Cabbie Confrontation

A number of car crashes on local roads ended in alcohol-related charges over the holiday week.

Early Tuesday, according to East Hampton Town police, Richard A. Hebson, 32, left Liar’s Saloon in Montauk at closing time, got into a 2015 Dodge pickup, backed it into a Moko mini-van taxi, damaging it, and drove off. The taxi driver, Andrew Robb, who had been parked waiting for a fare, followed the pickup to a parking lot on Wells Avenue in the dock area. Mr. Robb stated to police that he confronted Mr. Hebson, demanding that he pay for the damage done to his taxi. “He said he didn’t have any money,” Mr. Robb stated. At headquarters, Mr. Hebson’s breath test produced a reported reading of .16, twice the number that defines intoxication. 

At Mr. Hebson’s arraignment later that day, Rudy Migliore Jr., the prosecuting attorney, asked for bail of $1,500, noting that Mr. Hebson, who has been staying at the White Sands on Napeague, has had several out-of-state brushes with the law, including a charge of driving under the influence on Martha’s Vineyard in 2009. 

East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana expressed frustration with the criminal record she had been supplied, which listed arrests, including an unspecified felony charge in California, but not adjudications. Matt D’Amato, a Legal Aid lawyer, told the court Mr. Hebson has been working for some time in Montauk and was going to hire an attorney. Bail was set at $500.

Early on Labor Day, Sag Harbor Village police investigating a car crash on Madison Street said they found Emily Rewinski, 18, behind the wheel of a 2016 Honda Civic, that had struck a parked car, propelling it into another parked car. Ms. Rewinski told the officer that the car she hit was “too far out into the street,” according to police. She refused to take roadside sobriety tests, but did consent to a roadside breath test, which, police said, produced a reading well over .18. 

A roadside breath test is generally not admissible evidence in court. Back at Division Street headquarters, Ms. Rewinski allegedly refused to take the Intoxilyzer 9000 breath test, which is. She also refused to sign any documents, repeatedly asking to speak with her mother, police said. Multiple attempts were made to reach the mother, without success.

The Bridgehampton teen was freed later that morning without bail, but with a date on the village’s criminal calendar. Her license has been suspended for at least the next year. 

Sag Harbor police also arrested Ronald R. Ordonez, 26, of Southampton, on the same misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. That arrest was made early Friday morning, following a report of an erratic driver on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike. Police found the car that had been described, a Nissan, on Main Street, where, they said, it was swerving across the road. At headquarters, Mr. Ordonez initially consented to take the breath test, but reportedly held his breath instead of blowing into the machine. He was released later that morning after posting $250 bail.

Lynne R. Davidson, 74, of Manhattan was arraigned last Thursday morning after crashing her 1991 Volvo sedan into woods off Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road in Springs the night before. Police said her breath test registered .18, and charged her with misdemeanor aggravated drunken driving. She was released without bail. 

Town police arrested Richard Stephen Wilson of Noyac Sunday evening, the day after his 31st birthday, saying he was behind the wheel of a 2003 Ford stopped, engine running, in the middle of the Stephen Hand’s Path-Two Holes of Water Road intersection. Charged with driving while high on drugs, he refused to take any chemical test at headquarters, according to police, who said they found a hypodermic needle in the car, leading to another misdemeanor charge. 

A similar charge against Mr. Wilson was adjudicated in Southampton Town’s special drug court. He told Justice Rana he has been going to Narcotics Anonymous regularly. “You obviously need a higher level of treatment,” she told him, sounding concerned. “If you don’t do it, you’re going to die.” Bail was set and posted at $500.

Also charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. was Laraine Creegan, 70, of Montauk. Driving a 2015 Lexus north on Edgemere Street in the hamlet, she was pulled over Friday night after police said she had been crossing the double yellow line. Her reading was slightly over the .08 level that leads to a D.W.I. charge. Her lawyer, Rita Bonicelli, applied for and was granted a hardship license that will allow Ms. Creegan to drive to and from work while her case is being resolved.  She was released without bail. 

Finally, Michael Tibbetts, 34, of Sag Harbor was stopped early Sunday morning on Further Lane in East Hampton; the arresting officer said his 2006 Dodge was swerving. His .09 reading was the lowest of the week. He was released without bail.