Blotter: An Orient ATV Mystery

The following were among the incidents to which Southold Town police responded during the week from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23.

• During routine patrol just after midnight on Feb. 17, an officer observed a green ATV northbound on Main Street in Greenport with no license plates and no functioning lights. He activated lights to conduct traffic stop and pursued the vehicle eastbound on Route 25, following it north on Rocky Point Road in East Marion. The officer lost sight of the ATV after it turned off the roadway onto a wooded trail.He then deployed a police drone and thermal camera and located the vehicle stopped in the woods, with no subjects in the vicinity. K-9 officers were called to track two subjects, with no results. The ATV was towed to the police impound lot. No VIN number or year could be determined. At about 5:15 p.m. the same day, the ATV was reported stolen. The purported owner, a juvenile, claimed it had been left at an address on Gillette Drive in East Marion for repair work, but was gone the next morning.But the resident at that address disputed that assertion, saying the ATV was never stored on his property and he was not friends with anyone involved. A family member confirmed that two individuals had been riding the vehicle in Orient and returned about 10:30 p.m. the previous night. Flock LPS camera footage showed the vehicle in the bed of the family member’s truck heading east about 3 p.m. Feb. 17. Several parties, including juveniles, were reinterviewed and gave conflicting accounts. Police therefore determined that someone would need to show definitive proof of ownership in order to retrieve the ATV from impound.
• The Cutchogue Fire Department responded Feb. 17 after a Southold resident called in a fire in his vehicle. The driver said he noticed smoke in the car and pulled over, then observed a small fire in the corner of the rear windshield. He said he poured water on the fire, which caused the rear windshield to shatter. CFD confirmed that the fire was out and determined the cause to be electrical.The driver was able to proceed to the shop.
• On Feb.18, police responded to South Street in Greenport on a report of a possible fight. There they found a “highly agitated” 24-year-old man outside the residence acting in manner consistent with intoxication. He told officers a second man had just beaten up a third man, who was present and had two lacerations and swelling on the left side of his face. The victim refused medial attention and would not provide an account of the incident. The alleged assailant was located and said that there had been an argument that escalated after the victim grabbed his shirt twice. He admitted to striking the victim and was found to have bleeding knuckles, an injury he said was from a previous accident and was aggravated by the incident. During the investigation, a third party arrived and began arguing with the alleged assailant, culminating in mutual pushing and the newcomer striking him, which was documented as a separate police report. Neither party wished to pursue charges so no further action was taken, although police were to check back with the original victim about his injuries.
• A Mattituck woman was awakened by her dog before dawn on Feb.19 and observed a light-colored sedan parked at the end of her dead-end road with its lights on. Later that morning, in full daylight, she called police after noticing footprints in the snow leading to a shed at the rear of her property and to an unlocked storage room connected to the house. Responding officers checked the storage room, finding everything intact. The homeowner declined both to secure the storage room and to check the shed, saying she “hadn’t been in there in years and wouldn’t know if anything was missing.” She requested that the incident be documented.
• A report of a vehicle driving erratically with no lights on resulted in two warrant arrests Feb. 19 about 10:30 p.m. after police found the vehicle parked behind Dime Bank in Greenport. The driver, of East Patchogue, was found to have a suspended license and was issued related traffic tickets. Two glass pipes were found outside the vehicle on a pile of snow.Four passengers in the vehicle gave conflicting reports about who the pipes belonged to and they were disposed of by police. During routine investigation, officers discovered that two passengers had active bench warrants from Suffolk County police. Southold residents Danielle Zurek, 31, and Courtney Zurek, 27, were both placed under arrest and ultimately transported from Southold headquarters to officers at SCPD’s 7th Precinct.
• On Feb. 20 an East Marion man reported a potentially costly larceny scam that was short-circuited by an alert bank employee. After he disputed a charge allegedly made to his account by Norton Antivirus, an unknown subject contacted him to say he had been refunded too much money and asked that he reverse the overpayment by purchasing gift cards, which he did. A few weeks later, the same subject called to tell the victim he had repaid too much money via gift cards and that he would be refunded $2,500. The subject then told the victim that he had made an error entering that amount into his computer and had instead entered $25,000. He again requested reimbursement via gift cards. At that point the man and his wife went to a local bank to ask about a loan, where a staff member identified the transactions as a scam. Police advised the victim to freeze all accounts that may have been compromised. Detectives recommended he shut down his computer and have it scrubbed before using it again and follow guidelines for identity theft paperwork. An investigation continues.

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.