From a reported morning mugging on Third Street and a DWI arrest on North Road to a barbecue fire that flamed up during a bathroom break and a long-unresolved mystery of a decomposed dog in a suitcase, the first full week of January kept Southold Town police busy on multiple fronts. The blotter also included an outstanding warrant arrest, a dispute over gifted winter coats, open-container enforcement on Front Street, early-hour duck-hunting complaints and a basketball rivalry on Fishers Island serious enough to warrant a police escort on a ferry to New London.
Jan. 5 – Robert Smith, 67, of Greenport was arrested on an outstanding warrant, after the owner or tenant of a Third St. residence contacted police to have him removed from her home.
Jan. 6 – Around 9:30 a.m., a Third St. resident in Greenport reported to police that he’d been jumped and mugged by two Hispanic males in an incident near his home around 7:45 a.m., in which his iPhone, unspecified medications and $100 was taken. Despite bruises and scratches on his face, the man declined medical attention and said he does not wish to press charges, but simply wanted the incident documented so he could refill his prescriptions. Police canvassed the area for security camera footage of the incident but were unsuccessful, according to a police report.
Around 10:20 a.m., an Orient resident reported a “suspicious vehicle” in the area, though a police report did not specify what about the vehicle prompted suspicion. A responding officer located the vehicle at Truman’s Beach and initiated a traffic stop, identifying the driver as a 38-year-old Lake Grove man. An investigation is pending, though it’s unclear what police are probing.
Shortly before 2 p.m., a Mattituck man contacted police to report that the previous day he had lost his money band wallet in the vicinity of 13400 Main Road in Mattituck. The man told authorities he had cancelled all his credit cards but requested a police report to replace his lost driver’s license, according to a report.
Shortly after 2 p.m., a 44-year-old Greenport man approached a patrol officer to report a dispute between himself and a 67-year-old Greenport West woman. He said that sometime around Christmas Day last month, he gave the woman two down jackets and a wool jacket — each worth about $200, he told police — and told her to pick one to keep and return the other two. When police contacted the woman, according to a report, she said she was under the impression that all three jackets were hers to keep, and that she had already given them away to people in need. The man was advised that he would need to pursue the matter in civil court.
Shortly before 9 p.m., a Shirley man reported to a local hospital for a rehab program, and after being told he doesn’t meet the requirement and wouldn’t be admitted, “started yelling and cursing” at hospital staff. A responding officer escorted the man to a hospital in Port Jefferson, according to a report.
Jan. 7 – For the second time in two months, police received a report of a decomposed canine carcass in a suitcase near the corner of Kaplan Ave. and North St. in Greenport. Around 10:30 p.m., a Greenport resident told police his son had been walking down Monsell Trail and came across the scene. According to a police report, the same carcass had been reported to police on Dec. 8, and Greenport Village officials were notified to come and dispose of the carcass. Last week, a responding officer contacted the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), but was told that “due to the incident not possessing any investigative leads of either camera footage or a witness, the ASPCA would not be conducting an investigation,” according to a police report. Undeterred, the officer contacted the Southold Animal Shelter, which scanned the canine carcass for an identification chip and successfully located one. At that point, the shelter employee told the officer the shelter would assume the body and attempt to locate the owner.
Around 4 p.m., Ramon Rodriguez, 41, with no known address, was issued a code violation ticket for alleged possession of an open can of “Natty Daddy” alcoholic beverage, after he was observed holding the open can on Front St., according to a police report.
Around 5:30 p.m., police received a report of a vehicle striking the guardrail at the intersection of Westphalia Road and Route 48 and leaving the scene. A responding officer located the vehicle in question, which had “extensive front-end damage,” and initiated a traffic stop. Thomas Best, 69, of Mattituck was arrested and charged with alleged driving while intoxicated, according to a police report.
Shortly before 6 p.m., Southold police and Greenport firefighters responded to a report of a barbeque fire on South St. in Greenport, and firefighters extinguished the flames. The homeowner told authorities he had been cooking ribs and went inside the house to use the bathroom.
Jan. 8 – Around 4:30 p.m., the superintendent of Fishers Island School contacted police to report that during a basketball game at the school, a 15-year-old student was being heckled by the opposing team. A responding officer rode the ferry to New London with both teams “to avoid further conflict,” according to a police report.
Jan. 9 – At 6:49 a.m., four minutes after duck hunting is permitted each day during the season, police received a call from a Peconic Bay Blvd. resident, who said duck hunters were operating too close to her property and that “the gunfire was very loud.” A responding officer advised the homeowner that the hunters were operating a safe distance away from her property, according to a police report. The incident comes on the heels of several complaints in last week’s blotter about duck hunters, including one in which a homeowner allegedly “admitted to discharging one firework in the direction of the group of duck hunters,” which the hunters mistook for a shotgun blast. The homeowner was issued a code violation ticket for hunter harassment, according to last week’s blotter.
Around 4 p.m., a staffer at Southold Elementary School reported a white male in a gray Ram 1500 pickup truck pulled into the parking lot and “drove through the bus circle numerous times,” according to a police report. When confronted by a staffer, the man replied that he was new to the area and was inquiring about using the school’s tracks. He was informed that he was allowed to use it after 3:30 p.m. The man then backed up his truck, but again stopped to talk to the school security guard — who later reported seeing “several open containers of alcohol within the truck and an odor of marijuana.” The guard told police the truck had a chrome front end, passenger side dents and a Southold Town beach permit.
Jan. 10 – Shortly after 9 a.m., a Greenport man arrived at police headquarters to report the theft or loss of a backpack about eight months ago. The man stated that he was only reporting the incident now because he was incarcerated and had just been released. He told police he needed the report to replace his lost or stolen driver’s license. Police took the report.
Around 12:30 p.m., police received a report that a bicycle had been lying on the side of the roadway near Westphalia Rd. and Youngs Ave. in Mattituck for about a week. A responding officer approached the home across the street from the bike, and the resident there told police she had placed the bike and a “Free” sign at the side of the road, but that the sign must have blown away. She told police she would take the bike to the landfill.
Around 5 p.m., Warren Marengo, 59, of Southold was arrested after a staffer at an apartment complex on Main Bayview Rd. in Southold reported that he “shatter[ed]” the rear window of her vehicle.
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.