Arrests on the Roads Keep Police as Busy as in Summer

The first frost may be upon us, but police were nevertheless busy on the roads at a level usually seen during the summer. East Hampton Town police made six arrests on drunken driving charges in the course of the last week and Sag Harbor Village added two more. Two of those arrested by town police were charged at the felony level as repeat offenders.

Justin M. Jones, 46, of East Quogue pulled out of the 7-Eleven parking lot in Montauk headed east early Friday morning, according to police, who said he was stopped because he made a wide turn leaving the lot and drove onto the shoulder of the road across the street. He failed roadside sobriety tests and a breath test at police headquarters after his arrest produced an alleged reading of .12 of 1 percent, surpassing the .08 level that defines intoxication. 

Because he had been convicted of driving while intoxicated within the last  10 years, in 2008, the new charge was a felony. His license had been suspended for failing to answer a summons out of Manhattan last month, the police said, and he also was charged with unlicensed driving as a misdemeanor.

Mr. Jones’s history of arrests and convictions, at both the misdemeanor and felony levels, with at least two prior felony convictions, caused East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana to order him to county jail without bail. Bail has since been set in county court at $5,000, with a $10,000 bond as an alternative, which was posted.

The other person charged by town police with felony D.W.I. was Curtis Manley, 46, of Springs. Driving a 2013 Chevrolet on Halloween night, police said he made an erratic turn off Abraham’s Path onto High Street, just a few blocks from his house. After his arrest, his breath test at headquarters allegedly produced a .22 reading, high enough to warrant a charge of aggravated drunken driving. Because he had a prior conviction for D.W.I. in the Bronx, he is facing felony charges. Bail was set and posted at $5,000.

In other cases of alleged drunken driving, Reinaldo A. Paredes-Tene­paguay, 26, of Springs was driving a 2000 Chevrolet pickup early Sunday morning on Springs-Fireplace Road when he failed to signal a turn onto Bowling Green Place, according to police, then failed to so again onto Ocean View Avenue. When the arresting officer pulled him over, Mr. Paredes-Tenepaguay allegedly began to run off but was caught nearby. His breath test at headquarters produced a .15 reading, police said. “I’ve been drinking Coronas at a party and got nervous. That’s why I ran,” he told the arresting officer, according to the report. Bail of $200 was posted.

George Anthony Goltsos, 61, of East Hampton was riding a 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle Saturday evening. Police said that as he pulled out of the parking lot of Nick and Toni’s restaurant on North Main Street, his chopper tipped to the right, and he and the cycle hit the ground. An East Hampton Town police officer said Mr. Goltsos refused to perform roadside sobriety tests and he also was reported to have refused to take a breath test at headquarters after his arrest. He was quoted as saying, “No. I have no reason to.”

Mr. Goltsos has multiple prior convictions for driving while intoxicated, as well as the lesser charge of driving with ability impaired, a violation. “Those alcohol related convictions are going to complicate things,” Justice Rana said as she agreed to release him without bail due to his strong ties to the community and the fact that, as she said, “Those priors are old. Very old.”

An officer on patrol early Saturday morning came upon a 2002 Pontiac stopped on the side of Indian Wells Highway near Bluff Road in Amagansett. With the engine running, Juan J. Romero-Duchi, 26, of East Hampton was behind the wheel. “I had four or five beers,” he reportedly told the arresting officer. At police headquarters, he complained of feeling woozy and was sent to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. There, he agreed to have blood drawn, police said. After being treated, he was released back to police custody and freed after putting up $200 bail later that morning. 

Two men were arraigned this past week in East Hampton Town Justice Court after being arrested in separate incidents in Montauk. Both said they were in Montauk to go fishing. Raymond Alan Rovito of Ridgefield Park, N.J., who turns 59 Tuesday, was driving a 2012 Subaru Outback the night before on Flamingo Avenue, according to police, headed toward the docks when he was stopped and charged with multiple traffic violations, including speeding. His breath test produced a reading of .16 at police headquarters and a search of his property revealed a folded dollar bill that  contained a white powder, police said. A misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance was added to the charges.

At his arraignment, however, Matt D’Amato of the Legal Aid Society, representing Mr. Rovito, pointed out that police had failed to provide documentation that a test had been performed to determine the content of the powder. “They are not even specifying what the controlled substance is,” he said. Justice Rana agreed that the charge was problematic, an issue that will likely be taken up at Mr. Rovito’s next court appearance. He was released without bail.

Gustav W. Plagainos, 59, of Staten Island, driving a 2003 Mazda early Tuesday morning, was the other person headed toward the Montauk docks for a day of fishing when he was arrested for allegedly driving with his headlights off. His breath test after his arrest produced a .12 of 1 percent reading, police said. He was released without bail.

The two men arrested by Sag Harbor police were James B. Sleight, 48, of East Quogue and Sag Harbor and Robert J. Schneider, 47, of Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Mr. Sleight was behind the wheel of a 2003 Chevrolet on Madison Street Friday evening, moving at 39 miles per hour where the limit is 20, according to police. He refused roadside sobriety tests “and was rambling on in speech and not making complete sentences,” the arresting officer wrote.

About seven hours later while behind the wheel of a parked 2017 Chevrolet Bolt in front of Muse restaurant on Main Street, Mr. Schneider allegedly backed out across the double yellow lines, then headed north without turning on the headlights. He was pulled over on Ferry Road, where he also was said to have failed roadside sobriety tests. As with Mr. Sleight, he refused to take a breath test at headquarters, police said. 

As it turned out, the men know each other, making their Saturday morning arraignment by Justice Rana in the village’s Justice Court something of a reunion. Both were represented by Edward Burke Jr. While it was Mr. Schneider’s first encounter with the law, Justice Rana said Mr. Sleight had past issues, including a period of probation. She asked him to post $500 bail, while freeing Mr. Schneider. Each was given a future date on her criminal calendar.