A homeowner on East Lake Drive in Montauk was surprised to see a stranger in his driveway a little after 5 a.m. on Sept. 22. He was yet more surprised when the man, who had a loaded small-bore rifle with him, demanded that he return his missing cellphone.
The stranger left the property as the homeowner called 911, but made it only a short distance before he was stopped by police.
Detective Sgt. Daniel Toia of the East Hampton Town police said that Terrance P. Feehan, 42, of Kirk Place in Montauk, had tracked his lost phone to the East Lake Drive property, and had taken a loaded .22 caliber bolt-action Springfield rifle along to help make the point that he really wanted it back.
Within minutes of the initial 911 call, a responding officer saw Mr. Feehan in a 2016 Audi, fleeing the scene in the direction of Montauk Highway, and pulled him over near Paradise Drive. Mr. Feehan appeared to have been drinking, police said. The rifle, still loaded, was in the back seat. He later agreed to have blood drawn for a precise alcohol reading.
The East Lake Drive homeowner, Fabio Rosati, did not have Mr. Feehan's phone or know anything about it, Detective Toia said.
Mr. Feehan faces four charges stemming from the incident. Because he was already convicted of driving while intoxicated within the past 10 years, in 2016, he was charged with felony D.W.I., and with a misdemeanor count of having a loaded weapon in the car. The alleged menacing while in possession of the rifle at the East Lake Drive house earned him two counts of harassment, class-A misdemeanors, which are but one step below a felony. Police released him after giving him a date in court to answer the charges.
Off Road
In an unrelated arrest, town police said that Jonathan J. Bruzga of Farmingville was under the influence of alcohol when the Ford pickup truck he was driving west on Montauk Highway charged through an overlook parking area, broke a section of wooden barrier, and came to a stop about 50 feet into the brush at a little after 2 a.m. on Sunday.
While at the accident scene, Mr. Bruzga told police he had been driving too fast, and the Ford skidded out of control on the wet pavement.
A passenger in the pickup, Melanie N. Morbillo, 30, was taken to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital by ambulance to be examined for injuries, then was released.
An officer at the scene said that Mr. Bruzga, 34, appeared to be intoxicated. He agreed to a breath test, which police said confirmed the officer's initial impression. A first-offense charge of drunken driving followed, and he was released with a date to appear in East Hampton Town Justice Court.
Police also reported an arrest in connection with a Sept. 19 incident in which they said Jhony A. Nieto of Stephen Hand's Path in East Hampton picked up a dining table and threw it, breaking off its legs. Mr. Nieto was at a house on 14th Street in Springs at about 2:15 a.m. when the table became the focus of his ire, police said.
Mr. Nieto, 42, was released by Justice Lisa R. Rana after being arraigned on a felony criminal mischief charge. The severity of the charge reflected what police said was the table's value, in excess of $250.
Sag Harbor Arrest
Sag Harbor Village police arrested a Shirley resident, Marco V. Palomeque Arriaga, on Friday morning and charged him with driving a vehicle with suspended registration. Mr. Palomeque Arriaga was behind the wheel of a 2012 Chevrolet Express van when a license-plate reader mounted on a police vehicle pinged an indication that there was a problem.
Indeed, police said that the van's insurance had been canceled in April 2020, which caused an automatic revocation of its New York State registration. Mr. Palomeque Arriaga was released with a ticket to appear in Sag Harbor Justice Court on Tuesday.