Cops: Man was cooking crystal meth in Greenport hotel bathroom
A Pennsylvania man was caught cooking crystal methamphetamine in a Greenport hotel bathroom when he set off a fire alarm late Monday night, Southold Town police said. The man fled the area, but was arrested when he returned to the hotel Tuesday morning, police said.
Greenport firefighters and Southold police officers were called to Townsend Manor Inn on Main Street just before midnight after a smoke alarm went off, according to a police report.
Southold Police Chief Martin Flatley said cops discovered a meth cooking operation in a hotel bathroom, with trace amounts of meth found at the scene. The smoke from the cooking process had set off the alarm, he said.
The man who had been inside the hotel room — later identified as 48-year-old Timothy Stepp — was gone.
“He had left the scene before the officers arrived,” Chief Flatley said. “He took off, we could not locate him.”
But late Tuesday morning, Mr. Stepp returned to the scene and was arrested, Chief Flatley said. He was charged with two felonies for manufacture and possession of precursors of meth and misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Police said Mr. Stepp — who lives in Easton, Penn. — had recently been working with a tree trimming crew in the area. He was held for arraignment in town court Wednesday morning.
