Crimes Nearby: T.J. Max Employees Nabed For Petty Larceny

SOUTHAMPTON

• Five employees of at the Bridgehampton Commons face petty larceny charges after loss prevention officers caught them taking store merchandise without paying, according to police.  said that between June 25 and July 20, the employees swiped $1354.19 worth of items. The employees were arrested Monday at 10:12 p.m. at the store.

• Michael C. Gilliam, 45, of Southampton, was arrested July 22 at 9:37 p.m. in Southampton on County Road 39 and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. Police said they responded to a Hess gas station on a call of a suspicious person in the restroom. When interviewed, Gilliam said he used heroin in the bathroom and had more in his pocket, according to the arrest report. He was also found to have marijuana, police said.

RIVERHEAD

The "kingpin" behind a major drug ring that distributed cocaine across the East End was operating out of his Riverhead home, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said on Tuesday. Robert Love, 58, of 29 Oakland Drive South, was allegedly involved in a Bronx-to-Riverhead drug ring delivering up to 3 kilos a week of powder cocaine; hidden "traps" were used to hide drugs in cars during runs, police say. Spota held to announce the dismantling of the ring. An investigation by the East End Drug Task Force that began last November resulted in the bust; two were arraigned at Suffolk County criminal court on Tuesday on grand jury indictments.
Spota said the alleged "ringleaders" of the drug ring were Love and Miguel Matos, 45, of Hughes Avenue in the Bronx.

• Nicholas M. Horton, 33, of Riverhead, was charged with driving while intoxicated on July 29 at 9 a.m., after he almost hit a patrol car while he drove west on Route 25 in Orient, police said. The arresting officer was headed east on Route 25 at the time of the near-collision, police said. Horton was found to be under the influence of narcotics and was placed under arrest and held for arraignment, police said.

EAST HAMPTON

• Police arrested Melvin Smith, 46, of East Hampton, on July 24 after he reportedly failed to register as a sex offender. Reports state that following a sex offender registry investigation, it was found that Smith had failed to register, and was reportedly found in possession of several pills. He was arrested on charges of failing to register, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, as well as holding a controlled substance in a non-original container. In 1986, Smith was convicted of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy. 

• Luis Guanga, 37, of East Hampton, was arrested on July 30 and charged with felony DWI, due to a prior conviction within 10 years. According to East Hampton Town Police, Guanga was seen driving westbound on Fort Pond Boulevard, near Florence Street, when he crossed over the solid white line twice. Police said that upon approaching the car, Guagna had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and upon exiting the car, was unsteady on his feet. Police said he performed poorly on all field sobriety tests, and later failed a Breathalyzer test at police headquarters.

• Evan Lightcap, 20, of Montauk, was arrested on July 15 on misdemeanor charges of menacing in the second degree and criminal possession in the fourth degree, and was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana. Police said they received a call reporting someone menacing with a handgun, and responded, where they found a vehicle fitting the description reported. Police said that after pulling the car over, and asking the driver, Lightcap, to exit, a CO2 cartridge fell from between his legs while exiting. Police reported finding a loaded soft air pistol in his center console, as well as a green leafy substance and a grinder.

NORTH FORK

• David Colon, 21, of New York City, was charged with third-degree criminal trespass on July 29 at 9:56 a.m., after police responded to a report that Colon would not leave the property of a resident on Broadwaters Road on Nassau Point in Cutchogue, police said. Colon was processed at police headquarters in Peconic and held for arraignment.

• Diana Sinatra-Hayden, 72, of Bay Shore, was picked up at the Suffolk County Police Third Precinct on July 26 at 5:55 p.m. for an arrest warrant issued by Southold Town Court for a prior incident, in which she violated a court order of protection, police said. She was charged with criminal contempt and harassment. Sinatra-Hayden was transported toheadquarters in Peconic where she was processed and lodged awaiting arraignment.

• Branden Sutherland, 25, of Greenport, was charged with petit larceny this week in connection with an incident of a theft of copper piping from beneath several homes on Sandy Beach Road in Greenport last November, police said. Sutherland was arrested after an investigation revealed that he was responsible for stealing the copper piping, police said. Sutherland was charged with six counts of petit larceny and was released on bail for an August court date.