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Shelter Island Police Department blotter: March 7, 2023

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 In court, the charges against them may be reduced or withdrawn or the defendants may be found not guilty.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

Sergio L. Alvear Espejo, Southampton, was driving on South Ferry Road on Feb. 27 when he was stopped by police and given a ticket for operating a motor vehicle with a portable electronic device.

Police conducted 12 distracted driving and traffic stops in the Center, Heights and West Neck on Feb. 27 and 28 and Mar. 1 through 3, resulting in one ticket and eight warnings.

ACCIDENTS

Joseph R. Messing, Shelter Island, reported on Feb. 27 that while driving south on South Ferry Road a deer ran onto the roadway, hitting his vehicle and causing more than $1,000 damage to the driver’s-side front bumper, front quarter panel and front door. No injuries were reported.

OTHER REPORTS

On Feb. 27, a caller requested police assistance in removing a vehicle from the parking lot at the IGA. The vehicle’s owner was escorted to the parking lot to do so.

Police notified the Town, Dering Harbor and Heights highway departments about snow-covered roads on Feb. 27.

On the 28th, police conducted a juvenile investigation. A family member called police regarding returned property.

On Mar. 1, an officer attended lunch with 5th graders and answered questions they had about law enforcement. A caller asked police for assistance with a bandage but her caretaker said she would take care of it.

Also on Mar. 1, an anonymous caller told police someone was living in a tent in a Silver Beach woods. An officer canvassed the area and located an unoccupied hunting blind. It was later confirmed that town nuisance hunters had been using the blind.

Officers monitored daily rainfall from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28 and reported results on Mar. 2 to the Department of Environmental Conservation as part of the Dering Harbor Conditional Shellfishing Program.

A caller reported landscapers illegally cutting trees at a Hay Beach location. The landscaper stated they had the landowner’s permission to trim trees on the property.

A call regarding smoke in Longview and a possible brush fire was called in to police on Mar. 2. An officer located a person burning downed limbs in accordance with the town code – the fire was controlled inside a burn pit with a fire extinguisher and shovel on site.

A driver reported hitting a deer on Cartwright Road on Mar. 3. There was no damage and the deer was killed in the accident.

Police assisted a Center resident with a burst water pipe in a barn on Mar. 4.

Flooding conditions closed a roadway in two directions in the Heights on Mar. 4. Trees were reported down in West Neck and the Center; PSEG was notified. A vehicle was disabled due to driving through flooded roadways on Ram Island. PSEG was also alerted to a report of an electrical box with its cover blown off in West Neck. The wires inside the box were smoking.

Police officers and the Shelter Island Highway Department monitored closed roadways on the 4th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; affected were West Neck Road, North Ferry Road, Ram Island Road and Ram Island Drive.

Contractors expecting to work on a Center property without any dispute from neighbors were advised to contact the building department and an attorney about specific issues. Police considered the matter was civil in nature.

A case of identity theft was investigated on Mar. 4. Several charges were made on a person’s business account.

On Mar. 5, an officer responded to a vehicle panic alarm on the North Ferry; it was accidentally set off by a child.

Items were reported missing from a Menantic store on Mar. 5.

In other incidents: police helped with a lift assist; performed court duty; taught DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) lessons to 5th and 6th graders; opened two vehicles with the keys locked inside; attended off-site training in pistol requalification and defensive tactics; and responded to one lost and found report.

ALARMS

A caretaker was on site for a burglary alarm on Ram Island on Mar. 2. The alarm company will be notified about a faulty detector.

The Shelter Island Fire Department responded to a carbon monoxide alarm in Tarkettle on Mar. 3 and determined it was a false alarm.

A burglary alarm in the Center was set off on Mar. 4 when high winds had blown open a French door that had not been properly latched. A burglary alarm was also activated at the front door of a Center residence. The outside premises were secure and no criminal activity was noted.

ANIMALS

Three dogs at large in the Center and Cartwright were reported. The animal control officer (ACO) found all three with their owners in their own yards.

A seagull was reported injured in Menantic. The ACO captured the bird and took it to the vet.

AIDED CASES

Shelter Island Emergency Medical Services teams transported five people to Eastern Long Island Hospital on Feb. 27 and 28 and Mar. 2, 3 and 5.