East Hampton
A 32-year-old local man was nearly the victim of extortion on Jan. 26. The night before, he’d accepted a Facebook friend request from a woman he’d never met. After messaging for about an hour, she asked to Facetime with him, and he agreed. Once he answered, he later told police, she began removing her clothing and touching her body. Five minutes later, she hung up, but in the morning she messaged the man to send $900 via Western Union for their Facetime call. He called police instead, who told him to block her Facebook account and to contact them should she try to resume contact. Her number was not in service when detectives called.
East Hampton Village
A woman called police on Feb. 2 to say that tree-trimming crews were blocking Dayton Lane. She was upset because there were no signs at the end of the road stating the road closure. The contractor told police they’d notified the Highway Department about the partial road closure, and an officer ensured that emergency vehicles could pass.
A 72-year-old Massachusetts man was pulling in to Citarella at midday on Friday when, he told police, he was “angrily” cut off by the driver of a black sedan. He went shopping, but found a large scratch on the front passenger-side door of his car upon returning. Police interviewed two men, one from Montauk, the other from Wainscott, one of whom the shopper believed to have been responsible. He could not prove it, but wanted the incident documented.
On the morning on Feb. 4, a caller told police that a tree limb was blocking traffic at Montauk Highway and Toilsome Lane. Officers arrived to find the State Highway Department already on scene, clearing the road.
Montauk
An Amagansett woman called the Coast Guard on Jan. 31 from Navy Road to report a boat on fire, far offshore, billowing black smoke. It was believed at first to be a controlled burn coming from Fishers Island, but 15 minutes later the Coast Guard confirmed that the flames were coming all the way from Niantic, Conn. A fire at a strip mall there was producing large amounts of black smoke.
Sag Harbor
On Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, a Sag Harbor business reported a potential water main break down by Long Wharf. Police determined that the supposed break was in fact a “dock bubbler” — a submerged device placed near boat slips to protect the wooden pier from freezing.
Before sunrise on Feb. 3, police responded to a concerned resident’s call about a man who’d fallen on Washington Street. Officers found the man sitting on the sidewalk, and he told them he’d tripped going up the steps to his apartment. He was found to be “highly intoxicated,” they reported, and having difficulty standing on his feet. He was transported to Southampton Hospital for medical evaluation.
Some hard-core cooking was found to have set off a fire alarm at Page Restaurant on the evening of Feb. 3. By the time police arrived, the fire department, just next door, had already responded and ascertained the cause of the smoke.
Also on Feb. 3, just after sunset, a woman pulled into a parking spot to throw out some trash in a nearby garbage pail. She cut her engine but apparently forgot to put the car in park, and was helpless as it rolled backward into the car parked behind it, which sustained damage.
Police recorded a “social media threat” at Pierson High School on Feb. 4. An investigation is ongoing.
An alarmed woman called police on Feb. 5 to say her toddler had locked herself in the bathroom. With some help from the child, police freed her without incident.
Springs
A woman notified police on Feb. 6 of “four men drinking” at a beach near Gerard Drive. They drove off after finishing their drinks, she said, and she suspected they might be drunk. Police could not locate the vehicle she described.
