A call last Thursday afternoon from a Town Lane house had East Hampton Village officers on the lookout for a man driving a 1997 Lincoln. Their report of the incident states that they wanted to “check his well-being.”
The Lincoln was spotted at the Mobil station at Montauk Highway and Toilsome Lane. After speaking with the man, Andrew J. Bonertz, 27, the officer had him perform sobriety tests, which he failed. Back at headquarters, he reportedly refused to take a breath test.
According to court files, Mr. Bonertz has a record of arrests in Connecticut. He was arrested in that state in 2010 and again in 2011 on multiple charges, including burglary and weapons possession. In 2013 he pleaded no contest to the charges, not admitting guilt but accepting the sentence of the court to six years in state prison, including time served. It is not clear when he was released, but he did not serve the maximum sentence.
The D.W.I. charge against him is a misdemeanor. Bail was set at $750, which was posted.
Early on the morning of Feb. 15, East Hampton Town police arrested a Springs woman, Shawn C. Riddle, 31, on a misdemeanor charge of aggravated drunken driving. According to the report, her 2011 Mitsubishi was headed north on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road in Springs when it swerved off the road, onto the shoulder, and back again before being pulled over. Police said she failed roadside sobriety tests.
“I had two vodka sodas at work,” she reportedly told the arresting officer, adding, “I maybe had more than that.”
At headquarters in Wainscott, a breath test produced a reading of .23, almost three times the .08 number that defines intoxication and well over the .18 figure that raises the charge to a higher level.
Ms. Riddle does not have a prior record of drunken driving. At her arraignment later that morning, East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana suspended her driving privileges and set bail at $350, which was met.
An East Islip woman faces the same charge after her arrest on Saturday night in East Hampton Village. Shannon Marie Rucky, 30, was seen tailgating near CVS, according to village police, and then crossing the hazard markings at the intersection of Main Street and Newtown Lane.
Her 2015 Honda continued west, now followed by a patrol car. Police said she accelerated and passed several vehicles, committing a number of traffic infractions in the process. She was finally pulled over on Montauk Highway near Buckskill Road.
The arresting officer charged her with nine moving violations along with the charge of driving while intoxicated, which was raised to the aggravated level, police said, after her breath test produced a reading in excess of .18. Justice Steven Tekulsky suspended her license during her Sunday morning arraignment before releasing her without bail.
Also arrested this past week on drunken-driving charges was Stevenson B. Ma of Staten Island, 33, whose 2015 Nissan was stopped on Three Mile Harbor Road near Abraham’s Path in East Hampton after crossing the double yellow line, according to town police. His breath test produced a reported reading of .11, and he spent the night in a holding cell before being freed in the morning, without bail, but with a future date on Justice Tekulsky’s criminal calendar.
