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Crime & Safety

Southampton Police Log: Rash of Drunk Driving Accidents

Also among the week's arrests, two men are arrested following a dispute with a LIPA worker that got violent.

Editor's Note: The following information was supplied by the Southampton Town Police Department. A criminal charge is an accusation and does not imply a conviction.

Man Assaults Female Coworker

• A 36-year-old Hampton Bays man was arrested Aug. 9 at 5:30 p.m. at home for assaulting a female coworker Aug. 1, according to police. The arrest report states that while working at a West Montauk Highway business, the man pushed the woman into the women's restroom twice "and physically held her while expressing his love for her." Later, in the kitchen, he pushed her into a sink and restrained her by her forearms until another employee walked in, the report stated. She had painful bruises and swelling, according to the report. The man was charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor.

Burglary

• Gabriel Isaias Rojas, 24, of East Quogue, was arrested Aug 9 at 2:01 a.m. in Hampton Bays and charged with burglary in the third degree, a felony. Police said the arrest followed an investigation into an Aug. 8 burglary at Cypersitio Cellphone Store at the Hampton Bays Hamlet Green, in which he took several cellphones and other items.

Driving While Intoxicated

• Sergio Garcia, 27, of Hampton Bays, was arrested Aug. 11 at 9:53 p.m. in Flanders and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. Police said Garcia was in an accident on Cypress Avenue and an officer observed he has alcohol on his breath and bloodshot and glassy eyes. He performed poorly on sobriety tests and failed a breath test, according to the arrest report. The report stated that he was additionally cited for driving with an open container, consuming alcohol with in a motor vehicle, failing to keep right, moving from a lane unsafely, having improper plates, driving an uninsured and unregistered vehicle, and driving without a license.

• Peter Veselovsky, 32, Hampton Bays, was arrested Aug. 7 at 3:26 a.m. in Hampton Bays and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and driving without a seatbelt, a traffic infraction. Police said he drove into a utility pole at the intersection of King Street and Ponquogue Avenue and an officer found that he was drunk. An ambulance took Veselovsky to Southampton Hospital for evaluation, then he was released in police custody and taken to police headquarters in Hampton Bays to be processed, then arraigned at Southampton Town Justice Court, the arrest report stated.

• George Nickos Gounelas, 31, of Shirley, was arrested Aug. 11 at 7:40 p.m. on Montauk Highway West in Hampton Bays and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. Police said Gounelas was found to be drunk after an accident.

• Ellen Margaret Potz, 39, of East Quogue, was arrested Aug. 5 at 12:39 p.m. on Montauk Highway West in Hampton Bays and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. Police said Potz was involved in a crash and found to be unsteady on her feet with a strong odor of alcohol on her breath.

• Brigitte I. Alexander, 49, of Westhampton, was arrested Aug. 4 at 1:01 a.m. in Westhampton and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. According to the arrest report, police responded to an accident in which a car hit a tree at the intersection of Summit Boulevard and Old Country Road, and Alexander was found to be intoxicated.

• Laura M. Powers, 33, of Centereach, was arrested Aug. 10 at 7:57 p.m. at the Dune Road end of the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. Police said Powers was driving eastbound on Dune Road with tinted windows, crossing over the double yellow line. She was found to had alcohol on her breath and bloodshot glassy eyes and was unsteady on her feet, police said. After performing poorly on sobriety tests and failing a breath test, she was arrested, according to the arrest report. She was additionally cited for having nontransparent side windows and crossing no passing markings, both traffic infractions, the report stated.
 
Menacing and Assault Arrests Following Dispute With LIPA Worker

• A 44-year-old Hampton Bays man was arrested the afternoon of Aug. 7 near an auto body shop on Montauk Highway in Quogue after a confrontation with a LIPA employee, according to an arrest report. The report states that a man escalated a dispute by picking up a large flat-headed shovel and holding it as though he was about to strike the LIPA worker. The man was charged with second-degree menacing, a misdemeanor.

During the same dispute, a 47-year-old East Quogue man struck a LIPA employee with a coffee mug, causing a laceration on the victim's left arm, according to an arrest report. He was arrested at the scene and charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

Criminal Mischief

• A 30-year-old Eastport man was arrested Aug. 10 at 11:11 p.m. at home after police said he was drunk during a dispute with his tenant, who he pushed. When the tenant tried to use the house phone to call 911, the landlord grabbed the phone and threw it, according to the arrest report.

Petty Larceny

• Two 18-year-old Shirley men were arrested the afternoon of Aug. 7 in Quiogue and charged with petty larceny, a misdemeanor. Police said they were called to J&V Auto Salvage where the Shirley men were outside with the manager. According to the arrest report, the men threw parts over the fence from the inside of the yard, so they could retrieve them from the outside later. Police said one man admitted to throwing the parts.

• A 35-year-old Quiogue man was arrested Aug. 6 at 4:20 p.m. after taking parts from J&V Auto Salvage in Quoigue and walking out without paying, according to police. He was charged with petty larceny, a misdemeanor.

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