Police

Southold Blotter: Build-A-Bear bunny abandoned on Main Bayview Road

• Multiple reports of gunshots were called in on Monday night. Two calls came in around 11:30 p.m. — one caller lived north of Greenport High School and the other lived in Shelter Island. The latter resident reported hearing seven distinct gunshot blasts. Police officers checked on both areas and also heard gunshots. An officer parked near Claudio’s in Greenport said he felt the gunshots were coming from Shelter Island or in the harbor between the two communities. The Southold police chief said he is “almost positive” the gunshots were not coming from Greenport High School. The source of the gunshots was never identified and no further action was taken.

• Five Hispanic men were found sitting in a circle gambling in the Adams Street parking lot in Greenport Oct. 16. A police officer asked them to stop and clean up the area, which they did. When the officer circled around the area again, he saw the group attempt to start playing cards again. They were asked again to disperse. One of the suspects was in possession of a pail containing two different types of fish. It was discovered the man was in violation of a fishing regulation and he received a summons. 

• A Greenport man visited Southold Town police headquarters to report that her New York license plates had possibly been duplicated. The complainant received a letter from the NYC Department of Finance Parking Violations stating there were two outstanding tickets amounting to $160 he needed to pay. He had not visited Manhattan and contacted them to dispute the claim. Officials there said the tickets had been paid for and could not provide any information on who paid them. The Greenport man didn’t believe the incident was a clerical error and thought someone may have requested duplicate plates from the DMV and put them on their vehicle. The incident was documented, and no further action was taken. 

• A 36-year-old man from Flower Hill, N.Y., was reported cursing loudly at other people at Mattituck Plaza last Monday. The man confirmed he was cursing, but not at people. He said he was cursing because he lost $10. 

• A Southold man found a brown stuffed Build-A-Bear rabbit in the middle of Main Bayview Road. He called the police, who secured the rabbit in the headquarters’ property room. An invoice receipt was completed. 

• A juvenile smashed the camera of a Southold woman Tuesday after confronting her while she was photographing a property. The young person asked the woman if she was taking photos of him, and she said no. She stated she was a residential appraiser working in the area. The boy asked if he could see the camera and then proceeded to throw it on the pavement, leaving it inoperable. The boy’s mother was made aware of the incident. 

• A Cutchogue man reported Oct. 18 he received an alert from Experian about a new checking account opened under his name at M&T Bank. He reported that his was done without his knowledge and when he contacted the bank to investigate further, was they need a police report to formally document the incident. He was given identity theft paperwork to complete and advised to check all his accounts for fraudulent activity. No money was taken from the victim and the suspect reportedly only used his Social Security number. 

• Victor Veliz Contreras of Greenport was arrested for driving while intoxicated on Oct. 18. He was stopped by an officer on Moores Lane and performed poorly on an administered field sobriety tests. He was placed under arrest, processed at police headquarters and held for morning arraignment. 

• Multiple people were reported sleeping under train cars in the parking lot of the Railroad Museum in Greenport last Wednesday. A caller told police this is an ongoing problem and requested extra patrols of the area because the subjects tamper with the lighting and the train cars and leave garbage in the area. 

• An anonymous caller reported a loud noise near the Southold Town Animal Shelter in Peconic last Thursday night. They told the officer they saw a sanitation truck and believed the noise was coming from its routine garbage pickup. Police responded and confirmed there was a sanitation truck near the location. 

• A Goldman Sachs employee in Salt Lake City, Utah, reported that 65-year-old Southold man had called their office about an account that was opened in his name. The man, who has an ongoing fraud case, according to past blotters, allegedly told the employee “If you don’t fix the account, I will blow my head off.” Officers went to his residence, but he was not home. They called him and found out he was in his workshop. When asked about the situation, the man said he never called anyone from Goldman Sachs and believed he was being harassed by someone. He stated he did not wish to harm himself or others.