A runaway dog sparked cries for help in the woods. A Minions movie was loud enough to draw police to the neighborhood. A man installed his own speed bumps on Fishers Island. And an AI-powered crime app mistakenly reported an active shooting at a local hospital. It was that kind of week for Southold Town police, with the routine giving way to the unexpected more than once.
A.I. screw-up
July 6 – Around 1:15 p.m., police received a tip from an anonymous source, which erroneously reported that “there is an active shooting” at a Greenport hospital’s emergency room. Police responded, canvassed the hospital and found that there was no shooting. As it turns out, an app called CrimeRadar, which uses A.I. to track first-responder audio, misinterpreted a message which actually said that an ambulance was en route to the hospital, according to a police report.
Just before 3 p.m., police responded to the Ruth Oliva Preserve off Main Road in East Marion, for a report of a female subject screaming for help. A responding officer found the subject in question emerging from the trail. She told police that she was “yelling for help in a state of panic because her dog ran away.” But the dog had returned at that point, and the woman said she was not in any danger and didn’t need any further police assistance, according to a report.
Shortly before 4 p.m., a Southold Police Marine Unit responded to the waters of Peconic Bay Blvd. in Laurel, for a report of a boat taking on water. Responding officers spoke to the caller, who pointed them to an unmanned sailboat. By that point, two other boaters were attempting to retrieve the sailboat, but due to sea conditions “the operators advised that they would return to base and allow the sailboat to drift until conditions improved,” according to a report. Sea Tow was notified as well.
Stolen license plate
Around 4:30 p.m., police responded to a residence on Main Road in Peconic, for a report of a stolen license plate. According to a police report, the complainant, 92, said that sometime between May and early June, someone had stolen the front license plate off his vehicle. He didn’t realize the theft had taken place until he received a $12.03 bill from the Port Authority. It was determined that three license plate reader hits on the apparently stolen license plate in New Rochelle and the Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge belonged to a different vehicle. The victim was advised by Port Authority Tolls By Mail to contact police and get a police report, so that an alert can be tagged to the license plate, identifying it as stolen.
Around 5 p.m., police were alerted to a 20-foot sailboat washing up on shore near Old Orchard Road in East Marion. It was determined due to a broken mooring line that the vessel likely drifted ashore due to stormy weather conditions.
Around 6 p.m., police received reports of a Sunfish sailboat that appeared to be in distressed, headed towards Founders Landing. Police and Southold Fire Department Rescue personnel headed to Founders Landing and located the Sunfish in question. The operator told police that the boat had capsized several times, but that each time he was able to recover it and was never in distress. He declined medical attention, according to a police report.
Homemade speed bumps on Fishers Island
July 7 – Around noon, Southold Town’s Highway Dept. Supervisor contacted police to report a disturbance near Central Ave. on Fishers Island. Responding officers found “speed bumps that were not placed by the Southold Town Highway Dept.” in the roadway. They interviewed a 78-year-old Fishers Island resident, who told them he had placed the speed bumps in the road “to keep the roadway safe.” He was advised to remove the speed bumps and contact the Highway Dept. if he was concerned about safety in the roadway, and request that the town install the speed bumps. The responding officers also patrolled the area for speeding vehicles.
July 8 – Around 9:30 a.m., a Flanders woman, 67, arrived at Southold Police headquarters to report that she was “receiving threatening communications.” An investigation is ongoing, according to a report.
A sight for sore eyes
Around 5 p.m., police received a report of a vehicle “driving all over the road,” eastbound on Route 25. Police located the vehicle in question and initiated a traffic stop. The driver, a 91-year-old Greenport West man, told police he was “driving back to his residence after an eye doctor appointment to get his swollen right eye examined.” Police noted that the driver showed no signs of impairment, and let him off with a warning to drive safely.
Around 8:45 p.m., police received a report of fireworks in the area of Cedar Dr. in Southold. A responding officer determined that the fireworks were being launched from a cove near Windy Point Lane that is only accessible by boat. When the officer headed to Minnehaha Blvd. to get closer to the area, the fireworks had ceased.
July 9 – Around 3 a.m., police were called to a local hospital, for a report of a disturbance in the emergency room. A nursing supervisor told police that an East Hampton man, 36, was banned from the detox unit because he was suspected of “smoking crack in the unit and tearing a soap dispenser from the wall.” The man’s roommate told hospital staff that he “flushed a lighter and crack pipe down the toilet after smoking.” The East Hampton man requested a ride to Hampton Bays to retrieve his vehicle, but police said he “showed signs of being impaired by drugs.” They contacted the man’s father, who agreed to come and pick him up. The father was advised not to let his son drive, “based on his impairment,” according to a police report.
Around 3:45 p.m., police responded to a residence on Third St. in Greenport, for a report of an “unknown odor” coming from inside the residence. A resident told police she smelled “burnt crack cocaine emanating from the basement into her apartment on the first floor,” but that she didn’t find anyone in the basement or on her property. Police canvassed the area but did not locate anyone. The caller was advised to contact police if the smell returns.
Minions dustup
Around 8:45 p.m., police were called to a resident on Hillcrest Dr. in Orient, for a report of a neighbor “playing a loud movie.” Police interviewed the neighbor, who stated that “they were playing the Minions movie in the backyard and that they turned the volume down. No further action was taken.
July 10 – Soon after midnight, police and Mattituck firefighters were called to a Bay Ave. residence for a report of a possible gas leak, due to an oven making a “clicking sound.” An investigation revealed that the oven’s ignition system was malfunctioning. Firefighters unplugged the oven, and advised the resident of the situation.
Around 1 a.m., police were called by a teenager to a residence on Blossom Lane in Southold, who believed “someone is inside her residence.” The 14-year-old told responding officers that “she is afraid someone is upstairs in her house and she does not want to wake her dad up about the noise or a possible intruder.” Police made contact with the father, searched the upstairs of the residence, and found nothing suspicious.
‘Dissatisfied’
Around 4:30 p.m., police responded to a home on Hobart Road in Southold, for a report of someone trespassing on private property. In fact, the individual in question is a town code enforcement officer, who was at the location to investigate a report of a “swimming pool on the property without a legally required surrounding fence.” The homeowner was “upset that [the code enforcement officer] had come onto his property without first contacting him to schedule an appointment.” Despite efforts to explain the town code enforcement process to the homeowner, he remained “dissatisfied,” according to a police report. The code enforcement officer left the premises voluntarily, without completing the inspection, the report said.
Around 5 p.m., police were called to the intersection of Main Road and Youngs Ave. in Southold, for a report of someone panhandling. Arriving officers observed a 58-year-old Bridgehampton man “speaking with motorists stopped at the traffic light on Youngs Ave. in a manner consistent with soliciting money.” The man was advised of town code prohibiting panhandling, and agreed to cease his activity. He said he was waiting for a westbound bus.
July 11 – Around 2 a.m., police were called to a apartment complex on North Road in Greenport West, after a motorist reported “youths throwing objects at vehicles.” Police responded to the location, canvassed the area, but did not locate anyone believed to be responsible for the incident.
Cemetery snooze
Around 10 a.m., police received a report of a vehicle parked in the cemetery “with a subject slumped over the wheel.” A responding officer found the vehicle in question, which was parked and not blocking any roadway inside the cemetery, according to a police report. The driver told police “he has insomnia and sleeps better in his vehicle.” The man was “advised … to find a different spot to sleep as it made cemetery visitors concerned for his well-being.”
Around 10:45 a.m., a Carpenter St. resident in Greenport “reported a female subject came to the [location] yelling in sum and substance that the [resident] stole the apartment from her, then left on foot in an unknown direction wearing all black.” Police determined that the woman in question was a 57-year-old Riverhead resident who had previously been evicted from the apartment. The resident who called in the complaint signed a trespass affidavit against the woman, meaning that she could be arrested if she returns to the Carpenter St. apartment.
Around 6 p.m., a Main Road resident in Orient reported a possible burglary. She told police that when she left the house the previous Sunday, she locked all the doors – but when she returned she found that all the drawers and cabinets had been opened. The basement window was previously broken into, according to a police report, and patched with a piece of wood. When police arrived, the piece of wood was on the basement floor. An investigation is ongoing.
Around 6:30 p.m., police received a report of a vessel with three subjects aboard which had lost power to their engine in Long Island Sound, about 4400 feet northwest of Breakwater Beach. A responding officer used a police department drone to make contact with the subjects on the boat, via a speaker on the drone. The officer told the subjects to call 911 if assistance is needed, and they did, according to a report. Police contacted Sea Tow to further assist the vessel.
Butt, seriously?
Around 7 p.m., police were called by staff at a Front St. restaurant, concerning a Greenport man “harassing patrons” at the rear of the restaurant. Police responded and located a 61-year-old Greenport man, who denied harassing patrons and claiming he was “just looking for a cigarette.” The man appeared intoxicated and unsteady on his feet, according to a police report, and was escorted home by a cop.
Between 9:06 p.m. and 10:16 p.m., police received numerous complaints about loud music and fireworks in Mattituck, Cutchogue and Peconic.
July 12 – Around 5 p.m., police responded to complaints about fishermen on the beach off of North Road in Greenport West. Two men, one from Brentwood and the other from East Northport, were issued summonses for fishing without licenses.
Around 9:15 p.m., police responded to a report of a vehicle failing to maintain its lane while eastbound near Aldrich Lane and Sound Ave. in Laurel. They located the vehicle in question and initiated a traffic stop. Driver Sebastian Becerra Cabrera, 29, of Elmhurst was ticketed for driving with a revoked license.
Phone fight
Around 10:30 p.m., police were called to a Greenport hospital by staff there, after a 54-year-old Greenport man who “appeared to be highly intoxicated,” walked in and claimed he was the victim of a stabbing. A responding officer observed a laceration on the man’s left side below his left nipple, according to a police report. He told police he had lent his phone earlier in the day to a 20-year-old Greenport West man, who refused to return it, sparking the altercation that led to the alleged stabbing. A police report notes that “both subjects appeared to be highly intoxicated and were unable to give a clear description of the altercation.” A detective was notified and an investigation is ongoing, 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.
