Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Brooklyn Man Pled Not Guilty In Shelter Island Scheme

East End crime reports from April 12 to April 19.

The following information was supplied by police departments on the East End. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

NORTH FORK

•  Joseph Casertano, 49, of Brooklyn pled not guilty on April 17 to three felony counts of third-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheming to defraud, after an investigation revealed that he had allegedly stole about $200,000 from several Shelter Island residents who thought Casertano would invest their money, police said. According to an indictment from Suffolk County Criminal Court, from Aug. 1, 2009 through April 4 of this year, Casertano obtained money from the residents by making agreements that their investments would be used to purchase various stock options. But a joint investigation between Shelter Island Police and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office revealed that Casertano did not use the money to purchase stock, he allegedly used the funds to support his lifestyle, police said.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

•  James Lawrence, 35, of Greenport, is facing a misdemeanor charge of third-degree criminal trespass after he reportedly looked into the first floor windows of several different houses on First Street in the village during the early morning hours of April 7, police said. Southold Town Justice Court issued an arrest warrant on April 19 for Lawrence, whose last known address is on Second Street in Greenport and who now has a lengthy criminal record of similar offences, including public lewdness and burglary.

•  James Reid, 32, of Hampton Bays is a convicted sex offender who is now facing six felony charges under Megan’s Law after failing to notify authorities when he moved to Mattituck and then to Hampton Bays, police said. Reid appears on the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Sex Offender Registry as a Level 1 Sex Offender, and his address appears on the Sex Offender Registry as Kyle Road in Hampton Bays, police said. Early last December, police learned that Reid was living at an address located on Route 48 in Mattituck. After investigation, police learned that Reid had unregistered email accounts and had been accessing social networking sites on the Internet, including Facebook, police said. On or about March 1, Reid relocated to Shinnecock Road in Hampton Bays, again without reporting the move to authorities, police said. Reid had a previous conviction of failure to register in 2010, police said. He was arraigned on April 17 in Suffolk County Criminal Court.

RIVERHEAD

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

• Damon Strong, 32, of Riverhead, was arrested April 9 at 4 a.m. and charged with drunk driving, a misdemeanor, on County Road 104 in Riverside. Police said Strong had been stalking his girlfriend throughout the day and had followed her to the New York State police barracks in Riverside, where he was handed over to town police for processing after he was observed to be driving while intoxicated. Strong was charged with failing to keep right and moving unsafely from a vehicle lane, both traffic violations, and additionally, circumventing an alcohol interlock device, a class-A misdemeanor, and fourth-degree stalking, a class-B misdemeanor.

SOUTHAMPTON

• are focusing efforts to arrest a driver they say in order to avoid arrest. Cops said, according to a witness who was the lone passenger in the car, the driver was drunk at the time the 2011 blue Dodge Ram pickup truck hit the tree. The tree was knocked to the ground, and the impact caused the vehicle to roll over, which resulted in substantial damage to the truck. The passenger was treated for minor injuries at Southampton Hospital.

• Darwin Tamay, 33, of Southampton, was arrested April 10 at the intersection of Majors Path and Mary's Lane in North Sea at 8:52 p.m. He was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, after his car struck a mailbox at a property on Straight Path and he was subsequently confronted by the homeowner, Southampton Town police said. According to the arrest report, when officers responded to the scene they observed that Tamay showed signs of intoxication. He was additionally charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle, a violation.

 

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.