Shelter Island Police Department blotter: Nov. 17, 2021

Those named in arrest reports or receiving police summonses have not been convicted of a crime. In court, the charges against them may be reduced or withdrawn or the defendants may be found not guilty.

Arrests

Joseph M. Governale, 26, of St. James was arrested on Nov. 9. He was charged with trespass following an investigation that he had been hunting on a property where he entered or remained unlawfully.

Mr. Governale was processed at police headquarters, released on a desk appearance ticket and instructed to appear in Shelter Island Justice Court at a later date.

Following a police investigation, Oscar Amulfo Duran Parada, 37, of Shelter Island was arrested on Nov. 11 at a residence on South Ferry Road and charged with harassment in the 2nd degree. He was processed, arraigned and directed to appear in Justice Court on a future date.

Summonses

John M. Devito of Mastic Beach was ticketed on North Ferry Road on Nov. 10 for operating a vehicle while using a portable electronic device.

On Nov. 13, Cruz A. Barcenes Sandoval of Huntington Station was stopped by police on Valley Road and given a summons for aggravated unlicensed operation in the 3rd degree.

Miguel Suret Pixtun of Riverhead was driving on West Neck Road on Nov. 15 when he was ticketed for failure to stop at a stop sign.

Ralph S. Mollica of Astoria was given a summons on Nov. 15 for speeding on New York Avenue — 44 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone.

Police conducted 14 radar enforcement and traffic stops in the Center, West Neck, Silver Beach, South Ferry Hills, the Heights and Menantic on Nov. 10 through 15, resulting in four tickets and six warnings.

Accidents

On Nov. 6, Peter G. Commons of Shelter Island said he was backing out of his driveway onto Gazon Road when his foot got caught between the accelerator and brake causing him to cross Gazon Road and hit a fence. He returned to his driveway and hit a post acting as a support beam to the garage roof of his residence. Damage to the front and rear of his vehicle was estimated in the draft report to be over $1,000; there was also damage to the neighbor’s fence.

On Nov. 13, Amy S. Herzig of Orient was backing out of a parking place at the Vine Street Café when she hit a parked vehicle owned by Catherine Califano of Roslyn. Damage to the right front of Ms. Herzig’s vehicle and the driver’s-side of Ms. Califano’s vehicle exceeded $1,000 according to the draft report.

Stefan D. Silverman of Mt. Pleasant, S. C. was traveling north on North Menantic Road on Nov. 14 when a deer ran out onto the roadway and hit his vehicle, causing over $1,000 in damage to the front end and front right quarter panel, estimated in the draft report.

Other reports

A caller told police on Nov. 9, for informational purposes, that a vehicle parked along North Ram Island Drive had a shattered driver’s-side window with glass fragments on the driver’s seat. Employees had been mowing the lawn at the location. There were no witnesses.

An extra patrol was requested on Nov. 10 following an anonymous complaint about missing political signs and the possible attempted theft of yard lighting.

A Cartwright neighborhood was notified on Nov. 10 that a level 2 sex offender had re-established residency on Shelter Island.

Suffolk County police reported on Nov. 10 that a person on Shelter Island had received numerous unwanted calls; these did not meet the standards of a criminal charge at that time and Shelter Island police were so notified.

On that date, an arcing primary wire was reported down on a Center driveway; PSEG was notified.

A property dispute in Cartwright was called in on Nov. 11; a neighbor was reported planting bushes over the property line.

Also on the 11th, people were reported trespassing on a Center property. A caller said she had seen on her home surveillance camera that her kitchen door had blown open, possibly caused by wind or by house cleaners who had not closed the door properly. Police were asked to secure the door and did so without incident.

High winds and storm conditions on Nov. 12 and 13 caused a number of fallen trees, limbs, power outages, downed wires and property damage. On the 12th, wires were downed in West Neck, resulting in power outages there and in Silver Beach; In the Center a truck was damaged when a large branch fell on it; on Ram Island trees blocked two roadways; and limbs took down primary wires in Dering Harbor.

On the 13th, a tree blocked traffic in West Neck; another tree downed wires in Silver Beach; two downed trees were reported in the Center; a tree fell on a parked car in Silver Beach; and another blocked two lanes of traffic in Menantic.

A fire alarm at the Potato Barn in the Center was also reported; the Shelter Island Fire Department responded and said it was probably due to a power surge.

Police received a report on Nov. 13 that the driver of a box truck refused to pay the fare on the North Ferry.

Also on the 13th, a caller reported a number of vehicles speeding and running stop signs in West Neck. Police said extra patrols would be conducted in the area.

Police were informed on the 13th that a sailboat was headed north past Crab Creek and into bad weather — hail, high winds and lightning. Officers observed that the boat made it to Port of Egypt without incident.

In other incidents during the week, officers assisted with the COVID booster POD at the Shelter Island School; conducted DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programs for the 6th grade; responded to one lost and found report; submitted monthly administrative reports to New York State; and conducted a well-being check.

Alarms

A residential alarm was activated in the West Neck on Nov. 12, possibly caused by severe weather. The premises were secure.

On the 13th, a smoke alarm at a Hay Beach residence was set off; Shelter Island Fire Department chiefs searched the home for any persons with negative results. However, the fireplace flue was in a closed position, probably caused by the winds, which caused smoke from smoldering embers to fill the residence. The SIFD removed the embers, opened the flue and aired out the residence.

An alarm was set off at a Heights residence on Nov. 14. There were no signs of any criminal activity but an officer noticed a dog walking around the house and that could have triggered the alarm. The owner stated later that she had forgotten the dog was in the house when she set the alarm.

Animal incidents

Sick raccoons continued to dominate the blotter. An animal control officer captured and transported raccoons in Menantic and HiLo to a vet for euthanasia.

Aided cases

A Shelter Island Emergency Medical Service team transported a person to Eastern Long Island Hospital on Nov. 12.