Back in Court Again

A Noyac man convicted a little over a year ago on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge will be back before East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana today on the same charge, this time classified as a felony.

At about 2 a.m. on Sept. 5, Daniel E. Gentile, 29, was operating a 2017 Kawasaki motorcycle, owned by a 90-year-old relative in Manorville, in East Hampton. East Hampton Town police said he was speeding as he drove north on Accabonac Road and failed to negotiate a turn near Banks Court. He was ejected from the bike and was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital with a severe injury to his left leg. Police noted that he had refused to take a Breathalyzer test at headquarters.

In August 2015, Mr. Gentile was charged after being found asleep behind the wheel of a Pontiac, the engine running, on Hand’s Creek Road in East Hampton. Justice Rana told him at the time that “the problem is, your history is not good,”� and that he was going to end up in jail.

That is just what happened. Mr. Gentile pleaded guilty the following April to misdemeanor D.W.I. and was sentenced to 120 days in jail, a $1,000 fine, and a six-month license revocation. 

Edison G. Cardenas-Villa, 28, of East Hampton was being held in jail this week in lieu of $12,000 bail, after police charged him with both drunken driving and having a forged inspection certificate. His 2002 Honda was pulled over Sunday night on Abraham’s Path near Town Lane in Amagansett; police said he performed poorly on all field sobriety tests.

The officer reported that his New York State inspection sticker had been issued to a different Honda, a 2008 model, and that his license had been suspended twice, in October 2016 for driving while ability impaired and again in January for failure to pay the fine. 

He was charged with two felonies, one for aggravated unlicensed operation and the other for possession of a forged instrument, and two misdemeanors, for drunken driving and displaying a forged certificate. Unable to post bail, he was turned over to the county sheriff�s office.

Early on Sunday, shortly after 5 a.m., Sag Harbor Village police arrested and charged a 45-year-old man with felony aggravated D.W.I. Chief Austin McGuire said Jose Guzman of Sag Harbor, who was pulled over on Atlantic Avenue, had been convicted of D.W.I. in East Hampton in February 2015. He reportedly had a blood-alcohol level of .20. Mr. Guzman is in custody at the county jail in Riverside, unable to come up with $10,000 bail.

Ralphaelo A. Hance, 37, of Montauk, was arrested on Napeague last Thursday on a misdemeanor D.W.I. charge. At 6:45 a.m., according to police, Mr. Hance’s eastbound 2007 Suzuki was clocked at 72 miles per hour in a 55 m.p.h. zone, and he was pulled over near Marlin Drive. The officer conducted field sobriety tests and found he performed poorly. He was later released on his own recognizance. 

Eleanor L. Taylor of Manhattan, 30, was stopped on Main Street in East Hampton Village Saturday night for driving without taillights, according to police, who said she appeared intoxicated. She refused to take a breath test, they said. She was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. and cited for the traffic violation. Justice Rana released her on her own recognizance the next morning.

     With reporting by Jackie Pape