Southold Blotter: Man swipes money from donation jar at yard sale

A man who went to a Cutchogue yard sale with a woman and child Saturday morning apparently stole a donation jar with $100 inside, Southold Town police said.

The owner of the house told police he was having the yard sale when the man took the jar about 10:40 a.m. The man, along with the woman and child, left in a red pickup truck with a red cap on its bed, the homeowner told police. Cops searched the area but were unable to find the alleged thief.

• A man who reportedly slashed two people with a machete Friday evening at a Second Street residence in Greenport remains at large, Southold Town police said.

Authorities responded to an emergency call reporting that two people had been slashed by a machete, according to a police press release. Shortly after 7 p.m., they found a man outside the house and a woman inside, both of whom were bleeding from slash wounds, officials said. Police were told the male suspect had fled the scene.

The case is being investigated by the town’s detective division. As of presstime, the suspect had not been arrested.

The victims were both treated at the scene by Greenport Fire Department personnel and taken to Eastern Long Island Hospital. They were later transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital.

An update on their conditions was unavailable.

• A Port Jefferson man was arrested for drunken driving Sunday night after he crossed into oncoming traffic and nearly hit a police car in Orient, police said.

According to a police report, an officer was driving on Main Road in Orient near a farm stand when a burgundy 2015 Chrysler crossed the double yellow lines and almost collided with the officer’s patrol car around 9 p.m.

The officer pulled over the vehicle and determined its driver, Christopher Molina, was intoxicated, police said. Mr. Molina was charged with driving while intoxicated and taken to police headquarters for processing. His car was also impounded, according to the report.

• A Greenport man was charged with criminal contempt Saturday evening after violating an order of protection that prohibited him from drinking alcohol, according to a police news release.

A Greenporter Hotel employee called police to remove Vincent Smith, 52, from the property’s parking lot, where he had allegedly been causing a disturbance shortly before 7 p.m., police said.

Mr. Smith was arrested for violating the order of protection, police said.

• A Greenport man was caught driving with a revoked license Friday afternoon, police said.

Juan Jose Hernandez, 32, was reportedly pulled over for speeding on Skunk Lane in Cutchogue. A computer check revealed his license had been revoked and his car didn’t have a required interlock device installed, police said. The devices, which measure sobriety, are installed in the vehicles of drivers with previous DWI convictions.

Mr. Hernandez was arrested and taken to police headquarters, where he was processed and released on an undisclosed bail.

• A $3,000 vending machine at Breakwater Beach in Mattituck was badly damaged last week by thieves trying to remove the cash inside, police said.

A Mattituck Park District employee discovered “extensive damage” to the machine’s cash mechanism last Wednesday morning, with pieces and parts of the machine scattered nearby, according to a police report.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any money was successfully stolen from the machine, authorities said. Police detectives were notified of the incident.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.