Strong winds caused their share of trouble across Southold Town last week, sending boats and docks adrift, pushing a car around its lane and possibly blowing open a garage door. Police also investigated $20,000 worth of hardware missing from a church basement, a stolen bank card that resurfaced at a Holbrook laundromat, a man seeking donations for a trip back to Chicago and a late-night Greenport crash involving multiple parked cars. And in Mattituck, one homeowner called police after a security camera appeared to show his garage on fire. What triggered the alarm, though, wasn’t what it seemed.

Sept. 21 – Around 4 p.m., a Mattituck woman reported a car accident in which the other vehicle left the scene. According to a report, the woman was trying to pull out of Mattituck Plaza, cross Main Road and enter the Chase Bank parking lot. At the same time, a car was exiting the bank parking lot, and struck her driver’s side front bumper, before fleeing. The woman could not provide a make, model or color of the vehicle, but said she believed the driver was male.

Message received

Around 5 p.m., a 35-year-old Brentwood man arrived at police headquarters to report receiving threatening text messages and phone calls from an unknown number. The texts advised the man to “stop talking to” a 24-year-old Jamesport woman, “who is a friend of his.” The sender said he was “a member of a gang and would cause harm to [the Brentwood man] and his daughter if he did not stop speaking to” the Jamesport woman. The Brentwood man said he believes the texts were coming from a 33-year-old Jamesport man that he ran into at a park in Peconic. He said he had come to the park to assist with the Jamesport woman’s vehicle, at which point the Jamesport man allegedly “told him he needed to leave.” Due to the location where the Brentwood man received the texts, he was directed to the Suffolk County Police Dept.’s Third Precinct.

Sept. 22 – Around 8 a.m. police received a report of a woman “walking in and out of traffic” near Main Road and Youngs Ave. Police canvassed the area but did not locate anyone matching that description.

Unhinged

Around 1 p.m., police received a report of the theft of $20,000 worth of hardware from the basement of a Mattituck church. According to a report, about five boxes of door hardware were removed from the basement sometime in the previous week. A person at the church told authorities that the building is secured every night and that contractors work there from morning until about 4:30 p.m. The person who reported the incident “stated that he had no suspects in mind but believed it was an inside job.” There were no signs of forced entry. A detective was notified.

Around 2:30 p.m., a Mattituck woman reported that her 85-year-old mother’s wedding ring had gone missing, somewhere between two local hospitals and the Greenport retirement community where she lives. A detective was notified.

A sinking feeling

Around 3:00 p.m., a Cutchogue woman alerted police to hazardous conditions at Pequash Beach. The woman said that due to ongoing dredging operations in the area, she had stepped in “recently dredged material and sunk into the mud.” Police spoke with a county dredging staff member, who said the conditions were temporary, and we’re caused by “a combination of low tide and the volume of water contained within the freshly dredged material. He said the area accessed by the Cutchogue woman was closed due to ongoing dredging operations.

Around 3:30 p.m., a Flock camera hit led police to a 72-year-old Riverhead man who was driving with a suspended registration and no insurance.

Around 6:30 p.m., a 40-year-old Mattituck man contacted police to report that someone stole his bank card while he was playing golf a public course in Riverhead. The unknown subject then used the card, four times, at a laundromat in Holbrook, withdrawing a total of $171.80, according to a report.

Around 9:30 p.m., a Mattituck man contacted police to report that his wife, 67, who suffers from insomnia and seizures, had left to get food two hours earlier and not returned, and was not answering her cell phone. Police canvassed multiple locations without finding her, and initiated a Flock camera search which showed her car on Main Road near Laurel Lane earlier that evening. Police were continuing to search for the woman when she called her husband and told him she had fallen asleep in a Jamesport parking lot. She said she was fine and apologized for the confusion.

Claim denied

Sept. 23 – Around 8:30 a.m., police received a complaint from a 39-year-old Cutchogue man, who said a 35-year-old Riverside woman had shown up to his place of business “attempting to be compensated for a motor vehicle accident” in which the complainant had no involvement. Police confirmed this, and contacted the Riverside woman to advise her she is “not welcome” in the Cutchogue man’s place of business and that he had no involvement in the accident, which was reported to Southampton police, according to a report.

Around 9:30 a.m., the town’s solid waste coordinator reported someone spray painting a retaining wall at the transfer station on Cox Lane, and shared security camera video of the alleged assailant. An investigation is pending, according to a report.

Around 11:15 a.m., police received an anonymous report of a man with a cardboard sign asking for money and “stepping into traffic” on Main Road in Mattituck. When police arrived, the man was standing on the sidewalk. He “refused to identify himself because he thinks all cops are racists,” according to a report. He was advised to stay out of traffic and not to create any disturbances. About 45 minutes later, police received another complaint about the man holding the sign and asking for money. The man said that “he is homeless and is asking for donations to get back to Chicago.” A police report noted that he was not standing in the roadway, cursing or harassing anybody. He was again advised not to go into the roadway or create disturbances.

Around 1 p.m., a Cutchogue woman who last week had reported to police being followed by a 60-year-old Cutchogue man made another report about the same man. A detective was notified and an investigation is pending, according to a report.

Forgive and forget?

Around 1:30 p.m., a Mattituck man reported that his wife “forged his signature” on his retirement fund account to go into a joint account the couple hold. The man stated that “this would not be an issue if [she] would just take him back, as they are going through a divorce.” The wife has an order of protection against the husband from West Virginia that will be lifted in January, according to a report. The husband said he “just wanted the incident documented.”

Pier pressure

Around 2 p.m., police responded to a home on Paddock Way at the request of the Southold Town Trustees office, for a report of a catwalk and dock installed on the property without permits. The homeowner, reached by phone, did not want police entering the property without an escort. A responding officer got a view from a neighboring property, and “observed a catwalk and dock fully erected on the subject property.” A summons was issued, and the homeowner was advised to contact the Trustees office.

Sept. 24 – Around 5:30 a.m., police were called to Marlene Lane in Mattituck, where a homeowner reported “an unknown subject opened his garage door,” and then his alarm went off. The homeowner told a responding officer that no items were missing. “It is unknown if a subject entered the garage or the strong winds throughout the night blew the door open.”

Fourth Street fallout

Around 9:45 p.m., a witness contacted police to report that a vehicle had “struck multiple parked cars” along Fourth St. in Greenport and fled the scene. A second witness told police the vehicle left the scene and drove to the end of Fifth St. and Oyster Point. Police interviewed the driver, who “appeared to be under the influence of alcohol,” and told police “I drank two glasses of wine while at happy hour at [a local restaurant] before driving back to my boyfriend’s place,” according to a report. She said she “believed she had collided with a vehicle that was pulling out of an unknown driveway before leaving the scene.” Christine McCabe, 85, was arrested and charged with alleged driving while intoxicated. She was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

Sept. 25 – Around 3:30 p.m., police and Southold firefighters responded to a report of a fire inside a residence on Hyatt Road in Southold. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, and initial investigations found no evidence of any criminal activity related to the fire.

Around 4 p.m., police received reports of a vehicle failing to maintain its lane near Cox Neck Road and Middle Road. Police located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The 72-year-old driver showed no signs of impairment, and a police report noted “strong gusting winds” at the time.

Sept. 26 – Around 8 a.m., a police marine unit responded to a marina on Sterling St. in Greenport, after a 60 foot vessel drifted across Stirling Basin and into the marina. Police were unable to locate a registration for the vessel, but it was temporarily secured to another anchor, according to a report.

Around 9:15 a.m., a police marine unit responded to an area near Basin Road and Paradise Point Road in Southold for a report of a drifting dock. When police arrived, the dock’s owner had been able to secure the dock to the bulkhead along Paradise Point Road, and arranged for Seatow to come and tow it back to it’s original location, a report said.

Around 9:45 a.m., a police marine unit responded to Bayview Drive in East Marion, for a report of a center console vessel that had broken free of its mooring. The vessel was ultimately recovered and towed to and secured at a local yacht yard.

Sept. 27 – Around 7 a.m., police received a call from an Oregon Road resident in Mattituck, who stated that he “observed from his house cameras that his garage was on fire.” Upon arrival, Mattituck firefighters determined there to be no fire. The homeowner, who was contacted by cell phone, said that “it was the exterior light of the garage that gave the illusion of a possible fire.”

Around 8 p.m., police were called to Mattituck Plaza for a report of “a man shouting expletives.” Responding officers made contact with a 57-year-old Fort Salonga man, “who was shouting at bystanders upon arrival.” The Fort Salonga man told police “he was not causing any problems, he just wanted to talk to people.” A 60-year-old Mattituck man on scene told police the Fort Salonga man “wasn’t doing anything wrong, he was just being loud.” The Fort Salonga man “left he property and agreed not to shout at anyone in the area going forward.”

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.