Shelter Island Police Department Blotter: May 23, 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 In court, the charges against them may be reduced or withdrawn or the defendants may be found not guilty.

ARREST

Shelter Island Police arrested David P. Shepherd, 24, of Shelter Island, on May 15 at 7:25 p.m., and charged him with criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, and resisting arrest. Police said officers responded to a domestic dispute call and took Mr. Shepherd into custody.

The New York State Penal Code describes the above charges as choking a person by applying pressure to the throat or neck, and/or blocking a person’s nose or mouth, impairing breathing.

After being taken into custody, Mr. Shepherd was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital for evaluation, police said. He was later served an appearance ticket directing him to appear in Shelter Island Justice Court at a later date.

Orders of Protection were issued on behalf of victims involved in the incident, police said.

SUMMONSES

Gregory Holbrook of Bridgehampton was ticketed for speeding 41 mph in a 25-mph zone, on New York Avenue on May 19 at 4:20 p.m.

Heidy J. Melgarbarrientos was issued a summons for aggravated 3rd degree unlicensed operation in connection with an accident on May 17, described below.

ACCIDENTS

On May 16, a truck parked on Bateman Road, belonging to Marcello Masonry, was struck by a vehicle that left the scene. Damage to the front left side of the truck exceeded $1,000.

A vehicle backing out of a driveway on Margaret’s Drive sideswiped a parked vehicle on May 17, causing damage in excess of $1,000.

ANIMAL INCIDENTS

On May 15, the Animal Control Officer (ACO) arranged retrieval of a dog at large in Silver Beach. The ACO) captured a sick raccoon at a Center location and transported it to the vet for euthanasia. The ACO freed a juvenile rabbit from a Hay Beach garage that day. Marine 11 responded to a report of a dog in the water in Montclair; a Good Samaritan rescued the dog. A sick quail chick in Ram Island was brought to wildlife rescue.

Responding to a dog at large report in Cartwright, the ACO spoke to the owner on the 18th about keeping the dog in the yard. The ACO and a Marine unit searched unsuccessfully for a missing dog in Montclair. That date a lift assist into a vehicle was provided for a dog in the Center. A rabbit stuck in a window well in the Center was freed by the ACO.

An orphaned turkey chick rescued by the ACO on May 19 was taken to wildlife rehab. A caller reported on the 20th that a dog attacked one of her two dogs; the injured dog was treated at an animal hospital. That day the ACO moved a snapping turtle from the middle of New York Avenue, where it was stopping traffic, to the Ice Pond. Another turtle in West Neck was moved from the road to a pond on the 21st.

ALARMS

On May 15 a side door and living room glass-break alarm was activated at a Center residence; an officer checked, found no problems and advised the owner. The next day, a fire alarm was triggered by steam from a shower. The Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) chief responded. A fire alarm on May 19 was caused by a person attempting to change the alarms. Fire alarms were set off by showers on the 19th and 20th; SIFD responded to both.

The SIFD determined that burning food caused a fire alarm in Ram Island on May 20.

OTHER REPORTS

In response to a call May 15 about campers on the beach overnight at Reel Point, an officer advised that police will check on campers if the caller reports them at the time. Bay Constables would be checking from water as well as police patrols. Police served an Order of Protection on a defendant in Greenport on May 16. On that date, an unmanned kayak was reported near the Pridwin; hotel staff was able to secure the kayak.

Police responded to a call from the North Ferry on May 17, regarding a driver who had left without paying. An officer located the driver and escorted him to the ferry where he could secure funds from the ATM and pay the fare.

Police provided an escort for a person on the 17th from the ferry to home. An individual was escorted to police headquarters on May 18 for prior arrest processing. A person was escorted to a Center location to retrieve belongings on that date.

A Ram Island caller reported on May 18 that a man knocked loudly on his door, saying he was assessing homes in the neighborhood for a bank, without identifying himself or the bank. The caller was advised to contact the police immediately if this occurred again.

On May 19, police helped open a locked vehicle in Shorewood where a child had been locked inside.

Police investigated a parked vehicle that had been in the Heights for a week on the 19th and contacted the owner, who said it had broken down and would be removed within a day. A report of road work with no flagman on West Neck Road on the 19th could not be substantiated. Vehicle lockouts were resolved on the 20th and 21st. A report of a suspicious vehicle in Silver Beach was checked and no problems found.

A check on May 21 at Bootleggers Alley resulted in several persons being advised to move below the medium high water mark and to remove a tent. Checks at Hiberry Lane, Reel Point and South Ferry Hills found no violations.

Distracted driving enforcement was conducted in the Center on May 15, 17 and 18 with no violations observed, A traffic stop on New York Avenue on May 19 resulted in a warning, as did two stops on the 20th and one in the Heights on the 21st.

On May 15, an officer taught a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) lesson to 5th and 6th graders. Lunch with a police officer took place on the 17th. A DARE presentation on “Celebrating Safely” was given to Grades 9-12 on that date. Officers completed rifle re-qualification on the 19th. An officer jump started a disabled vehicle on the 20th. A manhole cover that had shifted due to flooding was reported to the Highway Department that day.

AIDED CASES

Shelter Island Emergency Medical Services responded on May 15, 18, 19 and 21, transporting patients to Eastern Long Island Hospital. A patient was medevaced to Stony Brook University Hospital on May 16. A patient was transported to Southampton Hospital on May 20.