Blotter: Cops called on near wardrobe malfunction

Southold Town police responded to 92 calls during the week from Aug. 3 to Aug. 10, ranging from loud music/noise and accidental 911s to Flock camera damage, lost/found property, illegal parking and some complaints about door-to-door business solicitations. The following incidents were also reported:

Police were contacted Aug. 3 by a Southold business where an elderly man had become agitated after calling two local cab service companies to pick him up, neither of which came to the location. Responding officers offered to escort the man and his companion to their residence.

Police were called to Greenport Aug 3 on a report of a shirtless man wearing black pants who appeared to be exposing himself. Officers arrived and identified the subject, who stated that he was just pulling up his sweatpants, which were loose and hanging low. The man was advised to tighten the drawstring and to wear properly fitting pants.

An anonymous call about an active fight brought police to the Adams Street parking lot in Greenport Aug. 3, where officers found a man standing at the rear of a vehicle who was observed to have a small laceration below his right eye and a bleeding bottom lip. A second man then emerged from rear driver’s side of the vehicle and was observed to have lacerations on his neck. Both were reportedly highly intoxicated and uncooperative. The first man stated that the second had struck him with a closed fist to the eye. The second man did not elaborate on how he received his injury, but said they had been “playing around” and things escalated into a fight. One man said they were friends; the other claimed they didn’t know each other. Both refused medical attention and both denied possession of the vehicle that was parked and running at the location,which they said belonged to a friend who was not present. Officers removed he keys from the vehicle and secured it, and took the keys for safekeeping until the owner could be contacted. One man left the scene on foot and the other was transported by police to his residence.

The manager of a Peconic winery called police Aug. 4 to report that a couple had left the premises the previous day about 4:30 p.m. without paying their $95 bill for two wine flights and a cheese plate. He provided video footage of the man and woman, both wearing black sunglasses, leaving in a black Chevrolet Suburban, but the video did not pick up the plate number. The manager said he would look for additional relevant footage and declined to pursue charges at the time.

On Aug. 6, about 11 a.m., an officer on patrol observed a driver “aggressively” tailgating the car ahead of him and “drastically’” driving on the shoulder of the road, and not wearing a seat belt. The vehicle was stopped and the driver, a 41-year-old Southold resident, was observed to be bleeding from the top of his head. He could not say where he was coming from or how he had been injured. The officer suspected impairment by drugs or alcohol, as the driver performed poorly on parts of standard field sobriety tests and “could barely open his eyes” during the horizontal gaze potion of the test. However, a preliminary blood test conducted at the scene registered zero and the man denied taking any drugs or medications. There was also no indication that the vehicle had been in an accident. Greenport Fire Department responded and transported the driver to ELIH for evaluation.

An East Marion man called police Aug. 6 after his Ring camera recorded four people coming into his backyard and taking photos of the water and his residence. He also reported that on July 16, an unknown woman walking on the private road carrying a beach chair had spoken to him and said he “had a nice house.” He wanted both incidents documented.

A larceny was reported Aug. 6 on Fishers Island, where a local business owner reported the possible theft of three pieces from a jewelry vendor’s collection: a necklace and two pairs of earrings. The vendor showed responding officers her products and photos of the missing pieces and told them she believed the thief to be a female between 50 and 60 years old wearing a white outfit, including a white shirt with a red accent pattern. Officers spoke with the island ferry manager to request surveillance footage that might show a woman matching that description. No charges have been filed but investigation is ongoing.

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.