A Southampton man who had been charged with drunken driving Monday night hit a Sag Harbor Village police officer in the face while in custody, according to village police.Officers arrested Rafael A. Valdespino, 50, after responding, at about 11:20 p.m., to a complaint of a suspicious vehicle on Madison Street. They reportedly found Mr. Valdespino asleep behind the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee parked in the driveway of 115 Madison Street, with its ignition and lights on and music playing inside. Police said they saw an empty bottle of wine, as well as a tall glass of “clear liquid” in the cupholder, within reach of the sleeping man. An officer woke him up and could smell alcohol on his breath, the report said, adding that Mr. Valdespino performed poorly on field sobriety tests. Back at headquarters, his blood-alcohol level was above .18, leading to an aggravated charge of driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. Police said he struck an officer with his left elbow, hitting the officer in the left eye, causing redness and swelling. He was additionally charged with harassment in the second degree, a violation. Mr. Valdespino was arraigned in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court the next morning by Justice Lisa R. Rana, who released him on his own recognizance.On April 15 at about 5:30 p.m., a single-car accident on Old Stone Highway in Springs led to a drunken-driving charge. Jessica E. Rubio, 32, who lives in the hamlet, was headed east in a 2008 Nissan sedan when she crashed into a split-rail fence just east of Springs-Fireplace Road. She was the sole occupant of the car and was not hurt. Ms. Rubio was charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, an infraction. She was released on her own recognizance and she will be arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court on May 8.Christoth Y. Potharas, 38, of Leonia, N.J., was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. in Montauk on April 9. According to East Hampton Town police, his 2005 Subaru became disabled on Old Montauk Highway, near Davis Drive. The car had white marks on the front bumper and damage to the driver’s side wheel. Mr. Potharas told police he had hit something, but he was not able to say what it was. He was standing by the car when police first spoke to him, the report said. Mr. Potharas was released on his own recognizance and taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for evaluation. He appeared in court last Thursday and is due back on May 16.
A smattering of news involving the village's Police and Emergency Services Departments came out of an East Hampton Village Board meeting that was otherwise focused on avoiding the need for residents to call the police for noise complaints in the historic district.
Squirrels, porch pirates, injured seals, drones, missing White Claws, and more in this week's police logs.
A 27-year-old East Hampton woman was injured overnight when she crashed her car into a tree on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road, East Hampton Town police said Thursday morning.
On Pantigo Road near Bostwick’s, a 38-year-old man who appeared to be intoxicated was questioned by police on the afternoon of April 7. He said he wasn’t causing trouble, just canvassing businesses looking for work. Police drove him back to his house. Eight days before, the same man had been seen opening a storage shed and walk-in cooler behind Rowdy Hall in Amagansett, and he was later accused of taking 20 containers of beer and four containers of iced tea. According to the official report, petty larceny charges may be pending.
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