Southold blotter: Summons issued for demolishing home without a permit

A Main Road homeowner in Cutchogue contacted police Aug. 12 to report a woman trying to enter his vacant home. The homeowner described the woman as about 50, wearing a maroon shirt and driving “what appeared to be a Town of Southold white car.” The responding officer contacted the town’s building department to determine if anyone from that office had been inspecting the property, and is awaiting a reply, according to police. 

• Also on Aug. 12, the owner of a farm stand on Main Road in Cutchogue reported to police Aug. 12 that a surveillance camera at the stand captured footage of a man in his 60s with short gray hair, a long gray beard and a gray T-shirt with blue shorts, who damaged the lock box and removed one of two five-dollar bills inside. An investigation is ongoing, according to police. 

• Also on Aug. 12, a Mattituck farm stand owner reported his cash box missing, saying it must have been taken sometime between Aug. 10 and Aug. 12. An investigation is ongoing, according to police. 

• On Aug. 13, a Southold resident told police she had been contacted by phone by someone claiming to be a Suffolk County police officer. The “officer” directed her to drive to various locations to purchase gift cards and text the associated bar codes back to the caller. The Southold Town Police Department’s detective division was notified.

• On Aug. 14, a Greenport man reported to police that he was being harassed by a group of men he believed to be MS 13 gang members. The man said that on Aug. 8, eight cars surrounded his vehicle in a parking lot at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. At one point, as he walked into the mall’s food court, he said he was followed by two of the men, who he believes wanted to steal his car. He told police that the same cars that had surrounded him in RIverhead drove past his Greenport residence the following day. Then, on Aug. 11, he said, 13 cars followed him out of the Smith Haven Mall, where he had gone to get his phone repaired. The man told police he was able to “lose” the caravan by driving 100 mph. When asked why he didn’t contact police, he noted that he had been unable to get his phone repaired at the mall. A responding officer described the man in a police report as “paranoid.” The individual requested extra police patrols in his neighborhood.

• On Aug. 14, a Mattituck man was issued a summons for demolishing a home on East Mill Road without a permit, following a complaint from a town Trustee. 

• On Aug. 15, police received a report of two vehicles drag racing in the area of Bridge Lane and County Road 48 in Cutchogue. The two vehicles, which were not located, were described as a maroon pickup truck and a gold-colored Tahoe. 

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.