Blotter: Man installs rusty nails to deter geese

The following are among the calls to which Southold Town police responded from July 14 to July 21: 

• Police responded to a call from Greenport West when a woman called to say that she observed her neighbor, who has been having a problem with geese, install a wooden plank with rusty nails in it on the steps leading from the beach to his residence. She expressed concern for the welfare of the geese. An officer interviewed the neighbor, who said a friend had recommended the technique to keep the geese off his property. When the officer reminded the man that the plank could be a hazard to the public as well, he removed it.
• An East Marion man called police to report that while retrieving several packages from his front porch, he noticed a man “wearing a collared shirt and flip flops hiding behind” a telephone pole outside his house. Thinking the man could have been waiting to take his packages, he went to get a bat, but the stranger was gone when he returned. A responding officer canvassed the are with no results.
• A Southold woman called police to report that a “well-dressed” man had come to her door to try and sell her a reverse mortgage. The responding officer canvassed the area with no results; no other similar complaints had been received.
• Police responded to Route 48 and Cox Lane in Cutchogue July 16 on a report of a motor vehicle accident. Upon arrival, police found that a vehicle had rear-ended a Suffolk County Transit bus that had been stopped at a red light. The operator of the vehicle, 32-year-old Iftar Kucuk of Greenport, was found to be intoxicated, arrested and taken to police headquarters, where he was processed and held for a morning arraignment.
• A Southold woman called police July 16 after arriving home to find her garage door open. She said the garage door could only be opened from the inside and that she had left one of her doors unlocked, but that nothing seemed to be missing. However, she reported, a garden hose had been left running in the yard.
• A Southold woman called July 17 to report receiving a call showing the phone number of the town police department. The caller stated he was police officer Steve Grattan and he’d been alerted by Homeland Security because her name had come up in money laundering investigation. When she questioned the caller, who she said had “an Indian accent,” he then said he was with the NYPD and gave a badge number. Realizing this was a scam, she hung up and called police. The responding officer tried reconnecting with the incoming call, but it linked back to Southold Town police dispatch.
• An employee of the Greenport 7-Eleven reported a woman leaving the store without paying for drinks on July 18. Responding officers located the woman near Wiggins and Sixth streets and observed her throw two containers of malt liquor into roadside bushes. They escorted the woman, a 19-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, back to the store, where she was “trespassed” and advised not to return there. No charges were filed as the merchandise was returned.
• On July 18, a Port Jefferson woman called to report an accident in the parking lot of a gas station on Main Street in Greenport. Troy Poteet of Greenport, 64, was found have backed out of a parking space and struck the woman’s parked and unoccupied vehicle. He was also found to be intoxicated and was then arrested and transported to police headquarters for processing.
• A Laurel man called to report that his ex-wife’s ex-boyfriend had been following him in his car and filming him on multiple occasions. This time, the man said, he was followed to a BP Gas Station on Route 25 and then to Mattituck Plaza, and was filmed in both locations. Police located the ex-boyfriend in a vehicle parked near the Mattituck-Laurel Veterinary Clinic and conducted an interview. He was advised that if he did not stop following and filming the complainant, he could be charged with stalking and harassment. The admonition was recorded by the officer’s body-worn camera.
• A report of a blue Honda sedan failing to maintain its lane on County Road 48 came in at about 1:30 a.m. on July 20. Delmy Pantaleon Veliz of Greenport, 33, was stopped for traffic violations near Alvah’s Lane in Cutchogue. Identified as the operator and sole occupant of the vehicle, he was found at the scene to be intoxicated, and arrested and transported to headquarters for processing.
• Also on July 20, at about 3:30 a.m., police responded to a report of single-car accident on County Road 48. Police arrived to find a Ford F-150 that had veered off the roadway into the median, striking the concrete culvert. The vehicle was facing south across both eastbound lanes, and the driver, Liam McShane of Cutchogue, 26, was standing outside. He was observed to have glassy, bloodshot eyes and the odor of alcohol on his breath and stated that he “had a couple beers, IPAs.” After performing poorly on standard roadside sobriety tests, Mr. McShane was found to be intoxicated, and was arrested and taken to headquarters for processing.
• Police responded to reported theft of services from two local restaurants, both incidents involving the same individual. On July 19, a 64-year-old man ate a meal at a Greenport restaurant and then failed to pay his $51.86 bill, saying he did not have his wallet. He then claimed to feel ill, and the restaurant manager called police to transport him to a hospital. No charges were pursued, but during their investigation police learned from an employee at another Greenport restaurant that the same man had eaten there earlier in the day then claimed to have lost his wallet. The man, who was listed as undomiciled, was transported to Eastern Long Island Hospital by the Greenport Fire Department. Police encountered the man again July 20, after staff at a Southold restaurant called when a patron in a wheelchair requested police assistance. The owner stated that the man had entered the establishment, ordered and eaten food, and then asked that 911 be called because he was feeling ill. During an interview, he told officers he had no money to pay for the meal and requested an ambulance. Southold Fire Department responded and transported the man to Peconic Bay Medical Center. The restaurant declined to press charges but completed a notice of trespass so he would not return.

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.