Fists were flying in Southold last week in three separate incidents: a suspect swung at a police detective, a bar patron punched a hole in a Greenport tavern wall and a boozy, 3:30 a.m. dispute ended with a punch in the face, according to police reports. Elsewhere, Southold’s Finest made two DWI arrests, responded to shouting matches at local gas stations, investigated a rash of car break-ins in Mattituck and fielded calls about stolen beer, a missing e-bike and a feud over pool water that allegedly killed a tree.
Nov. 3: A Haywaters Road resident told police a neighbor drained a swimming pool and that the chemically treated water flowed onto her property, killing a tree. Police advised her that the matter was civil, not criminal.
Nov. 4: Residents on Cox Neck Road in Mattituck reported that someone rummaged through several vehicles overnight and stole a credit card, a pair of Beats headphones and a prescription bottle of 800 mg ibuprofen. Video footage showed a middle-aged man, possibly with a goatee, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, a brown or camouflage hat, blue jeans and black sneakers, and carrying a gray bag or pillowcase. Police said the man matched the description of a suspect in previous area larcenies. Detectives are investigating. That same morning, a Henrys Lane resident in Peconic said someone “ransacked” his pickup truck and stole $80 in cash.
Around 5 p.m., an employee at a Main Road gas station in Southold called police about a dispute with two customers. The employee said he told the pair they would need to wait to check out while the staff completed a shift change and counted the register. The man allegedly became irate, yelling along with the woman. When the employee said he would call police, the man “urinated near the entrance” of the convenience store before leaving in a gray, older-model Toyota truck.
About an hour later, at another Main Road gas station in Mattituck, Aaron Hallock, 49, of Jamesport was arrested after allegedly punching a Southold police detective. According to a report, Hallock entered the store and made comments about religion that the clerk found offensive. The employee said Hallock grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against a plexiglass window, though he declined to press charges. Officers said Hallock made crude comments to a female officer and ignored repeated commands to keep his distance, before striking a detective in the arm with a closed fist, according to a report. Hallock was arrested and taken to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Nov. 5: Police found Charles Tyler, 55, with no known address, sleeping on Main Street in Greenport beside an open can of alcohol. Tyler was issued a code violation ticket after allegedly admitting to drinking. Two days later, police received a report of a man urinating in front of a Front Street tavern and found Tyler nearby; he was advised that public urination is a code violation.
That morning, officers responded to a Cox Neck Road home in Mattituck after a 911 call. The resident said the call was accidental and that her Apple Watch had dialed emergency services while she was performing a voiceover job.
Nov. 6: A Greenport High School employee reported the theft of an e-bike from the school’s back parking lot. The owner, an East Marion man, said the bike was black with a blue stripe, a basket zip-tied to the rear and pegs instead of pedals. He believed the lock had been cut and that the suspect “rolled it away or placed it in a vehicle.”
Nov. 7: A Southold woman hosting a tag sale on Main Road in Cutchogue told police her purse had been stolen from a shelf. Detectives were notified.
Nov. 8: Police investigated a report that an unknown vehicle, possibly backing out of a parking space, struck several parked cars on Pike Street in Mattituck before fleeing. Surveillance footage will be reviewed.
Around 5 p.m., officers responded to a report that two men with no known addresses stole beer and sunglasses from the 7-Eleven on Main Road in Greenport. The suspects were found nearby and the items recovered. The clerk declined to press charges but signed trespass notices to keep them from returning.
Later that day, a Greenport man reported seeing a woman “strike” a 2-year-old at First and North streets. Officers located the woman, 62, of College Point, and the child. The woman said the boy had thrown a tantrum because he wanted to go to the park and denied hitting him. Police observed the child was “happy and in no distress,” and took no further action.
Also that evening, a Hillcrest Drive resident in Orient reported hearing gunfire. Officers found no signs of shots fired.
In Greenport, a man said his car was sideswiped by a white pickup truck while he was parking near Adams and Third streets. Police canvassed the area but could not locate the vehicle.
Around 8:30 p.m., officers stopped a vehicle traveling the wrong way near Middle Road and Road D in Cutchogue and arrested Steven Talay, 65, of Ossining, for driving while intoxicated.
Nov. 9: Shortly before 1 a.m., a Front Street tavern owner in Greenport reported that an 18-year-old Glen Head man punched a hole in a wall. The owner declined to press charges after the teen agreed to pay for repairs.
Around 3:30 a.m., a 67-year-old Greenport man reported being punched by a 48-year-old man on Third Street. Both were intoxicated, and officers advised the complainant to contact police once sober if he wished to pursue charges.
Later that day, a Southold woman, 54, reported that her car’s driver-side mirror was missing. Police said the damage appeared consistent with a traffic collision, and the matter remains under investigation.
Around 5 p.m., Kyle Skrezec, 27, of Southold, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated after a crash on Front Street in Greenport.
That same day, a Riverhead man — well known to police for prior intoxication-related incidents — called from a hospital to claim he had been stabbed by a Greenport woman. Officers found he had a minor cut between his thumb and index finger and determined that he likely injured himself after falling while holding a glass. Due to his intoxication and conflicting statements, no criminal charges were filed.
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.