Grand Jury Indicts Local Man in $5,000 Theft

An East Hampton Village man already facing misdemeanor charges of driving while high on crack cocaine has been indicted by a grand jury on a charge of felony grand larceny for stealing $5,000 from a Bridgehampton couple.

When Ronald A. King Sr., 61, was first arrested, on Feb. 7, village police said he had a smoking crack pipe on the passenger seat next to him. According to Robert Clifford, spokesman for the office of District Attorney Thomas Spota, the day before that arrest, Mr. King stole $5,000 in cash from two women living on Millstone Drive.

“He was working as an assistant to the handyman who services the property,” Mr. Clifford said. When detectives questioned Mr. King about the theft, a few days after the traffic stop, he reportedly told them he had taken the money to pay his debts to drug dealers, and that the $5,000 was all gone.

State police did not have to go far to find Mr. King when they executed his arrest on Nov. 10; he has been in jail since February. He was arraigned in Riverside on Nov. 20 by New York State Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins.

Mr. King has a record of multiple felony convictions. In 2012 he served time in state prison on an attempted forgery charge. The year before that, he spent a year in county jail on a charge of attempted burglary. According to the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, he is not eligible for bail.

Mr. King is currently being held in the county jail in Yaphank. He is due back in court on Dec. 17.

An East Hampton woman was arrested on consecutive days over the weekend, and has been in jail since Sunday. East Hampton Town police said Shannon Kathleen Barrett, 33, violated an order of protection allowing her to live with her mother, Donna Barrett, provided she not drink alcohol in the house or engage in violent behavior.

Police said there was an altercation in their Route 114 house on the day before Thanksgiving, during which Shannon Barrett punched a hole in a wall and kicked our a spindle on a railing before leaving the house. She was arrested two days later on misdemeanor charges of criminal contempt and criminal mischief, and arraigned Saturday morning before East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky, who set bail at $250. Ms. Barrett, who told the court she was currently unemployed, expressed concern that she might not be able to post that amount; however it was posted later that morning, and she was back home.

That night police were called to the house, where they found Ms. Barrett “extremely intoxicated.” When a female officer tried to handcuff her, she reportedly cursed at the officer, saying, “I’m going to fight the whole way.” She then punched an emergency medical technician in the nose, police said.

“If you don’t think you can make things worse, you can,” Justice Tekulsky warned her during her second arraignment of the weekend, as Ms. Barrett began crying.

“It is not too late,” he said, encouraging her to get help.

He doubled the bail amount to $500, which had not been met as of yesterday morning. Ms. Barrett was being held in county jail in Riverside. She is due back in court today, where she will meet with a lawyer from the Legal Aid Society.