It was a week of stolen church property, feuding neighbors, erratic drivers and unusual encounters across Southold Town. Police investigated a gold cross stolen from a church basement, and made several arrests for alleged driving while intoxicated or impaired. Officers also refereed a dispute over where dogs relieve themselves, dealt repeatedly with a man who bounced between Greenport businesses, sidewalks and bank foyers, investigated a report of a man walking around Greenport with what appeared to be a knife, and settled a late-night confrontation over who had the right to inspect somebody else’s crabs.
Meanwhile, for at least the second time this year, Southold police have received complaints about a 60-year-old Cutchogue man repeatedly following local women or driving past their houses.
Sept. 14 – Around 2:30 p.m., police received a report of a vehicle failing to stop while passing a stopped school bus with its stop signs flashing, near East Front St. and Main St. in Greenport. Multiple patrol cars responded, and located the vehicle in question in the parking lot of a waterfront restaurant at the end of Main St. An 80-year-old with a driver’s license issued by Ireland, apologized and said he was unfamiliar with requirements regarding stopped school buses. He told police he would be more mindful in the future, according to a report.
Around 3 p.m., police were called to a home on Pike St. following a report of a teenager driving an ATV in the backyard and causing lots of noise. Police interviewed the teen, who said he had just fixed the ATV and was taking it for a test drive around the yard. He told police he would “try to keep the noise down.”
A literal pissing contest
Around 5 p.m., police responded to Knollwood Lane in Mattituck, where two senior citizens who live next door to each other were feuding. A 73-year-old woman told cops “she feels threatened by [the neighbor, 75], and that today he was recording here. She further stated that [the neighbor] has an issue with her dog urinating on his lawn, but she does not care when his dog urinates on her lawn.” Police interviewed the 75-year-old neighbor, “who stated [the complainant] purposely allows her dog to urinate on his property to bother him. Both parties were advised to avoid each other and refrain from letting their dogs on each others property.
Sept. 15 – Around 7:30 a.m., police received a call from a retirement community in Greenport, where several employees observed a vehicle driving erratically, which struck two parked cars and a speed limit sign, according to a police report. Responding officers located the vehicle parked on the grass on Manhasset Ave. Police say driver John Bunn, 39, of Orient “stumbled” out of the vehicle, “had slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet, and performed poorly” on field sobriety tests. Bunn “admitted to taking several medications this morning before work,” according to a police report. He was arrested and transported to a local hospital, where he consented to a blood test, police said.
Around 8 a.m., a trustee at a church on North Road in Southold reported to police that someone had broken into the back door to a basement, and taken a“large gold cross that had been hanging on the wall.” A detective is investigating.
Restroom, restaurant, bank, repeat
Around 9:30 a.m., a Greenport café owner called police about a customer who had been in the restroom for about 30 minutes and was refusing to leave the restroom. Police located the subject, a 34-year-old Patchogue man. The man was found to have an active warrant out on him from the New York Police Dept. Southold police contacted the NYPD, which advised that they would not extradite him to the city. The man left without further incident, according to a report. Around 11:15 p.m. the same day, the same man was found “sleeping in front of the ATM” on Main St. The man denied police assistance and left the area on foot. Around 8 p.m. the following day, the same man was the subject of a new complaint, this time for refusing to leave a Main St. restaurant, following a disagreement after the man ordered an expresso. And at around 2 a.m. the following morning, he was observed sleeping in the foyer of a bank on Main St. Police offered to find him a place to stay, according to a report, but he said he “does not want to go to a hospital or shelter.” He was taken to a 7-Eleven and then transported to the Riverhead train station without incident.
Creepy behavior
At about 11:15 a.m., a 32-year-old Cutchogue woman told police that she was followed by a car earlier that morning while she was walking her children to the creek. She said the vehicle’s driver, a 60-year-old Cutchogue man “has done this numerous times in the past.” She told police he has also driven a black Toyota Tacoma “in the past and would switch vehicles.” She said the man “would drive past her residence and make an obvious effort to look into her yard every time that he drove past.” A police report notes that the Cutchogue man “has done similar incidents in the past with other women.” A detective was notified and the woman was advised to contact police while he is actively following her. Following or watching someone is not itself a crime, unless the conduct meets the legal threshold for stalking.
It’s at least the second time this year that the Cutchogue man’s actions have been brought to police attention. On May 1, a married couple from Peconic arrived at police headquarters to report a series of incidents with the same man, that have made them feel “uncomfortable,” according to a police report. The couple told police that the Cutchogue man, with whom they have “only engaged in small talk a couple times with over the year” has been “slowly driving past or stopping in front of their residence multiple times a day.” The same man “has been slowly driving past [the wife] multiple times, and [the husband] once,” according to the report. The couple told police that they’ve been “feeling very uncomfortable” with the individual’s “actions, to the point where [the wife] refuses to walk in her neighborhood.” While they reported multiple incidents, it’s the first time they’ve brought their concerns to the police, according to the report. A detective will follow up with the individual “at his residence in the near future,” the May report concluded.
Around 3 p.m., police received a call from the manager of a Greenport hotel, who reported a customer “acting erratically” while driving and “throwing items outside the vehicle” near Third St. and Front St. Responding officers located Melanie Lavelle, 55, of Brooklyn was “found to be intoxicated [and] placed under arrest,” according to a report.
Around 5:30 p.m., police received a report of an intoxicated male sleeping on Front St. A Greenport West man, 41, well-known to police, declined assistance and left the area on foot.
Read the room
Sept. 16 – Around 1 p.m., a Greenport library employee reported a disturbance caused by a “possibly intoxicated” subject. According to the employee, the man was “flailing his arms while using the computers” and appeared “as if he was under the influence of drugs.” The man was approached by an employee, and became “irate” and left the building when it was suggested he may be under the influence. Police located the 29-year-old Cutchogue man, “who stated he was upset because he was not on drugs and did not believe he should have been advised to leave.”
Two days later, police received a call about a male subject walking in Greenport with what appeared to be a knife. It was the same 29-year-old Cutchogue man, but he was carrying “a rusty nautical item he found in the woods.” He was advised to “be mindful of how he’s holding the item, since others may perceive it as a weapon,” and it was requested that he dispose of it — which he did. He apologized to police for the misunderstanding, according to a report.
Sept. 17 – Around 6:15 p.m., police received a report of a vehicle with Michigan plates “traveling westbound” on Main Road in Peconic “at a slow rate of speed” and “with the driver unconscious behind the wheel.” Police found the driver in his vehicle on the side of the road. Richard Parks, 43, of Laurel was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated, according to a report.
Storage wars
Around 11 p.m., police received a call from a woman with a complaint about her roommate. According to a police report, a 33-year-old Greenport woman complained to police that her roommate, a 30-year-old Greenport woman “is bothering.” She told police the 30-year-old roommate is “upset that her belongings are in the attic, which is supposed to be utilized for storage for the restaurant that they live above,” and wanted the complainant to move them from the attic into her room. Both roommates were advised to remain separated for the rest of the night, and contact the property owner in the morning to find out where the 30-year-old’s belonging can be stored properly.
Sept. 18 – Around 2:30 a.m., police in a patrol car observed a vehicle with a modified exhaust fail to maintain its lane near Main Road and Love Lane. Following a traffic stop, driver Alma Sandoval Chua, 61, of Riverhead, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated.
Around 6:45 p.m., police received a call from a 29-year-old, who complained of “an elderly man looking through the windows” of his father’s home on The Strand in East Marion. A responding officer located the man — a neighbor — who “stated that he heard the house was up for sale and wanted to see how much work would be needed to be done to finish the house.” The neighbor was advised to contact the property manager if he’s interested in touring the home.
Around 9 p.m., an Uber driver contacted police with a complaint about a customer. She said she picked up ‘William’ for his ride, but then “became uncomfortable with him in the car” when “he said ‘I love you’”. The driver said no threats or physical altercation had ensued, but wanted the incident documented. ‘William’ had exited the vehicle and left the area when police arrived.
Stop! Crab police!
Sept. 19 – Around 1 a.m., police were called to Pipes Neck Road in Greenport West for a dispute over crabs. A 61-year-old Greenport West man had contacted police to report that people were “crabbing illegally” in nearby waters. Responding officers made contact with a 51-year-old Southold woman, who said she was crabbing with her husband and his friends when “a group of men began shouting at her and asking to see her license and to check her crabs,” according to a report. She said that “one of the men she saw may have had a hammer.” Police then made contact with the complainant, “who stated they had gone down to check that the group was not taking crabs illegally and to ensure they had proper parking permits.” He stated that “at no point did anyone possess a hammer.” Police told the complainant he has “no legal right to check crabs or interfere with the legal catching of said crabs.” The complainant “agreed to same.”
Around 6 p.m., police were called to a gas station on Main Road in Mattituck for a report of two male subjects “harassing customers.” Responding officers spoke to a pair of 24-year-olds, one from Smithtown and the other from St. James. The Smithtown man told police the Saint James man was intoxicated. Police also spoke with the complainant, who said the pair were “making weird noises” and that he wanted them off the property. The two young men complied.
Sept. 20 – Around 1 a.m., a patrol officer observed a vehicle “with inadequate passenger side headlight and following a vehicle too closely.” Following a traffic stop, Lavain Creighton, 23, of Southold was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated.
Around 2 p.m., at the request of Southold Town Trustees, police investigated a report of a “fixed catwalk allegedly installed at grade through the marshlands without the required permits, following a prior denial for a dock at the property.” As it turned out, the homeowner told police, the object in question is “an inflatable raft that [the homeowner] uses to assist with launching his paddleboard into the water.” An officer observed that the inflatable was not permanently affixed or secured to the ground, and the homeowner said the area where the inflatable is located is “designated as an access point to the wetlands,” an assertion police confirmed through a land survey. No further action was taken, according to a report.
