Fled Crash at Deep Hollow, Say Police, Walked 3 Miles

A 19-year-old who fled a crash near Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk and stumbled in the dark for over three miles before police caught up with him was arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court last Thursday on multiple charges.

Shane Cavanaugh of Sag Harbor stands accused of driving while intoxicated with a minor in the car, a felony, as well as possession of a controlled substance and leaving the scene of an accident. Police reported that “there were no occupants inside or around the car” when they arrived, but that his 15-year-old female passenger was soon found near the ranch. 

Mr. Cavanaugh was on probation at the time, after being charged with a number of felonies in Southampton. 

The incident began, according to Detective Sgt. Greg Schaefer, when Mr. Cavanaugh’s 2006 BMW sped past a patrol car on Route 27, east of the hamlet near the ranch. When the officer set off her siren and pursued, he veered off the road and around a fenced-in cattle area that leads to a dead end. He lost control on the first sharp turn in the road, near 16 Old Montauk Highway, crashing through woods and into a tree.

Three hours later, just before midnight on Oct. 19, police received a 911 call from Inlet Seafood, near the end of East Lake Drive, reporting an injured person. At 1:43 a.m. on Oct. 20, an ambulance arrived, and Mr. Cavanaugh was taken to Southampton Hospital, accompanied by the arresting officer. Once there, according to his court file, he refused to allow blood to be drawn to test the levels of drugs and alcohol in his system. 

In light of his having violated the sentence of probation, he was not released after treatment. Instead, Suffolk County sheriffs picked him up at the hospital and took him to the county jail in Riverside, where he remained until they brought him back to East Hampton to be arraigned.

Sheila Giuffrida, his Legal Aid Society lawyer, told Justice Lisa R. Rana that the county court justice who had imposed probation had agreed to release Mr. Cavanaugh on condition he immediately enter an in-patient drug treatment center. There was a bed available at Phoenix House, Ms. Giuffrida said, asking that he be sent there and that no bail be set. 

Adriana Noyola, the prosecutor from the district attorney’s office, disagreed, asking for bail of $5,000 in light of the defendant’s criminal history. “I have a lot of concerns here,” Justice Rana said. “I understand he needs treatment, but these are very serious charges.” She set bail at the requested amount and issued an order of protection for the teenage girl, requiring Mr. Cavanaugh to have no further contact with her.

Mr. Cavanaugh has since been moved from the jail in Riverside to the one in Yaphank, where he remains. Police are still investigating, Detective Schaefer said. Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call police at 631-537-7575; all calls will be kept confidential.

A Wainscott woman, Adele Robin Filasky, 64, faces a felony charge after being arrested on the evening of Oct. 26, her second alcohol-related arrest, police said, in four months. The officer who pulled her over on Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton said she was swerving across lane lines and had flicked a lit cigarette from her car, bringing on an additional charge of littering, a violation.

At headquarters, her breath test gave a reading of .07, just below the .08 level that defines intoxication. Instead, she was charged with driving while ability impaired by alcohol, which is considered a violation, not a crime. However, because her license was suspended after the first arrest and has not been restored since, and because the new charge is alcohol related, she was charged with felony unlicensed driving. She was released two hours after her arrest and will be arraigned on Nov. 16. 

Police charged Julio Garcia-Lugo of East Hampton with D.W.I. that same day after stopping his 2005 Toyota on Hedges Lane in Wainscott for swerving, they said, but freed him soon after, apparently to get him to the hospital. The charges indicate that he refused to take the breath test at headquarters and officers said they were concerned about his health. He is scheduled for arraignment on Nov. 17.

Sag Harbor police arrested a Maryland man, Noe Pedro-Gaspar, whose 2001 Volkswagen was reportedly swerving across the double yellow lines on Hampton Street a little after midnight Friday. At headquarters, his breath test topped a .18 reading, raising the misdemeanor drunken-driving charge to the aggravated level. He was also charged with misdemeanor unlicensed driving, and was released on Saturday after posting $300 bail. 

Ernesto X. Pulla-Vizcho, 31, faces the same charge; town police said they stopped his 2000 Honda Sunday afternoon on Pantigo Road for swerving. The Sag Harbor resident’s breath test at headquarters reportedly produced a high reading of .18. He was released after posting $500 bail.

Ryan Christopher Marcotrigiano of New Suffolk, 23, was arrested at 2:40 a.m. on Friday as his 1999 Jeep was headed out of Montauk. It ran out of gas east of the recycling center, he told the officer who pulled in behind him to assist, but who became suspicious and asked the driver to perform sobriety tests. The breath test was said to produce a reading of .17. When Mr. Marcotrigiano was searched, police said they found a small quantity of cocaine in his pocket, and added a misdemeanor drug possession charge. 

Justice Rana took note of his ties in the community at his arraignment later that morning and freed him without bail, warning him to stay out of trouble. He has a future date on her criminal calendar.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Mr. Marcotrigiano's last name.