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Had Three Prior Convictions

Thu, 06/23/2022 - 10:49

An East Hampton man with three prior driving-while-intoxicated convictions within the past 15 years was charged with felony D.W.I. on the afternoon of June 10.

David Weinzweig, 44, who was jailed following his appearance the next morning in East Hampton Justice Court, was eastbound in a 1997 Ford pickup truck on Buckskill Road near Stephen Hand’s Path, when a nearby town police officer heard a loud crash. The officer found the truck, which had no license plates, crashed against a telephone pole. Mr. Weinzweig was getting out from the driver’s side. When he spotted the officer he ran away, according to the report, despite being yelled at to stop multiple times.

He was stopped in his tracks by a fence, and the officer was able to bring him back to the scene of the accident. On the floorboard of his truck, police found an open bottle of alcohol, and reported that Mr. Weinzweig had failed the roadside sobriety tests.

The charge was raised to the felony level because of the three prior convictions. A misdemeanor charge was added because the truck was not equipped with an interlock device. Town Justice Steven Tekulsky arraigned the driver in the morning and remanded him to county jail. He is to be back in Justice Court on Wednesday.

Pedro Gonzales-Rojas, 40, blamed the backup camera in his 2018 black Ford pickup truck for a June 13 lunchtime accident in a public parking lot off Montauk Highway near Skimhampton Road, East Hampton. The camera “was wrong,” he told police, after backing into a parked car in the lot. The officer, however, reported smelling alcohol on his breath, and said he performed poorly on the field sobriety tests.

Mr. Gonzales-Rojas was subsequently charged with aggravated drunken driving after a breathalyzer test produced a blood-alcohol reading over .18 percent, more than twice the legal level. He was held for an appearance the next day before Justice Tekulsky, who released him on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on July 14.

Early on Friday morning, Marco Gutamapillco, 22, of Montauk, was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. His 2014 blue Subaru S.U.V. had been southbound on Old Stone Highway in Springs when it veered off the road and into several trees. An officer found the driver next to the vehicle, which had flipped over onto the shoulder.

Mr. Gutamapillco’s speech was slurred, according to the report, and he was unsteady on his feet. He complained of neck pain, and was taken by ambulance to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, which released him the next morning after treatment. He was arraigned yesterday

It Was S.U.V. on S.U.V.

On June 23, a Subaru S.U.V. rear-ended a Toyota S.U.V. at Carl Fisher Plaza in Montauk. That evening, two other S.U.V.s collided in Wainscott and had to be towed away. And more news of the roads.

Jul 3, 2025

One Thing After Another

Failed to yield, failed to signal, failed to stay in lane, a failed taillight, a failed roadside sobriety test.

Jul 3, 2025

Bridge Strike Impacts Trains

A Penske rental truck collided with the Long Island Rail Road overpass on Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton Village shortly before 4 p.m. on June 26, resulting in train service delays between the Southampton and Montauk stations.

Jul 3, 2025

Driver Leaves Path of Destruction at Montauk Art Show

Early Sunday morning, it looked as if a small tornado had torn through the Montauk Green and the Montauk Artists Association Art Show. Instead, East Hampton Town police say the destruction — which wiped out the inventory of some participating artists — was caused by a drunken driver.

Jun 30, 2025

 

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