she was the victim of a forgery scheme, telling them someone deposited a personal check of hers for $5,000, which was withdrawn from her account. An investigation is ongoing.
Around 1 p.m., police received a report of “two red sports cars traveling westbound on Route 48 drag racing.” Responding units observed the pair of cars “within a large group of exotic sports cars traveling westbound,” and initiated a traffic stop. The two drivers, a 29-year-old Boston man and a 25-year-old from Lexington, MA. “stated that they were traveling with the group of exotic cars on a cruise from Massachusetts to Montauk but were not drag racing each other.” They were advised against reckless driving or “speed contests,” according to a police report.
Arrest in Greenport stabbing
Around 1 p.m., William Mokus, 33, of Greenport, was arrested on an assault charge involving an alleged stabbing at a gas station on Main St. in Greenport West on June 19. In that incident, a 34-year-old man was stabbed once in his lower back following a verbal altercation at the gas station, and the assailant fled the scene. Mokus was located on Front St. in Greenport and arrested, according to a report.
Around 6:30 p.m., police received a Flock camera report of a stolen vehicle, and conducted a traffic stop near Middle Road and Elijahs Lane in Cutchogue. The driver, a 33-year-old Brooklyn man, said his friend had rented the vehicle and that the pair were travel nurses working at a retirement home in Greenport, “and that they live out of the vehicle.” Southold police contacted a police department in Connecticut and were able to determine that one of the nurses rented the car and never returned it. The Connecticut cop told a Southold counterpart that charges have been filed against the woman who rented the car, but that they do not intend to seek extradition. The driver was issued summonses for operating with a revoked New York driver’s license, and was advised to clear his and the other nurse’s belongings out of the vehicle before it was towed to Riverhead. The Connecticut police officer was made aware of the car’s current location and was expected to notify the car rental company.
Around 8 p.m., another Flock camera report alerted police to a vehicle with a suspended registration. A 23-year-old from Cutchogue, who was identified through his “Guatemala ID,” was found to be unlicensed. He also received summonses for a suspended registration due to no insurance. The car was towed and the license plates were seized, according to a police report.
Around 11:15 p.m., police received an anonymous report of a “’girl party’ and loud music’ coming from a residence on Carpenter St. in Greenport. A 26-year-old from Island Park, N.Y. answered the door and “stated they would shut the music off and go inside. No further action taken.”
June 26 – Around 1:30 p.m., police received a report of an intoxicated male harassing people in Greenport’s Mitchell Park. Responding officers located the suspect, observed him consuming a can of alcohol, and stopped him for questioning. The individual, 47, of Shirley, was “highly intoxicated [and] incoherent.” An investigation determined that the man had been released from a nearby detox center earlier in the day and “had since consumed a large amount of alcohol.” Due to his condition, the Shirley man was transported to the hospital for evaluation.
The ‘wanderer’
Around 2:30 p.m., police received a report from a Jule Lane resident in Mattituck of a male subject wearing a white shirt, khaki shorts and carrying a hand bag, “suspiciously wandering around her neighbor’s residential property.” Responding officers located 38-year-old Calverton man, who “stated that he was walking around and approaching houses trying to find people to give business cards to for a construction company.” He was advised that town code requires a peddler’s license to solicit door-to-door, and the man stated that he would “not continue to offer business cards anymore,” and was escorted to Mattituck Plaza, where he was to be picked up by a family member and taken home.
Around 4 p.m, police received a report of a “green SUV with a male driver possibly falling asleep behind the wheel,” near Sound Ave. and Laurel Lake Dr. in Mattituck. A canvass of the area produced no such vehicle or driver.
Around 9:30 p.m., police received a crash detection alert on Albo Drive in Laurel and canvassed the area looking for a crash without success. They contacted the registered owner of the car, who told them “he crashed in Southampton.” A Southampton officer confirmed the incident.
June 27 – Around 2:30 a.m., police received a report of a vehicle failing to maintain its lane on Main Road in Southold. Following a traffic stop, Omar Cruz, 24, of Greenport, was allegedly found to be intoxicated and arrested, according to a police report.
Around 1 p.m., Latricia Lawrence, 47, of Greenport was arrested on “multiple warrants” out of Southold Town Justice Court, according to a police report.
At about 4 p.m., a Middleton Road resident in Greenport West contacted police to report someone having broken into his residence the prior evening. The incident was documented, according to a report.
Around 6:30 p.m., police received a report of a vehicle driving westbound on Route 25 “flashing its lights at other vehicles on the roadway and failing to maintain its lane. A traffic stop was initiated and Martin Mendez-Umana, 35, of Mattituck, was arrested and charged with alleged driving while intoxicated.
You’ve heard of a fork in the road …
Around 8:30 p.m., a patrol officer observed “a large knife in the roadway” at the corner of Third St. and Webb St. in Greenport. “There were no obvious signs of suspicious activity in the area and no indications of a disturbance.” The knife was inventoried and placed in a police property room.
June 28 – Around 3 a.m., an employee at a Front St. restaurant contacted police to report a man lying on the ground outside the restaurant with “scrapes on his face and hands.” A responding officer located the man, 45, of Greenport, who was reportedly intoxicated, but who would “only state that everything was OK.” He was unable to provide police any information about his injuries. Efforts to use a language line translator to get more information from the man were unsuccessful. Due to his “head injuries and intoxication,” the man was transported by Greenport Fire Dept. medics to a nearby hospital. The restaurant employee told police he could obtain security footage of the area prior to discovering the man lying on the ground.
Around 4 a.m., a patrol car noticed a car pulled over on the shoulder at the intersection of Middle Road and Tuckers Lane in Southold. The driver was found to be “slumped over behind the steering wheel, with the vehicle’s key in the ignition and the engine running,” according to a police report. Jose Zaragoza Pacheco, 53, of East Elmhurst, was allegedly found to be intoxicated and arrested. He was held overnight to await a morning arraignment, according to the report.
All individuals named in police reports are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Charges may be reduced, dismissed or result in an acquittal.