Blotter: ELIH Opportunity Shop thief caught

The following are among the incidents to which Southold Town police responded between April 6 and April 13:

• Police responded April 8 to a call from the facility manager about a possible larceny at the ELIH Opportunity Shop in Greenport. Upon arrival, officers reviewed security camera footage, which confirmed the larceny. Although the manager declined to press charges, he requested that the perpetrator be trespassed from the premises. She was advised of same by phone because she does not live in the area, and told that if she returned to the store she would be arrested. A Notice of Trespass was executed and police offered to facilitate return of the stolen property.
• A conflict between neighbors brought police to Greenport April 6. A woman reported that a neighbor with whom she had a dispute was parked and sitting in his car in front of her house. Officers observed this upon arrival, and the woman told them that she had recently parked her car on a nearby road to use the right of way to the beach, and when she returned, the neighbor was there and began yelling at her for parking in the street. After they exchanged words, she returned home and the neighbor followed her and proceeded to sit in his car outside her house. Officer spoke with the neighbor, who said it “makes him uncomfortable” when people park on the road behind his house, and he parked outside her house to “show her how it feels.” Offices explained that the right of way is a public road and it is legal to park there. They called his actions “inappropriate” and asked him to leave, which he did. They then suggested to the woman that in the future, she park on the other site of that roadway, away from the neighbor’s house, to which she agreed.
• A mother and adult son were evacuated from a Cutchogue residence April 7 after calling police to report smoke in the basement. Officers and the Cutchogue Fire Department responded to find a malfunctioning oil burner and a high carbon monoxide reading inside the house. The burner was shut off, the house was ventilated and the mother was treated at the scene for possible smoke/CO2 inhalation. The residence was then deemed safe for reentry.
• A man was reported sleeping in a vehicle n the Southold 7-Eleven parking lot on April 9 about 11:20 p.m. Responding officers learned that the caller had tried unsuccessfully to awaken the man, who they found in asleep in the driver’s seat of the running vehicle. After being awakened by an officer with a “sternum rub,” the driver was allegedly observed to have bloodshot, glassy eyes and the odor of alcohol on his breath. An open container of alcohol was allegedly seen in the vehicle’s cup holder. The driver, identified as Eder Lopeztocay of Southold, 27, was unsteady on his feet upon exiting the vehicle and performed poorly on field sobriety tests. He was placed under arrest for alleged driving while intoxicated, taken to police headquarters for processing and held for arraignment. The vehicle was taken to the police impound.
• A man called police April 8 to report that he was being “held against my will” while seated in his vehicle parked in the rear lot of the Menhaden Hotel in Greenport. Responding officers spoke with the man as well as with the hotel manager. The manager said he had positioned his own car directly behind the complainant’s, restricting his ability to leave, to emphasize the point that the parking was for hotel guests only. The man allegedly became irate, according to the manager, and a verbal dispute ensued, during which the complainant cursed at him. He requested a Notice of Trespass, which was signed and communicated. The complainant was advised that he would be subject to arrest if he returned to the premises.
• While on speed enforcement patrol April 11 about 7 p.m., at the intersection of Lipco Road and Route 48, an officer observed a westbound vehicle traveling at high speed, which left its lane and made contact with the grassy median, kicking up dirt. The officer began pursuit and the vehicle was observed on the right shoulder, entering a strip mall parking lot, driving behind the businesses and stopping alongside Wendy’s Deli, where a traffic stop was initiated. The driver allegedly exited the vehicle and began to walk away, continuing despite repeated orders to return to the car. The officer approached the subject and attempted to cuff him, but he allegedly resisted, leading to a physical altercation on the ground. A second officer assisted in effecting an arrest of the subject, identified as Cristian Ortiz-Romero, 27, of Riverhead. Mr. Ortiz-Romero was placed under arrest for alleged obstruction of a government official and alleged driving while intoxicated and transported to headquarters for processing.

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.