East Hampton Town police have levied felony charges against three drivers on local roads within the last two weeks.
Shortly before 11 last Thursday night, officers stopped Gregg Weinstein of Montauk, 58, saying he had made an improper right turn and veered out of his lane. He showed signs of drunkenness and performed poorly on roadside sobriety tests, police said. He was charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated, one of them a misdemeanor and the other a felony charge related to his having only a conditional driver’s license.
Mr. Weinstein was arraigned on Friday morning by East Hampton Town Justice David Filer, who released him on his own recognizance to await a May 16 court date.
Police spotted Jonathan Javier Villaguaman of East Hampton, 28, “crossing over the double yellow lines multiple times” on March 30, as he was southbound on Springs-Fireplace Road shortly after midnight. He too was reported to have appeared intoxicated, and performed poorly on sobriety tests, according to the official report.
The charges, D.W.I. and driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08 of 1 percent or more, were both elevated to the felony level because Mr. Villaguaman had been convicted on that charge in Southampton Justice Court in 2017. He was arraigned later that morning by Justice Filer, who released him on his own recognizance to await a court date on Wednesday.
Later that day, Joseph Mangano of Bohemia, 28, was said to have caused more than $250 in damage when he allegedly broke the gear-shift lever and keyed the exterior of a 2005 Dodge Durango during a confrontation with an unnamed individual on Montauk Highway in Montauk.
This led to a charge of third-degree criminal mischief, a felony. Mr. Mangano was also charged with second-degree harassment, a violation, for reportedly slapping the face of a woman whose name was redacted from the report. He was held overnight for a morning arraignment, at which time Justice Steven Tekulsky released him on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on Wednesday and is being represented by Legal Aid.