Brawls and Arrests Rain on ParadePolice chief says ‘knuckleheads’ go to Montauk to ‘get drunk and fight’By Janis Hewitt and Taylor K. Vecsey 
Russell Drumm
Seventy officers from New York State, Suffolk County, and South Fork town and village police departments, including some on bicycles, patrolled the streets of Montauk during the St. Patrick’s Day parade Sunday.
|
(03/29/2007) Police made 13 arrests on Sunday during and after the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, which attracted as many as 40,000 people, according to East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris. The arrests ranged from violations of open container laws to assault.
As soon as the crowd started to gather for the 45th annual Montauk Friends of Erin parade, the police knew they would have problems, Chief Sarris said. “There were major issues and major concerns.”
“This is the most arrests I can remember at any time,” the chief said. “It’s too bad, because of lot of families really enjoy it.”
Chief Sarris added that steps have been taken to prevent such trouble from happening at next year’s parade. He said police have spoken with members of the Friends of Erin, and that the group agreed to ask the Metropolitan Transit Authority not to run extra trains to the parade next year.
“It’s mostly the people that get off the trains that cause the most problems,” the chief said. “So many people come out on the train. For a lot of them their only reason is to get drunk and fight.”
Police issued 21 summonses, primarily for under-age drinking and having an open container of alcohol. Chief Sarris said this was more than ever before. The higher number of citations, he said, was a result of the larger than usual crowd combined with an increased police presence; but he is still concerned.
“During the march, we don’t see anything,” said Wayne Schrage, a member of the Friends of Erin. Afterward, however, on a bus that takes the Friends of Erin around to local businesses, he said, “we saw a lot of fights, mostly involving drunken teenagers.”
Mr. Schrage said the group’s goal for next year was to “eliminate the trains.”
In Chief Sarris’s estimation, about 1,200 people came to Montauk on the first train alone. Although the M.T.A. did not allow bags, packs, or containers of alcohol, and several M.T.A. police patrolled the trains, Chief Sarris said some riders arrived inebriated.
About 70 law enforcement officials were on duty Sunday, Chief Sarris said. In addition to town police, there were East Hampton Village, Southampton Village, and Sag Harbor Village police; New York State police; county and state parks police; and officers from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department on patrol.
The most serious incident associated with the parade involved two Mastic residents who allegedly assaulted a Westhampton man.
Douglas Daniels and his girlfriend, Lauren Hoblin, were walking to the Montauk train station Sunday evening when they were accosted by a group of men, according to East Hampton Town Police Detective Sgt. Chris Anderson.
Mr. Daniels was knocked unconscious, and his teeth were driven through his lip. He was taken to Southampton Hospital but was later transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he remained as of Tuesday with a brain hemorrhage and nasal fractures.
Ms. Hoblin, who tried to intervene, got a swollen lip and a bloody nose, police said. She did not press charges.
Police found the two suspects, Michael Williams, 24, and David L. Seymour Jr., 23, at the station trying get on the last train out of Montauk. Three other suspects may have avoided police by getting on the train.
A witness who called police was able to identify two of the men who had allegedly assaulted Mr. Daniels.
Mr. Williams and Mr. Seymour were charged with second-degree assault, a felony. Mr. Seymour was listed on an arrest report as being impaired by alcohol. He was released on Tuesday from county jail in Riverside, where he was being held on $1,000 cash and $5,000 bond. Mr. Williams was released on $1,500 bail.
Detective Anderson said the case was a difficult one to investigate because many of the witnesses did not call police or wait around to be interviewed. “Their interest was getting back on the train,” he said.
Drug Arrests
Police made two drug-related arrests after the parade. Vincent Ciccone of Manorville was charged with third-degree possession of narcotics with intent to sell, a felony.
Police said they saw an unidentified man give Mr. Ciccone “items in a furtive manner, placing them in his left pocket,” in the parking lot of the Memory Motel on Montauk Highway at about 6:25 p.m. They said they questioned Mr. Ciccone, and saw a plastic bag containing a white powder substance, later identified as cocaine, “sticking out of the defendant’s left pants pocket.”
During a search, police allegedly found 18 more bags of cocaine in Mr. Ciccone’s possession. The other man left the parking lot before police could question him. Mr. Ciccone was released Monday morning on $2,000 bail.
While on bicycle patrol on South Elmwood Avenue, Officer Daniel Roman saw Matthew T. Welch of Shirley sniff a “white powdery substance off his finger,” while standing with three other people near a garbage container on the Wave Crest II property, a report said.
When Mr. Welch spotted the officer, he “tossed two small glassine envelopes onto the ground,” said the police, who alleged that the envelopes contained “off-white rocks,” or crack cocaine, and “a white powdery substance” later determined to be cocaine.
Mr. Welch, who is 32, was charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, a felony, at 6:20 p.m. He was held at the village police headquarters, and arraigned the next morning. He was released on $100 bail.
At about 1 p.m. Officers Earl Hopson and Grace LaFemina, assigned to enforce the State Liquor Authority laws, asked a 16-year-old Hampton Bays boy to empty his bottle of Budweiser beer. Jesse R. Rosenberg did so, but then opened another beer bottle, which he was asked to also empty, according to an arrest report. Mr. Rosenberg allegedly emptied the second bottle by pouring the beer on Officer LaFemina’s foot.
After Officer LaFemina identified herself, Mr. Rosenberg tried to punch Officer her in the face, the report said. Both officers tried to place the young man, who they say was impaired by alcohol, under arrest, but he “was flailing his arms and laying on his arms,” refusing officers’ orders, and refusing to be handcuffed, police said.
Mr. Rosenberg was charged with second-degree attempted assault, a felony, resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and a violation of the State Alcoholic Beverage Control law for allegedly consuming alcohol despite being underage. East Hampton Town Justice Catherine A. Cahill arraigned him the next morning, and he was released on $500 bail.
An hour later, police responded to a fight between two men in front of Plaza Sports on Main Street and arrested them both. Police had to separate Nicholas R. Yennie of Montauk Avenue, Sag Harbor, and Timothy B. Molter of Accabonac Road, East Hampton, before charging them with disorderly conduct, a violation.
While handcuffing him, police asked Mr. Yennie, who is 22, if he had anything in his pockets, and he admitted to having “some trees,” according to a police report. A small plastic bag of marijuana was found in his right front pants pocket, and he was additionally charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, another violation, police said. He was released on $250 bail the next day.
Detective Anderson said Mr. Molter, however, racked up a felony attempted assault charge when he tried to “headbutt” an officer when brought to the East Hampton Town Police headquarters in Wainscott.
A police report noted the 22-year-old man was impaired by alcohol, and that he was “uncooperative and belligerent.” In addition, he was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, after he allegedly smashed a pair of sunglasses, and with second-degree obstruction of governmental administration, a misdemeanor. Justice Cahill released him the next morning on $500 bail.
Police also arrested a Southampton man who, they said, was being disruptive while waiting in line for the public bathrooms outside of the Montauk police station on South Embassy Road at about 2:45 p.m. Matthew C. Magee, who is 19, was “highly intoxicated” when he began cursing in front of an officer and young children, police said.
Officers said they had dealt with Mr. Magee once before that day, when he got behind the wheel of an East Hampton Town tow truck. Since he did not turn the engine on, he was not charged with a crime, Chief Sarris said.
Although Mr. Magee was only charged with disorderly conduct, police held him overnight because of his level of intoxication. He was release the next day on $200 bail.
A large crowd formed around a fight at the Point Bar and Grill on Main Street at around 4 p.m. When police tried to separate Jared D. Bartholomew, 21, of Manorville, from the crowd, he told Officer Troy Metzler “to get off him” and pushed him away, a report said. When the officer tried once again, he was greeted with the same response, as well as an elbow to his arm that caused some minor pain, according to police.
“Highly intoxicated and uncooperative,” Mr. Metzler was placed under arrest and charged with second-degree obstruction of governmental administration, a misdemeanor, and second-degree harassment with physical contact, a violation. He was arraigned the next morning, and posted $350 bail.
After observing a disturbance on the corner of Edgemere Road and Main Street, police found John Waggoner of Riverhead bleeding profusely from his nose. The alleged victim told police that Brian P. Sholly, 26, of Bohemia, had punched him, and Mr. Sholly, who was still at the scene, was arrested at about 5:35 p.m.
Meanwhile, John Gallino of Rocky Point arrived and told police that Mr. Sholly had also punched him in the face about five minutes before in front of the Shagwong Restaurant on Main Street.
Mr. Sholly was charged with two counts of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. During a search, police allegedly found a small quantity of alprazolam (the prescription drug commonly know by one if its trade names, Xanax) in a small plastic bag in his pants pocket. A charge of seventh-degree possession of a controlled substance, also a misdemeanor, was added to his troubles. He was released on $500 bail on Monday.
State parks police said they saw Sincere K. Crowell of the Bronx kick Daniel Wood of East Hampton in the face after a fight where Mr. Wood had ended up on the ground in front of the Shagwong Restaurant. The alleged victim was unconscious and bleeding from the mouth when town police arrived, and the Montauk Ambulance Company transported Mr. Wood to Southampton Hospital, where he was treated and released.
Mr. Crowell, 22, was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, at 6:35 p.m. He was also held overnight for arraignment, and released the next morning on $150 bail.
Matthew J. Schmitt of East Hampton reportedly had attended the parade, but he was not involved in an alleged crime until later in the evening on Atlantic Beach in Amagansett. He was said to be impaired by alcohol at the time of his arrest. Brenda A. Jillard of Stonewall Court, East Hampton, went to the Amagansett Fire Department on Montauk Highway for help after Mr. Schmitt, a former boyfriend, picked her up and threw her, “head first,” she said, onto the pavement during an argument in the beach parking lot at around 9:20 p.m., according to a police report.
Police noted that she had some scratches, swelling, and discoloration on her chin, and scratches on both of her knees.
Mr. Schmitt, who is 19 and lives on Oak View Highway, surrendered himself an hour later, and police charged him with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He was held overnight, and released on $200 bail on Monday morning.
In all, the Montauk Ambulance Company responded to six calls, three during the parade and three in the hours that followed.
Chief Sarris said he does not believe canceling the parade is the best solution. “So many people
enjoy the parade, and it’s not fair that a few knuckleheads ruin it for everyone.”