On the Police Logs 03.26.15

East Hampton

A Buckskill Road woman called police last Thursday, saying that she had had someone living in her house to walk her dogs for a few days while she was away, and had returned to find $50 in cash and a $600 Tiffany’s gift card missing. Neither had been left in the open. The card was found to have been used at Tiffany’s, which said it would issue Ms. Lewis a full refund if the merchandise is returned. If the money is returned as well, she told police, she will not press charges.

A Springs 17-year-old was seen getting off a school bus in the East Hampton High School parking lot on March 16, but then getting in to a 2007 two-door hatchback, which drove away. Principal Adam Fine called police to report the incident, and police informed the student’s parents. The car returned the next day to the parking lot, but the student did not get into it. Police warned its driver to stay off school property or face arrest. There apparently was no other criminality involved, other than a possible trespassing charge.

East Hampton Village

Police were called to the Baker House on Main Street at 4 a.m. Sunday by a guest who said he had heard a “loud knocking on his hotel room door.” While officers were talking to the man, a woman across the hall came out of her room and admitted she was the one knocking. “She had heard someone talking on the phone and couldn’t sleep,” according to the log. The two officers at the high-end bed-and-breakfast inn tracked the voice to a room on the floor below, where an employee was on a cellphone. The officers “advised him to keep it down because he was keeping the guests awake.”

A 13-year-old Northwest Woods girl told police her Apple iPhone5, which she had left in her East Hampton Middle School binder, was stolen during sixth period, March 17. The phone was valued at $500.

The caretaker of a Dunemere Lane house called police March 17 to say she had turned over three pieces of antique furniture to a Hampton Bays company to be restored, several months ago, but has been unable to retrieve them. They included two bed frames and headboards and a child’s rocker. She told police she had left messages, but had not heard back from the company. “She does not know what to do, because she does not know where the shop is.” Police are investigating.

The weekly report of a gas leak on Dunemere Lane came in this week on March 17, this time by a “passing motorist.” National Grid has previously told police they are aware of the leak, which they don’t consider dangerous, and will get around to repairing it “sometime over the next 12 months.”

Smoke pouring from a Buell Lane house drew the attention of an officer on patrol Friday morning. He found a contractor burning construction debris in the backyard. The man, who didn’t know such burning was illegal in the village, was issued a warning. Firefighters doused the flames.

Montauk

Four men were escorted by East Hampton Town police from the former radar tower at Camp Hero last Thursday. They had made their way around a fence, past the no trespassing signs. The state park manager said the department did not want to press charges, but did want the men out of the restricted area.

Craigslist was the tool of choice this month for a scammer who listed a Brisbane Road house for short-term rental. Police received a call on March 18 from a New York woman who was suspicious of the listing. Police confirmed that the listing was not legitimate and contacted Craigslist, which deleted the scammer’s account. Much of the police report was redacted.

Sag Harbor

An attorney with an office on Main Street, Steven Grossman, called police on March 17 after receiving a couple of unwanted calls from a man demanding a refund on behalf of a friend. The caller used abusive language, Mr. Grossman said. He did not want to press charges, he told police, but did want the incident documented.

Springs

A Bayview Avenue woman received a voicemail recently from a man purporting to represent the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. Emily Marcus played the recording to police. The caller, who claimed to be a deputy, told her she needed to turn herself in because she owed money to the Internal Revenue Service. The matter was turned over to that federal agency. This is one of many complaints local police have received about scammers using tax season in an effort to defraud their victims.