In this week’s Blotter, a septuagenarian neighbor staged a one-man protest by parking outside a rival’s home “to show her how it feels”;  kids built a makeshift fort in the woods at Strawberry Fields that briefly sparked fears of a homeless encampment, a thrift-store theft resolved with a promise to return a jacket, and a hotel parking dispute escalated into one man’s claims of being “held against his will.” Threaded through it all were a pair of alleged DWI arrests, a missing iPhone that may have been swallowed by the waste stream, and cops toggling between de-escalating arguments and helping secure a one-year-old safely into a car seat.

April 6 – Around 3 p.m., staff at a Greenport hospital contacted police to request assistance in removing an unidentified patient who arrived for detox admission, but was “highly intoxicated” and “acting verbally aggressive.” Officer escorted the individual from the property without incident, according to a police report, at which time the individual apologized for his behavior and expressed frustration with his current situation and ongoing alcohol abuse, according to the report. The individual was advised, and agreed, to speak with a DASH (Diagnostic, Assessment, and Stabilization Hub) social worker. The social worker determined that the individual did not meet the criteria for involuntary transportation to a psychiatric emergency program. The individual said he wished to return to his Mastic Beach sober house, according to the report, and was transported to a bus stop in Greenport.

Around 6:30 p.m., police were contacted by a 29-year-old Greenport West woman who said she had a prior dispute with a neighbor on Kerwin Blvd, and that the 74-year-old neighbor was “now sitting in front of her residence” in a vehicle. A responding officer spoke with the woman, who said that she parked her car on Wells Lane and was using the right of way to the beach with her son, according to a police report. But when she returned, she said, the neighbor “began yelling at her for parking on the street.” She said that she and her neighbor “exchanged words, and when she left, [the neighbor] followed her home and proceeded to park and sit in front of her house.” The responding officer spoke with the 74-year-old, who said he “doesn’t want people parking on the road behind his house because it makes him uncomfortable.” After being advised that “the road is a public street and she has the right to park there,” the neighbor told the cop he “is parked in front of her house to ‘show her how it feels.’” He was advised by the officer that his actions “are inappropriate” and he agreed to leave. It was suggested to the Greenport West woman “in the future to park on the opposite side of the road when accessing the beach to avoid further problems.”

April 7 – Around 1 a.m., Southold police received reports of smoke coming from the basement of a Cox Lane residence in Cutchogue, prompting a response from officers and Cutchogue firefighters. It was determined that an oil burner was malfunctioning, and investigators got a high carbon dioxide reading within the residence. Firefighters shut off the oil burner and ventilated the residence. A 72-year-old resident was treated for smoke and carbon monoxide inhalation the scene. Cutchogue firefighters deemed the residence safe for re-entry.  

Around 6 p.m., police received a report of “subjects taking wood from a construction site” at Strawberry Fields fairgrounds in Mattituck. Responding officers canvassed the area and located “youths in the … woods building a fort with scrap pieces of wood. It was reported they had permission to take any scraps out of the dumpster. It did not appear that they had new, full-size lumber. The following day around 5 p.m., a different patrol officer was dispatched to Strawberry Fields for a report of a “possible homeless encampment” on the northwest corner of the fields. The officer “observed what is known to be a fort being built by juveniles in the woods.” The complainant was notified of the determination and was satisfied, according to the report. Case closed.

April 8 – Around 9 a.m., police received a shoplifting complaint from a manager at a hospital thrift store on Main St. in Greenport. A responding officer received security camera footage from inside the store, which according to a police report, confirmed the larceny. The manager declined to press charges against the alleged shoplifter, a 47-year-old Greenport West woman, but requested that she be trespassed, meaning that she could be arrested if she returns to the store. The alleged shoplifter was contacted by phone, and she told police she was not available for an in-person interview because she does not live in the area. She was advised of the notice of trespass, and agreed to return a stolen jacket “when she is in the area.”  

Around 12:30 p.m., a Grand Ave. resident approached a patrol officer to report an orange Dodge Challenger speeding in the area. The patrol officer later observed a vehicle matching the complainant’s description and conducted a traffic stop. According to a police report, the vehicle had a “tinted cover plate on the rear of the vehicle.” The teen driver was advised that having anything obscuring the view of a license plate is an equipment violation, and issued a traffic ticket for the obstructed license plate.

Around 1 p.m., a Greenport man contacted police to report that he was “being ‘held against his will’ while seated in his parked vehicle in the rear lot” of a Front St. hotel in Greenport. Responding units interviewed the caller and the manager of the hotel, according to a police report. The caller told police that while his car was in the rear lot, the manager had “positioned his vehicle directly behind [the caller’s] vehicle, restricting [his] ability to leave.” The caller “became upset and a verbal dispute ensued.” When police arrived, the caller “had already left his parked vehicle and walked to the adjacent deli to grab food.” When police interviewed the manager, he said he had blocked in the man’s car “in order to advise him that the parking lot was for hotel guests only.” The manager requested to have the other driver trespassed, meaning he could be arrested if he returns to the location. A notice of trespass was signed. No further action was taken, according to the report.

April 9 – Around 10 a.m. Danielle Zurek, 31, of Southold, was arrested on an outstanding Nassau County warrant, according to a police report.

Around 11:30 p.m., police were called to the Southold 7-Eleven on Main Road for a report of a man asleep in a running vehicle in the parking lot. The caller said he had attempted without success to wake the driver. A responding officer reached in and turned off the running vehicle, and was able to wake up the driver, who, according to a police report,  had “bloodshot, glassy eyes and odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his mouth.” Questioned by an officer, the driver allegedly acknowledged driving the vehicle. The officer observed an open alcoholic beverage in a cupholder, and administered standardized field sobriety tests, which, according to the report, the driver failed. Eder Lopeztocay, 27, of Southold, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated.

April 10 – Around noon, police received a report of an iPhone possibly stolen from the 7-Eleven in Cutchogue. According to the report, an employee of the store who works the overnight shift left her cell phone on the counter there, and it disappeared. The phone last ping on the grounds of a Cutchogue waste management plant. Police interviewed the supervisor there, who said most of his employees start at 5 a.m. and don’t leave the grounds until their shift is over. He said drivers on their route usually stop for gas, but not at the 7-Eleven. Police are exploring whether the cell phone might have ended up in the trash and been carted away, and an investigation is ongoing, according to the report.

April 11 – Around 3:30 p.m., a Front St. restaurant owner contacted police to report an “unruly” individual who entered the restaurant and attempted to use the restroom. The owner advised the individual that the restroom is for patrons only and is not open to the public, “at which time a verbal argument ensued.” The individual was instructed to leave, and complied, according to a police report. Police interviewed the individual, who told them that she entered the establishment “to use the restroom and review the menu, and alleged that the staff were ‘so mean.’ The individual refused to provide pedigree information due to her professional status.” She was advised that the restroom is not a public facility and that the incident would be documented, according to the report.

Around 7 p.m., a Southold police officer conducting speed enforcement on Middle Road in Matittuck observed a vehicle speed by, leave its traffic lane, driving partially along the median – kicking up dirt – and pulling into a deli parking lot. The officer followed and conducted a traffic stop in the parking lot. The driver, identified by his NY state ID, “exited his vehicle to walk away from the traffic stop,” according to a report. “After being ordered to get back in his vehicle several times, he continued to walk away.” The individual continued to walk away, even as the officer got out of his car to follow him. When the officer reached the driver and attempted to detain him in handcuffs, the driver alleged resisted, leading to a physical confrontation. With a second officer assisting, Cristian Ortiz-Romero, 27, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with alleged driving while intoxicated, according to the report.

April 12 – Around 5 p.m., police received an anonymous report of a vehicle traveling eastbound on Route 48 with child not properly restrained in the rear seat of the vehicle. When the car was pulled over, police observed “a young child seated in a forward-facing car seat without any straps secured,” according to a report. “The child was standing up in the seat and reaching toward the front passenger area.” The driver was unable to produce a valid driver’s license and handed police a Guatemalan ID card, according to the report. Police used a translation service to communicate with the woman, 34, of Greenport. Police worked to properly adjust the car seats straps and place it in a rear-facing position. The car seat had straps to retain the child’s chest area, but none to restrain the child’s legs. A police sergeant told the woman he would check the police department’s car seat program inventory and, if possible, deliver an appropriately-equipped car seat to the woman’s home, for her one-year-old child.  She was issued a traffic ticket for driving without a license, 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.