Apprehend Three in Sweep

The East Hampton Town Police Department, with other law-enforcement officers, conducted a sweep against drunken driving on the night before Thanksgiving and early Thanksgiving morning, which resulted in three arrests.

  The sweep, funded by the district attorney’s East End Stop D.W.I. task force, had the town put four more officers on patrol than usual, with an extra officer from the East Hampton Village Police Department and two state troopers. 

Diego G. Gamboa, 25, of Southampton and Jose L. Quito-Capon, 20, of Springs were stopped within minutes of the other early last Thursday for alleged speeding. Mr. Quito-Capon, behind the wheel of a 2006 Audi, was stopped on Springs-Fireplace Road, while Mr. Gamboa, driving a 2002 Subaru, was pulled over on Toilsome Lane in East Hampton Village. 

At police headquarters after being arrested, Mr. Quito-Capon refused to take a breath test, while Mr. Gamboa consented to a test, which indicated .09 of 1 percent alcohol in his blood. The reading is just over .08, which defines intoxication. Mr. Quito-Capon was released after posting $500 in bail; Mr. Gamboa was released without bail.

The men were arraigned on misdemeanor charges in East Hampton Town Justice Court last Thursday morning. Justice Steven Tekulsky suspended Mr. Quito-Capon’s driving privileges for a year due to his refusal to take the breath test. He also was charged with driving without a license as a misdemeanor. 

“If you drive in violation of my order, and are arrested and convicted of that charge alone, you will go to jail. Do you understand that?” Justice Tekulsky asked. However, the justice told Mr. Gamboa that it appeared he would be eligible for a hardship license, allowing him to drive to and from work while the case is being adjudicated. He was released without bail.

The third person arrested during the sweep after a traffic stop was Miriam Pierre. She was charged with unlicensed driving as a misdemeanor, but her arrest report had not been released by press time. 

Although the sweep yielded fewer arrests than might have been expected, there were two additional arrests on drunken driving charges over the holiday weekend. 

Nicole A. Yanaros, 32, of West Babylon and Bridgehampton, was arraigned Sunday morning, and also had her license suspended for the next year.

She had been driving a 2011 Jeep on Abraham’s Path in Amagansett on Saturday night when she allegedly ran the stop sign at Town Lane, leading to the traffic stop and eventual arrest. Ms. Yanaros has two prior alcohol-related convictions, though neither within the past 10 years, meaning the charge remains a misdemeanor. The Jeep was impounded, which is required for alleged repeat offenders. 

Beyond potentially losing her car if convicted, Ms. Yanaros could be facing action from the Department of Motor Vehicles. A third alcohol-related conviction could trigger a lifetime look back by the D.M.V. and result in a suspension of five years or longer. With family members in the courtroom, and an attorney representing her, she was released without bail.

The fourth person arrested over the long holiday weekend was Romulo D. Tubatan, 40, of Sagaponack. Also driving a 2011 Jeep on Abraham’s Path, he was pulled over in Springs for allegedly swerving across a double yellow line Saturday morning. A longtime area resident whose breath test produced a .12 reading, he was released without bail but with a date on Justice Tekulsky’s criminal calendar.