It was a bad morning for Ben Franklin on South St. last Wednesday.
Around 8 a.m. on Aug. 6, the owner of a South St. store in Greenport contacted the Southold Police Dept. to report receiving a counterfeit $100 bill. Two hours later, a restaurant owner next door made a similar report, saying that sometime in the past two weeks, she, too, had received a counterfeit $100 bill. According to a police report, the restaurant owner said she was made aware of the counterfeit when she went to deposit money at a local bank. She stated that she “may know who used the bill or is giving the fake bills out but does not want to give any further information to [police] at this time,” according to the report. A Southold detective was notified of the two incidents.
Elsewhere last week, Southold police handled cases ranging from trespassing and shoplifting to public intoxication and multiple DWI arrests. Notable incidents included a $1,000-plus larceny under investigation in Greenport, an assault at Mitchell Park that led to an arrest, and a driver allegedly fleeing after a rear-end crash. Police also convinced a Greenport man with an apparent drinking problem to get help.
On Aug. 4, the owner of a Greenport West motel contacted police to report a 78-year-old man allegedly trespassing on the property. The Westport, CT. man told police he was walking along the beach “and got hot and went inside the establishment to cool down.” The man “found no one inside and needed something to drink and went behind the bar to pour himself a non-alcoholic beverage,” according to a police report. The motel owner signed a notice of trespass against the Westport man, who left without incident.
On Aug. 4, a Second St. resident in Greenport reported to police that a male subject had left a bicycle leaning against a tree in front of his property. Police transported the bike to headquarters, according to a report.
Around 1 p.m. on Aug. 5, an anonymous caller reported a parked pickup truck blocking the stop sign on Fourth Ave. and Front St. in Greenport, according to a report. The owner, who was interviewed by phone, said he would move the vehicle away from the stop sign. Two days later, police received a second report of the vehicle parked illegally, and again contacted the owner. No futher action was taken.
On Aug. 5, police received a report of an intoxicated male at the 7-Eleven in Mattituck. Responding officers located the man and advised him that he could not loiter at the location, and he left without incident, according to a police report.
On Aug. 6, a Main St. store owner in Greenport reported to police that an unknown female had shoplifted an item, and provided surveillance footage to authorities, according to a police report. The allegedly stolen item wasn’t specified in the police report, but the incident was deemed a larceny, which indicates the theft of an item worth $1,000 or more. An investigation is ongoing, according to police.
On Aug. 6, police responded to reports of loud banging coming from an apartment complex on North St. in Greenport. There they found a Riverhead man, 28, who was described in the report as being intoxicated. “Due to his ongoing alcohol abuse, [police] advised [the man] that he needed to seek … medical treatment and suggested he consider checking himself into a detox program.” The individual agreed, and was transported to a local detox center for treatment.
On Aug. 6, a Greenport West man arrived at Southold Police headquarters to report that a Greenport West woman who lives at an apartment complex on North Road had been verbally abusive to him and his young children, as well as other residents, and had “threatened to call [U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] on him and his family,” and that the woman is “constantly yelling at any child that is of Hispanic descent” at the complex. The man told police he wanted the incident documented, but “requested that the police do not interview [the woman] at this time.”
On Aug. 8, Devante Kittles, 31, of Wyandanch, was arrested on an outstanding warrant, according to Southold police, who were at a local hospital investigating a domestic incident, when it was determined that Kittles had an outstanding warrant.
On Aug. 8, Taylor Hart, 29, of Cutchogue, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated, after an anonymous caller reported an accident near Main Rd. in Southold. Responding officers reported that Taylor had struck a parked vehicle, and arrested her following field sobriety tests.
Around 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, police received a report of “individuals possibly having sex” in Mitchell Park in Greenport. A subsequent police canvass of the area turned up no such individuals, according to police. Minutes later, police received a second report from a Greenport woman, who claimed that she had been slapped in the face while on the boardwalk at the park. Responding officers identified the alleged slapper as Latricia Lawrence, 46, of Greenport. The woman who reported the incident told authorities she had sprayed pepper spray in Lawrence’s face in self-defense. The woman said she wanted to pursue charges, and Lawrence was arrested and transported to a local hospital for treatment due to pepper spray exposure. After processing, she was released on an appearance ticket.
On Aug. 9, Theresa Fucci, 67, of West Islip, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated. Police received a report of a vehicle that skidded through a stop sign near Bay Ave. and Peconic Bay Blvd. in Mattituck and, in the process, lost its front bumper with the license plate still attached. A few minutes later, police received a second report from a Rockville Centre man, who said his car was rear-ended by what allegedly proved to be the same driver, Fucci, near Harbor Lane and Main Road in Cutchogue. The Rockville Centre man told police he had pursued the white Honda Accord and got the driver to pull over near Eugene’s Road and Rt. 25. Responding officers observed Fucci leaning against the Honda with the ignition still on and conducted field sobriety tests, which according to police, Fucci did poorly on — and she was arrested.
On Aug. 9, Katherine Trouern-Trend, 54, of Easthampton, MA., was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated, after police received a report of a vehicle failing to maintain its lane on Rt. 25 in Cutchogue. The vehicle was located near the corner of Fifth St. and Main St. in New Suffolk, and allegedly observed failing to signal at a four-way stop. Following a traffic stop, Trouern-Trend was arrested.
On Aug. 9, a Front St. store owner in Greenport reported to police that there was a man sleeping in the shed at her business. The man, who was identified as a 40-year-old with no known address, was removed from the property and a notice of trespass was signed by the store owner against him.
On Aug. 9, Jennifer Lengyel, 31, of Cutchogue was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated, after a report of her car failing to maintain its lane and striking a tree near Eugene’s Rd. in Cutchogue.
On Aug. 10, a Mattituck woman reported that her iPhone was stolen from an Oregon Rd. vineyard the night before, and that the phone was pinging for about 45 minutes at a Southold supermarket. The woman accompanied police to the supermarket, and asked management if any of the employees had seen the phone, but none had. Efforts to call the phone and activate an alarm on it through another Apple device were unsuccessful, according to a police 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.
(Image above courtesy of Flickr)