Shelter Island Police Department blotter: May 7, 2024
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 In court, the charges against them may be reduced or withdrawn or the defendants may be found not guilty.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
On May 6, Michael Sterling Wauson, 30, Manorville, was arrested at 12:24 a.m. following a traffic stop for failure to signal. He was subsequently arrested for driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content of .08 of 1% or more. It was his first DWI offense.
Mr. Wauson was held overnight and arraigned the next day in Shelter Island Justice Court where he was released on his own recognizance and told to return to court at a later date.
Sonya R. Hernandez, 41, San Antonio, Tex, was found by police sleeping in her vehicle in the Heights with the engine running and the vehicle left in drive. On May 2 at 1:04 a.m., she was arrested for driving while intoxicated, a first offence, and with aggravated DWI with a blood alcohol count of over .18 %. She was also charged with having alcohol/cannabis in her vehicle while on a public road.
Ms. Hernandez was held at police headquarters overnight and then arraigned in Shelter Island Justice Court where she was released on her own recognizance and ordered to return to Justice Court at a later date.
SUMMONSES
Romulo P. Vera Muy, Greenport, was ticketed on April 30 on Washington Street for having an insufficient turn signal (less than 100 feet) and was also given a summons for driving an uninspected vehicle.
Luis P. Aucapina Tigre, Sag Harbor, was ticketed on May 4 for speeding on North Cartwright Road — 52 miles per hour in a 35-mph zone.
Police conducted 13 radar enforcement, distracted driving and traffic stops on April 30, May 1, 3 and 4 in the Center, Heights, Ram Island, West Neck and Cartwright, resulting in 13 warnings and three tickets.
ACCIDENTS
On April 29, Santos E. Mejia Arevalo told police he was driving on Midway Road when a mechanical failure caused him to veer off the roadway and hit a utility pole. Because the accident caused airbag deployment, an officer called an Emergency Medical Services team, which evaluated the driver; he refused medical attention. The pickup truck was towed, and Verizon notified about damage to the pole.
OTHER REPORTS
On April 29, a Hay Beach caller reported finding garbage dumped in the woods. She didn’t know how long it had been there, but noted ongoing construction and workers parking in the area. An officer said the garbage appears to be weathered and several months old. Construction sub-contractors were notified, however, about illegal dumping.
On April 29, a West Neck resident saw on security footage, a man attempting to gain access to his property. He told police he did not want the person on his property and signed an affidavit of trespass. The suspect was located and advised that he would be subject to arrest if he entered the premises.
Also on the 29th, a caller told police he heard talking at a neighboring Montclair residence, which he believed was unoccupied. An officer responded and found cleaning staff on the premises with the permission of the owner.
Police received a complaint on April 30 about a vehicle parked in the driveway of a West Neck residence. It was gone when an officer arrived. The area was canvassed, and the caller said the vehicle was only parked there for about five minutes.
On May 1, an officer monitored rainfall for a month as part of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Conditional Shell Fishing Program in Dering Harbor.
A caller complained on May 1 about an ongoing problem of illegally parked vehicles creating a hazard in the Center. An officer found the vehicles were legally parked, but advised the project manager to ensure that flag persons used signs when unloading equipment at the site. The Highway Department was also asked to post construction and “slow” signage at the location.
A real estate and identity theft scam was reported on May. 2. On May 3, police received an anonymous report about loud construction noise in Hay Beach. An officer located a person using a saw to cut concrete. He told the officer he would stop that evening and continue the next day.
On May 4, a driver on Congdon Road told police that a dog had run out of a privet hedge in front of his vehicle. Unable to stop in time, he hit the dog. The dog ran back to its residence where the owner took the animal, with injuries to its rear legs, to a vet.
A medical pendant alarm was activated on the 4th in Menantic. It was set off accidentally. Also on May 4, police notified the Highway Department about a large amount of broken glass reported at the west end of Crescent Beach.
In other incidents: officers conducted DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) graduation for 5th and 6th graders; attended duty in Justice Court; responded to two lost and found reports; performed two school crossings; submitted administrative reports; fingerprinted a resident for employment purposes; trained a detention attendant; and provided a lift assist.
ALARMS
A motion alarm in West Neck on April 29 showed no sign of a forced entry. Police also responded to a second alarm at a residence on Ram Island on April 30 and found it was not the cause of any criminal activity.
ANIMALS
A poodle at large in Montclair was located by the animal control officer (ACO) with its owner. Dogs reported unleashed in a Center wood were also with their owner. The ACO was unable to locate a dog barking/whining in the Center. The owner of a dog at large in the Center was called by the ACO to come and collect it. The ACO followed a dog, reported at large in Westmoreland, back to his home and put him in the backyard.
The ACO helped search for a missing dog in the Center until its owner found the dog.
A caller from the Center said chickadees were building nests in a house under construction. The ACO removed the nests, although there were no eggs in them. An injured osprey reported in the Center turned out to be a deceased turkey.
The ACO was unable to capture a turkey, reportedly hit by a vehicle in Cartwright. A turkey with a broken wing flew away before it could be captured. A turkey, hit by a car in Montclair, was taken to a vet for humane euthanasia.
Two baby squirrels in West Neck were taken to a wildlife rehabilitator.
The ACO put down an injured osprey in the Center. A caller said a rabbit kept falling over in a Cartwright yard. The rabbit, severely injured, was taken to a vet for euthanasia.
A possum “in distress” in Cartwright was only playing dead and was otherwise fine.
AIDED CASES
Shelter Island Emergency Medical Services teams transported one patient to Eastern Long Island Hospital on April 29 and a second to Southampton Hospital on May 4.
