Recent Arrests Point to Drugs

A Northport man, Ryan J. Stillman, 28, who was charged with burglary, asked East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana during his arraignment Saturday if he could be sent to a drug treatment center. While the request was unusual, his arrest was among several before the judge this week that involved drugs.

Police developed Mr. Stillman as a suspect in the burglary of an Accabonac Road, East Hampton, residence on June 26, in which cash and electronics were stolen. Before town police located him, however, he was arrested elsewhere on the island on Friday by Suffolk County police, and charged with possession of a controlled substance and hypodermic needle. Given an opportunity to interview him, Detective Sgt. Gregory Schaefer reported that Mr. Stillman soon confessed to the burglary. At his arraignment, Justice Rana said he had had arrests in Florida and Massachusetts. “You have at least one drug-related felony conviction in Florida, that I can see.” She set bail at $5,000, calling his connection to the area “tenuous.”

Uncertain if his family would bail him out, he then asked about drug treatment. Justice Rana told him she might consider it at his next court date, but she warned that his case would soon be moved to county court if the district attorney’s office obtained an indictment. Bail was posted later that day.

 John B. Ivolin, 25, was charged with possession of cocaine as a felony early Tuesday after foot patrol officers spotted a group of men in a parking lot in downtown Montauk, Detective Schaefer said. The police report alleged he had a plastic bag containing more than 500 milligrams of the stimulant.

As Justice Rana considered bail, she asked Mr. Ivolin what he did for a living and was told he drives a shuttle van in Montauk. Justice Rana noted that Mr. Ivolin had a prior felony arrest and set bail at $1,000, which was posted by his family, who were in the courtroom.

Pat Gunn, a local attorney, represented Mr. Ivolin in court, as well as three other men arraigned Tuesday. The Legal Aid Society, which normally provides lawyers for weekday arraignments in East Hampton, was unable to do so that day, the justice said.

Another arrest on a felony charge early Tuesday morning was of Cooper Weaver, 19, of Manhattan. He was charged with possessing a forged Kentucky driver’s license after being stopped for an alleged traffic infraction at the intersection of Old Stone Highway and Neck Path in Springs. He also was charged with driving while high on drugs as a misdemeanor, as well as three violations, two traffic related, and one for unauthorized possession of marijuana. Mr. Weaver said he is staying with his parents in East Hampton and working as a camp counselor. Bail was set at $750, which was posted.

“I will tell you this: I strongly suggest in the remainder of your time here you do not have any other issues,” Justice Rana warned.

Two additional men were charged with drug possession at the misdemeanor level early Sunday, one in Montauk, the other in Amagansett.

Police said Isaiah Stevens, 26, of East Hampton was standing outside the Memory Motel in Montauk when an officer saw him pull “a small clear plastic bag” from his shorts pocket and toss it to the ground. The bag allegedly contained a small amount of cocaine.

When Justice Rana asked if he was going to hire a lawyer, Mr. Stevens asked, “Is that really necessary for this?” Apparently taken aback, Justice Rana emphasized that the charge was a crime. His father, who was in the courtroom, said, “He’ll hire a lawyer.”

Justice Rana noted that Mr. Stevens had a previous arrest on a driving while intoxicated charge, which was pending. He was released the after his father posted $1,000 in bail.

At about the same time as Mr. Stevens’s arrest, Bradley M. Umane, 27, was standing outside the Stephen Talkhouse, a bar in Amagansett, allegedly smoking a joint. While possession of small amounts of marijuana is a simple violation, smoking it in public is a misdemeanor. Arrested, he was found after a search to have a small glass container with some cocaine in it, police said. He was charged with two misdemeanors.

 Mr. Stevens’s parents, who had just driven out from Manhattan that morning, were in court. His father told the justice that his son had never been in trouble with the law before and was employed by a major internet provider.

He was released without having to post bail, but with a date on Justice Rana’s criminal calendar.