It was a week that offered a little of everything for Southold Town police — from a public indecency complaint and a go-cart doing ‘doughnuts’ in Greenport to a wildlife dispute and a beachcomber’s startling find. Officers responded to reports of a couple caught in the act near a gas station, a roadside encounter with a man possibly under the influence of meth and a bitter neighborhood feud over a muskrat that police said “show[ed] signs of distemper.” Last week also included a pair of DWI arrests, an allegedly reckless driver who showed up at police headquarters to collect his own accident report — only to be re-arrested — and a buried gun unearthed on Goose Creek Beach.
On Oct. 13, police responded to a report of a driver doing “doughnuts” near the corner of Webb Street and Third Street in Greenport. Upon arrival, police found two juveniles riding a go-kart. The two 14-year-old Greenport teens were advised that they cannot operate a go-kart on a public roadway. The pair carried the go-kart back to one of their homes.
On Oct. 14, a Middle Road resident in Southold reported the theft of lawn furniture that was being advertised for sale and was cable-locked in front of the home. According to a police report, the theft was caught on video, and showed a suspect stopping at the house around 4:55 a.m. and stealing the furniture.
On Oct. 15, police arrested Glenn Falcone, 76, of Patchogue, on an outstanding warrant when he came to police headquarters to retrieve a copy of an accident report from August. On Aug. 20, Falcone was arrested for reckless driving and unlawful fleeing after he allegedly left the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which he was involved. According to the August police report, a Southold woman reported Falcone’s car speeding and passing cars across double yellow lines on North Road. Responding officers located the vehicle, allegedly speeding, and put on their lights and sirens — but Falcone continued to travel at a high rate of speed, according to police, while committing “numerous” moving violations. Earlier that day, police said, Falcone was involved in a motor vehicle accident in Mattituck.
On Oct. 15, a Southold police sergeant observed a vehicle parked in the shoulder lane, sticking out in the roadway, near Lt. George R. Sullivan Beach (formerly Town Beach) on North Road. The vehicle was unregistered, uninsured and unoccupied. While police were looking for the owner, a Hicksville man, 52, came out of a nearby yard and told police the car had run out of gas. According to police, the man said he was looking for his sister-in-law’s house. He did not know he was in Southold Town and stated that his sister-in-law lived in Islip, according to a report. Police made contact with the man’s daughter in Hicksville, who told them her father had recently relapsed on crystal meth. While the man denied using any illicit substances, police said he was jittery and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown drug. They also noted that he was wearing only a tank top on a cold, windy night. The man was transported to a local hospital to be tested for an altered mental status.
On Oct. 15, police received a report of two subjects “having sexual relations” outside their vehicle near the Gulf gas station at the corner of Route 25 and Main Bayview Road in Southold. A local woman who reported the incident said the pair were outside a red Toyota RAV4 and fled eastbound on Route 25 after she shined her headlights on them. Police canvassed the area for the vehicle without success.
On Oct. 16, a Bayer Road resident in Mattituck reported items missing from his vehicle. The 22-year-old told police he went to start his vehicle and found his glove box open, with the items inside placed on the car seat, and that a black backpack containing a bottle of alcohol and two glass smoking pieces was missing. Police are seeking surveillance footage from neighbors.
On Oct. 16, police responded to an anonymous report of a man selling art on Front Street in Greenport. Police advised the Greenport West man that he needs a permit to sell his artwork, and he left without incident, according to a police report.
On Oct. 16, police were called to an apartment complex on North Road in Greenport West for a dispute between neighbors involving a muskrat. According to a report, police were interviewing the man who called in the complaint when a woman emerged from a nearby apartment and began yelling at him. The man told police he was sitting on his porch when he was approached by a muskrat. When it got too close, he picked it up and threw it in the pond. The woman witnessed the incident and berated the man and his wife for mistreating the muskrat. The neighboring woman allegedly threatened to destroy the couple’s flowers and then allegedly made threats to harm both of them “the same way they did the muskrat” While interviewing the neighboring woman in her apartment, police noticed the muskrat in question, which the woman had apparently rescued from the pond, inside a pet carrier cage on the dining room table. An officer on the scene described the muskrat as “mangy” and “showing signs of distemper,” and advised the woman and her companion that it was both dangerous and illegal to have a wild animal inside their residence. Police contacted a Department of Environmental Conservation officer, who encouraged the woman to dispatch the muskrat and contact the New York State Department of Health if they wanted it tested for rabies. Police contacted the state Department of Health but were told the department does not test muskrats. The responding officer dispatched the animal and told the woman to contact police if another muskrat appears — and reminded her not to touch or handle them.
On Oct. 17, Elder Perez, 34, of Riverhead, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated and allegedly leaving the scene of an accident in Cutchogue. According to a police report, an anonymous caller told police he witnessed a black Chevrolet Silverado traveling eastbound on Middle Road near Bridge Lane strike a white van and flee the scene. The caller told police he followed the black Silverado to an address on Mill Lane. A responding officer observed front quarter panel damage to the Silverado and found Perez standing on the deck of the residence. According to a police report, Perez denied driving and said that his girlfriend, a 31-year-old Calverton woman, had been driving but left the area because she was scared. Police made contact with the woman, who stated that Perez was the driver. Police said Perez was found to be in an intoxicated state and was arrested. The driver of the white van sustained head injuries from the accident and was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
On Oct. 18, Southold police were contacted by air traffic control at Westhampton’s Gabreski Airport, which reported that a red laser was being aimed at a military helicopter from a location near Cox Road and Rosewood Drive in Mattituck. Police canvassed the area with negative results.
On Oct. 18, Miguel Ramos Sensente, 32, of Greenport, was arrested for alleged driving while intoxicated after reportedly striking a pole on North Road in Southold. According to a report, a responding officer observed Sensente’s vehicle, with heavy front-end damage, blocking the roadway to eastbound traffic. A witness to the accident told police the driver fled the scene on foot, heading eastbound. Sensente was located lying on the ground in nearby woods. According to police, Sensente was identified by his El Salvador identification card and transported back to the scene of the accident. There, according to police, he admitted on police body camera video to consuming alcohol and operating the crashed vehicle. He was arrested and transported to police headquarters.
On Oct. 19, a Southold treasure hunter using a metal detector at Goose Creek Beach located a handgun buried in the sand and called police. A responding officer was unable to salvage any serial numbers from the handgun, and the weapon was secured at police headquarters to “possibly be sent to the crime lab.”
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.