Four D.W.I. Arrests in Five Days

East Hampton Town police charged four motorists with drunken driving between last Thursday and Monday, with one facing a felony charge because he had a drunken driving conviction within the last 10 years.

Joseph A. Cronin, 55, of Montauk was arrested just before midnight Sunday. Behind the wheel of a 1999 GMC, headed west on Pantigo Road near Spring Close Highway in East Hampton, he was pulled over when police said he was swerving back and forth across lane lines.

“He performed poorly on all standard field sobriety tests,” the arresting officer reported. The officer said Mr. Cronin had admitted having about five beers before he left Montauk. At police headquarters, he refused to take the Intoxilyzer 9000 breath test, writing “refuse”  three times on the accompanying form. 

Mr. Cronin’s charge is a felony because he was convicted of a drunken driving charge in Southampton Town Justice Court in 2008. Bail was set at $5,000 on Monday morning, and it was posted on credit card.

The other driving while intoxicated charges were misdemeanors.

Selvin Chavez-Sanchez, 25, of Wainscott was arrested Saturday evening after being pulled over on Springy Banks Road in East Hampton while driving a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta for allegedly swerving onto the shoulder of the road twice. 

At headquarters, police said his breath test produced a reading of .16 of 1 percent, twice the level that defines intoxication in New York State. He was released Sunday on $500 bail.

Steven H. Raysor, 32, of Bellport was charged just after midnight last Thursday. Driving a westbound 2006 Ford on Montauk Highway just west of downtown Montauk, he made an “improper turn signal,” police said, leading to a traffic stop. Arraigned in front of East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky later that morning, he told the court that he now resides in Springs. His headquarters breath test was recorded at .14. He was released on $250 bail. 

Jared Walker, 28, of Springs was arrested early Sunday after being pulled over on Fort Pond Boulevard there. Driving a 1996 Honda, police said he ran the stop sign at Springs-Fireplace Road. His breath test reading was relatively low at .09, but high enough, if accurate, to justify the D.W.I. charge.

However, at headquarters police reported finding a packet containing a small amount of cocaine in his pants pocket, leading to an additional misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was released later that morning without bail, but with a date on the East Hampton Town Justice Court’s criminal calendar.