Southold blotter: Senior scams avoided
Late in the evening of July 8, a Greenport resident reported that a woman who appeared to be intoxicated was about to leave the 7-Eleven on Main Road with a child in the car. A responding officer found the allegedly intoxicated woman standing outside the car, and observed “slurred speech” and disorientation, police said. The officer sought security video from the store manager, who said the exterior cameras were not working. Since no one saw the woman driving the car, no charges were filed. The woman’s mother picked up her grandchild, and the allegedly intoxicated woman was driven home.
• A quick-thinking Greenport senior appears to have narrowly avoided an online scam. According to police, the woman got a virus warning on her computer on July 2, and was then contacted by someone claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission, the government’s consumer protection agency. The person told the woman that she needed to move all her money to a digital safe deposit box. Suspicious, the senior withdrew all her money from her bank accounts,canceled her credit cards and has filed for a new driver’s license and social security number. The woman checked her Experian credit report and found that there were nine attempts to open new credit cards in her name, but that all were denied. The incident was reported to police on July 9.
• On July 9, three items were allegedly stolen from a Main Road business in Southold, according to police. The store manager reported that while the store was busy with customers, an unknown woman took several clothing items into a changing room to try them on. The woman allegedly brought some items to the register, before stating that she had to use an ATM, left the items on the counter and exited the store. It was later determined, according to police, that the woman stole three items she brought into the changing room. The investigation is ongoing.
• On July 9, a Mattituck merchant reported to police and to a neighboring business that he had noticed graffiti on the rear exterior wall of Walgreen’s on Main Road, according to police. A responding officer observed the phrases “lover boy was here” and “[expletive] you lover boy” in red and black ink. The investigation is continuing.
• On July 10, a 75-year-old Southold woman reported being the victim of a scam in which $15,000 was taken from her by an unknown person claiming to be from Capital One headquarters, according to police. No further information was available, and the investigation is ongoing.
• On July 10, a Minnehaha Boulevard resident reported that at some point in the previous few weeks, someone had entered their home and stolen two “expensive” paintings, according to police.
• On July 11, a Cutchogue resident reported a single-car crash into a guardrail on North Road, according to police. Responding officers retrieved Pablo Pirir, 46, of Riverhead, from the car, whose driver airbag had deployed. Following field sobriety tests, police arrested Mr. Pirir on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
• Just after midnight on July 12, police received a report of a man in a parked car in the parking lot of 7-Eleven in Greenport who appeared unfit to drive, according to police. Responding officers found a 31-year-old Orient man in the driver’s seat r, with a 21-year-old passenger — and both appeared to be under the influence of narcotics, police said. Drug paraphernalia was allegedly observed on the car’s center console, and driver William Mokus consented to a search of the car, admitting there was heroin and crack in the car, according to police. A search of the vehicle yielded “several illicit drugs,” authorities said, and Mr. Mokus was arrested.
• On July 12 around 8:30 p.m., a Southold woman reported that her parents, 72 and 80, had gone for a walk and not returned. Responding officers canvassed the area and found the couple “enjoying cocktails at a nearby neighbor’s house.”
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.
