Blotter: Local men charged in thefts from residential farm stands

Two local men were arrested in connection with a string of larcenies at residential farm stands across the North Fork last Wednesday.

Luke Karlin, 23, of Mattituck and Aaron Conner, 22, of Laurel were stopped by police on Route 48 in Peconic after the vehicle they were driving in matched a description police received of a vehicle used in a “string of larcenies” that day.

Mr. Karlin, the driver of the vehicle, was charged with petit larceny in connection with the theft of two jars of honey from a stand on Main Road in Orient that afternoon. Mr. Conner was also arrested after he was observed on a security camera stealing a birdhouse money box with $5 cash in it several hours earlier.

At least two other similar police reports were filed last Wednesday and Thursday. An 84-year-old Cutchogue woman reported last Thursday morning that the cash box was stolen from her farm stand. Another woman reported her cash box missing the evening before.

The two men were issued court appearance tickets for a later date.

• A 34-year-old Greenport woman was issued a ticket after another driver reported to police seeing small child out of their car seat and being held by a backseat passenger last Monday afternoon.

The driver said the child, a 1-year-old girl, was being held to keep her from crying.

Police explained the child needed to remain in her car seat while the vehicle is moving. They made sure the child was properly secured before leaving.

The driver was issued a ticket for a child seatbelt violation, police said.

• A tenant in Greenport is pursuing harassment charges against her landlord, who told the tenant she would “whack [her] head off” with a shovel in the yard. The tenant said she has had repeated issues with her landlord yelling and cursing at her and receives repeated text messages from the landlord’s niece. The tenant said the landlord had previously been advised by police to stop contacting the tenant in this way.

• A 69-year-old Greenport man called police after another man questioned the way he parked on Sixth Street in Greenport Sunday morning. The other man said he was cursed at in front of his wife and children. He allegedly challenged the other man to get out of his car. Later that same day a Sixth Street property owner reported a 36-year-old Greenport resident for parking on his commercial lot. A verbal altercation ensued, with both parties shouting obscenities at each other, according to a video that was posted to social media and documented in the police report. Both instances occurred on the final day of Maritime Festival. A Southold woman and a Manorville man were also ticketed that day for parking in handicapped spots on First Street.

• A Mastic man caused multiple disturbances on a county bus line in Greenport Sunday morning, including starting a verbal altercation with another passenger. Police told the 50-year-old man, who appeared intoxicated, that he needed to calm down. He was given a sandwich and a water and placed on the next westbound bus, police said. The same man had been discharged from Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital earlier that day for causing a loud disturbance.

• A Southold woman reported that her 25-year-old son’s vehicle had been stolen Sept. 6, while his brother was using it in Rhode Island. Although the car was recovered two days later, the license plates were missing. Southold police helped the family document the missing plates Friday.

• Police responded to a verbal altercation between two middle-aged men on Third Street in Greenport at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. One man walked away from the scene as police arrived; the other was reported to be in an intoxicated condition.

• A 56-year-old Peconic man turned over to police Sunday afternoon eight 12-gauge shotgun shells he said belonged to his deceased father.

• A police officer reported a tenant was upset about having to turn down a stereo at Cliffside Resort Condominiums at 9:30 p.m. last Thursday. The officer said despite complaints from security the tenant believed quiet hour did not begin until 10 p.m.

• A 51-year-old Cutchogue man phoned police when he felt lightheaded and dizzy while kayaking off Fishermans Beach in Cutchogue Saturday afternoon. An officer help usher the man to the shoreline, where he said he was already feeling better.

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.