Drivers Charged in Crashes

Car crashes followed by charges of driving while intoxicated once again ruled local roads last week.

On Montauk Highway in Wainscott last Thursday afternoon, Anne L. Maegli’s westbound 2015 Jeep rear-ended a 2015 Nissan hard enough to propel it into the rear of a stopped van. East Hampton Town police said the Montauk resident told them she had been crying at the time and couldn’t see that well: “The guy in front of me stopped short, and I hit him.” Both the Jeep and the Nissan had to be towed.

At police headquarters, a breath test reportedly produced a reading of .14 of 1 percent; a reading of .08 or higher brings a D.W.I. charge.

East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana was holding court in Sag Harbor on Friday, as she does once every two weeks, and Ms. Maegli was taken there for her arraignment. She told the justice that she needed a hardship license in order to drive her dogs to the city, but Justice Rana replied that such a license can be granted for work purposes only. Ms. Maegli, who was a real estate agent for many years, told the court she is now with an interior renovation company and must drive occasionally to Brooklyn. Her attorney, Gordon Ryan, submitted an application for the special license, which was later granted. Ms. Maegli was released without bail, with a nod to her roots in the community.

Another accident in Wainscott, this one on Wainscott-Northwest Road near Southbreeze Drive Sunday evening, ended with a trip to Southampton Hospital for Christopher M. Holmes, 26, ofSouthampton. Driving a 2005 Chevrolet, Mr. Holmes crashed deep into the woods, Capt. Chris Anderson said yesterday. When police found the car, Mr. Holmes was gone. They contacted his family, and were told Mr. Holmes was being driven to the hospital. The destroyed Chevrolet was linked to two earlier hit-and-run collisions with other cars, the captain said. After being interviewed at the hospital, where he was admitted, he was placed under arrest on multiple charges, to be arraigned at a future date.

A Wainscott man, uncertain of his address during his Sunday-morning arraignment on two felony charges including D.W.I., has spent the last five days in jail. Pablo Jose Riera, 40, driving a 2004 Nissan van, was pulled over on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Highway in Springs Saturday night; police said he was spotted tailgating and swerving before they stopped him. He refused to take the breath test.

“You are charged with a class D felony, driving while intoxicated, based upon two prior convictions for driving while intoxicated, including one prior felony,” Justice Steven Tekulsky told him the next morning. Mr. Riera was convicted of felony D.W.I in October 2014. “Also aggravated unlicensed operation, also a felony,” Justice Tekulsky continued. “Mr. Riera, even though you had no privileges to begin with, that didn’t stop you from driving. I am once again suspending your privilege to drive a motor vehicle in the State of New York.”

As the court was setting bail, the question of Mr. Riera’s address came up. “I just moved, and I don’t know the address exactly,” said the defendant. “Had you been living at 26 Tyrone Drive?” Justice Tekulsky asked, which was the address in Springs in the papers before him. “No.” “Where do you live?” “It is around Wainscott, but I don’t know the address, exactly.”

“Sir, if I wanted to mail a thousand dollars to you, is there someplace where I could mail it and you would get it?” No, was the answer.

“The district attorney’s office has made a bail recommendation of $20,000,” Justice Tekulsky said. “Frankly, based upon the fact that you have no license and you have two prior convictions, it would appear to me the likelihood of your going to jail is pretty high. You don’t even know where you live and there is no way to mail anything to you. I am going to set bail at $20,000.”

Mr. Riera is due back in court today. If there is no grand jury indictment against him by tomorrow he will be released, with a future date on Justice Tekulsky’s criminal calendar.

Manuel G. Chiriboga of Sag Harbor, 54, was driving a 2008 Honda on Old Fireplace Road in Springs, which is essentially one large curve. Failing to negotiate it early Sunday morning, he veered off the road and crashed. When police arrived the car was gone, but they soon found it, with its driver, a couple of blocks away on Springs-Fireplace Road, with extensive front-end damage.

The breath test produced a .17 reading, police said. Mr. Chiriboga has no license, Justice Tekulsky noted later that morning. “Let me make it clear to you, Mr. Chiriboga, if you drive without a license while this case is pending, and you are found guilty of that charge, I will send you to jail. You understand that?” “Yes,” was the answer. Bail was set at $250, which was posted.

Bert E. Rodov, 34, driving a 2015 Mercedes-Benz, reportedly ran a few stop signs and failed to signal a couple of turns in downtown Montauk early Monday morning before police stopped the car. His breath test was said to have produced a .13 reading. He told Justice Tekulsky he was a restaurateur and the C.E.O. of SGM Holdings, with an interest in Elm & Main, a weekend nightclub in Southampton.

The court noted that the Douglaston man had a felony arrest in Las Vegas, among other brushes with the law, and set bail at $1,500, which was posted.

A Manhattan man preparing to attend graduate school spent Friday night in a holding cell in Wainscott. Thomas A. LaBranche was charged with drunken driving early Saturday morning after failing to signal a turn onto Accabonac Road, town police said, adding that his breath test registered .17, just below the .18 reading that would have triggered the more serious misdemeanor charge of aggravated drunken driving. He was released on $250 bail.

Gian Lombardi of New York was arrested Sunday morning after being stopped on Main Street in Amagansett. He refused to take the breath test, resulting in an automatic license suspension. “You’re not eligible for a hardship license, based on your refusal,” Justice Tekulsky told him.

Though he has a New York address, Mr. Lombardi has a lifelong connection to the East End, and Justice Tekulsky freed him without bail, but with a date on his increasingly busy criminal calendar.