Shelter Island Police Department blotter, Oct. 18, 2022: Water rescue by Islander

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 In court, the charges against them may be reduced or withdrawn or the defendants may be found not guilty.

Summonses

Nestor N. Inga, Southampton, was ticketed by police on North Cartwright Road on Oct. 10 for speeding — 52 mph in a 35-mph zone.

Also on Oct. 10, Frederick P. Brechter, Boulder, Colo., was stopped for speeding – 56 mph in the 35-mph zone on North Cartwright Road. He was also given a summons for aggravated unlicensed operation in the 3rd degree — a misdemeanor.

Police conducted distracted driving, radar enforcement and traffic stops in the Center, Menantic, Cartwright and West Neck on Oct. 10-12 and Oct. 14-16, resulting in 14 warnings and the above three tickets.

Accidents

Crystal L. Steinmuller, Shelter Island, was backing out of a driveway on North Menantic Road on Oct. 11 when she hit a parked pickup truck owned by Robert M. Reiter, Shelter Island. There was no damage to Mr. Reiter’s vehicle and over $1,000 to the left rear of the other vehicle. According to the police report, Ms. Steinmuller’s view of the parked vehicle was partially obscured by a pile of dirt on the side of the driveway.

Cathy A. Kenny. Shelter Island, reported on Oct. 13 that her vehicle had been hit sometime over the weekend while it was parked on Sunnyside Avenue, causing over $1,000 in damage to the left rear of her car. She found a fragment of an unknown tail light near the car.

On Oct. 13, Kevin L. Shannon, Dover, N.H., was driving south on South Midway Road when a deer ran onto the roadway and hit his vehicle, causing over $1,000 in damage to the right front of his vehicle.

On Oct. 3, a sailboat belonging to Denis Drumm, Little River, S.C., broke loose from its Piccozzi mooring in Dering Harbor and drifted into the dock behind Jack’s Marine. There was over $1,000 in damage to the rear starboard side of the boat; no damage to the dock.

Other reports

On Oct. 12, police responded to a caller’s report of a shattered storm door at his Heights residence. It was determined that a golf ball had caused the damage. A Silver Beach resident told police a boat was occupying a slip without permission. The owner agreed to move the boat.

On the 13th, an officer noticed that a bicyclist failed to stop at a stop sign in the Center. Concerned about his safety, he located the rider and advised him to stop at all stop signs in the future.

Police received a report that a deer camera had been stolen from the caller’s property on Oct. 13.

A caller told police she smelled propane in her Center home on the 13th; she had accidentally left the gas open on her stovetop for several minutes. The Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) canvassed the area and found the premises were safe.

An open burn was reported in the Center on Oct. 14. An officer found a burning pile of wood pallets and issued a verbal warning, noting that the fire needed to be contained and future open burns might require a Town permit.

A caller told police on the 14th that a Menantic neighbor had set off fireworks on the 11th and that the neighbor was also cutting down tree limbs on her property. Although the fireworks incident was not enforceable at that time and her property line complaint was civil in nature, the officer said that both incidents would be documented for the record.

Also on that date, police investigated a suspect with regard to property stolen in Shorewood. The person had been seen on the owner’s property several days earlier in violation of an affidavit of trespass and the owner wished to pursue charges.

A petit larceny case was reported in the Heights on Oct. 15 — two address signs had been removed from the property. A caller told police about being harassed while hunting legally on town property and wanted the incident documented for the record.

Police received a complaint on the 15th that a South Ferry employee had dropped her metal hole-punch accidentally. It hit the driver’s-side handle of the vehicle causing minor damage. The driver wanted the incident documented.

In other incidents during the week: police helped with a car seat problem: provided a lift assist: attended officer training in the Center and Yaphank and DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) meetings in Southampton; responded to two lost and found reports; participated in a lockdown drill at the school; followed up on a false 911 call; conducted two well-being checks; and monitored the 5K Run/Walk.

Alarms

Police and the SIFD responded to two fire alarms on Oct. 12 and 15 in the Center and Shorewood, respectively. The first was a false alarm. The second was caused by grilling on the porch; smoke from the grill had drifted in from an open window and set off the alarm.

Two residential alarms were activated on Oct. 10 in Silver Beach and Menantic. The Silver Beach residence was secure; the second was caused by employees closing the pool for the season.

Animals

A rat was reported in a pantry of a Center home; the animal control officer (ACO) responded and recommended contacting pest control.

A dog at large was seen in West Neck; before the ACO arrived, the dog had returned home on her own. A dog was heard “crying” for hours outside a Center home; the ACO called the owner who said she was on her way home.

Dogs were heard barking at a Center location; the ACO asked the owner to bring the dogs inside.

A dog at large was seen in West Neck; the area was canvassed with negative results.

Aided cases

Shelter Island Emergency Medical Services teams transported seven cases to Eastern Long Island Hospital on Oct. 10, 11, 13 and 15. Two people were taken to Southampton Hospital on Oct. 10 and 14. Medical attention and transportation were refused by two additional aided cases on Oct. 14 and 15.

Late night water rescue

By Ambrose Clancy | Editor

Breaking the absolute silence of a chilly, late autumn night near the docks along Bridge Street, was the sound of what Dana Foster thought was an argument.

“It was a guy using foul language,” Mr. Foster said, “like he was either arguing with someone or yelling at his dog. Saying, ‘Come on! Come on!’”

It was after 11 on Monday, Oct. 3 and Mr. Foster, mooring manager for Jack’s Marine, was working late — “I’m a night owl, I never get stuff done during the day” — fixing a hoist when he heard the sounds and went down the dock toward Marie Eiffel’s to investigate.

He saw a man in the water struggling, hanging on to a line to a dinghy, which was attached to a larger vessel, asking for help. “He was starting to fade, getting weaker and weaker, and I jumped into the dinghy and pulled him in and then got him up on the dock,” Mr. Foster said.

He thought the man had just fallen in, but was told he’d been in the water for an hour or more.

“He was shaking like a leaf. I was worried about hypothermia,” Mr. Foster said. “I got his arm over my shoulder and kept him walking on the dock.”

The police were called. An officer was soon on the scene, and put the victim into his police cruiser “with the heat on to increase core body temperature,” the police report stated. Emergency Medical Services were on the scene shortly after and the victim was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital “for further evaluation,” the police said.

All in a night’s work, Mr. Foster said. “I’m just happy I was there to help.”