Blotter: Man caught on surveillance video stealing hedge trimmer

Southold Town police arrested a 57-year-old Greenport man who reportedly stole a hedge trimmer from a trailer Saturday.

Surveillance footage captured Joseph Rhodes entering a driveway on Fourth Avenue in Greenport and removing the trimmer, police said. He was located nearby on Champlin Place, where he admitted stealing the hedge trimmer to police around 9 p.m.

Mr. Rhodes was charged with petit larceny, officials said.

• A Ronkonkoma man suffered injuries after he blacked out and crashed into a tree while driving on Route 25 near Town Harbor Road in Southold last Thursday afternoon.

Witnesses told police that the man, who was driving a 2017 Ford van, suddenly crossed over into the other lane and struck a tree on the south side of the road around 1:30 p.m.

Police said the driver is a diabetic and complained of chest pains after the crash.

• Southold firefighters extinguished a small brush fire at a residence on Nokomis Road in Southold Sunday afternoon.

A 56-year-old man told police that he put ashes from a fireplace there earlier in the day, which sparked the flames.

• Police were called to a disturbance at Greenport Harbor brewery in Peconic Saturday afternoon.

A security guard at the brewery said some of the subjects were too intoxicated to enter and began cursing at him and refused to leave around 3 p.m.

A 43-year-old Brooklyn man operating the bus they arrived in told police the security guard was rude to them and they became upset, but agreed to leave after police arrived.

• A man called police Saturday to report that an unknown person damaged a red bench at Breakwater Beach in Mattituck overnight.

Police are investigating and seeking security camera footage of the incident.

• Police issued tickets to a 28-year-old Rocky Point man who was found to be driving with a suspended license during a traffic stop in Greenport last Tuesday evening.

The man said he was rushing to make the ferry and a licensed passenger took over operating the vehicle, police said.

• An aqua-colored stand and cabinet used for roadside honey sales along Main Road in Orient was reported stolen last Wednesday morning.

• Police responded to The Frisky Oyster in Greenport Friday after a bartender called to report a highly intoxicated woman causing a disturbance around 6:30 p.m.

A 52-year-old Garden City woman was escorted back to her hotel room at the Harborfront Inn, reports said.

• Greenport Fire Department responded to Eastern Long Island Kampground early Friday morning after two trailers caught fire.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire, which was reported just before 5 a.m., was not included in a police report.

• A woman called police last Thursday to report finding an unknown man sleeping on her porch on Ludlam Place in Greenport around 2:30 a.m.

Police spoke with a 21-year-old man who agreed to leave the area.

• A Southold man avoided injury after he struck a utility pole while driving on Oaklawn Avenue in Southold last Thursday morning.

According to police, the man was unable to state how the accident occurred and believes he may have briefly fallen asleep. 

The incident was reported around 8:15 a.m. and no charges were filed against the man.

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.