Caught on the Road – Again

A Springs man with a long history of unlicensed driving is again facing the charge, this time as a felony.

Damacio Urizar-Reyes, 39, failed roadside sobriety tests Monday night after East Hampton Town police stopped him on Floyd Street in East Hampton for a traffic infraction, they said. The breath test at headquarters reportedly produced a reading of .08, the very number that defines intoxication, leading to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving.

Mr. Urizar-Reyes has been arrested before on the same charge. Though that case, apparently heard in Southampton, was ultimately recorded as a violation, he was given an alcohol-related suspension. Since he has again been charged with drunken driving, the corresponding charge of unlicensed driving is a felony. 

“You have been arrested and charged with driving without a license at least 10 other times,” Justice Steven Tekulsky said at his arraignment. “I am ordering you not to drive any further. . . . I can assure you that if you drive again in violation of this court’s order, and you are convicted of that charge, you will definitely go to jail. No doubt about it. Do you understand that?” 

“Yes,” Mr. Urizar-Reyes replied through a translator.

“Your days of driving without a license are over,” the court reiterated. “If you decide to put a key into the ignition of a car, that is the same as if you are opening your jail cell with that same key.”

The district attorney’s office called in a request to have bail set at $10,000. Matt D’Amato, the Legal Aid Society lawyer who represented Mr. Urizar-Reyes, asked that bail be set at a lower amount, suggesting $2,500. “My client has been living in the town of East Hampton in the same house for 14 years,” Mr. D’Amato said. “He is married with three children. His wife is in court today to support him. He also has two brothers here in court, as well.”

Justice Tekulsky set bail at $5,000, which was posted.

Police made a traffic stop in Northwest Woods last Thursday night that also led to misdemeanor D.W.I. charges for the driver, Alfonso Garcia-Aguilar, 32, whose 2005 Ford was reportedly spotted on Three Mile Harbor Drive near Charter Lane with its headlights off. The driver’s Breathalyzer test at headquarters produced a reading of .13, police said. Charged additionally with misdemeanor unlicensed driving, he was released Friday morning after posting $500 bail. 

East Hampton Village police charged Jonathan Javier Llappa-Villa, 21, on Sunday night after allegedly seeing his 2001 Toyota pickup swerving across lane lines on Pantigo Road. The arresting officer said there was an open bottle of Corona beer in the car, as well as “many empties.” The breath test at Cedar Street headquarters registered .14, according to police, who also charged Mr. Lappa-Villa with misdemeanor unlicensed driving. His employer was in the courtroom for his morning arraignment, and posted $500 bail for his release.

Jaquelin S. Buda of Springs, 35, was arrested early Saturday morning after her 2002 Saab turned from Stephen Hand’s Path into Cedar Street in East Hampton without her signaling, town police said. Her breath test at headquarters produced a reading of .09, according to the report. Justice Tekulsky released her without bail later that day, citing her ties in the community, the fact that this was her first brush with the law, and the relatively low reading.