Police & Courts

Joseph Grippo of Montauk, who is facing a second-degree murder charge following the death of a former friend in June 2019, was held in contempt during a Monday appearance at Suffolk County Criminal Court, and ordered out of the courtroom and back to county jail after reportedly cursing multiple times at the judge.

“It’s been my pleasure, and honor, to serve as the village’s chief engineer for the last four years,” East Hampton Village Fire Chief Gerard Turza Jr. told the village board as he prepared to pass on the title of chief to Duane Forrester.

Around dinnertime on April 18, an East Quogue woman was headed east on Montauk Highway near Sayre’s Path in Wainscott when her 2007 Honda crossed the double yellow lines into the westbound lane, and crashed head-on into a 2007 Toyota.

An East Hampton man received some scary phone calls on March 15. The caller said he’d kidnapped the man’s wife and demanded $3,000 to release her. The man was told to go to a Mastic 7-Eleven with the money and warned not to talk to anyone about it.

When they talk about the birth of their second daughter, Cody and Lauren Vichinsky will have quite the story to tell.

Graffiti, including drawings of “male genitalia” together with the statement that “life sucks,” were found on Friday at the bus stop on Newtown Lane.

A Pennsylvania woman who had been reported missing was found in Amagansett last Thursday when she crashed her car into a utility pole.

According to East Hampton Town police, a man brandished a weapon during an altercation and punched a victim multiple times in the face, causing pain and bleeding and necessitating medical attention.

Near sunset on Friday, an erratic driver was reported near a Laura’s Lane house in Springs. Police found a blue and white Mustang near the pavilion at Maidstone Park and let the driver know he’d been seen driving well over the speed limit. The man said he’d observe the limit going forward and was waved on.

A loud crash shortly after midnight on Sunday alerted a Sag Harbor Village police officer on routine traffic patrol at Hampton Street that something was awry.

Looking out his side-view mirror, a driver of a cement truck watched in horror as the cement drum broke off the bed of the vehicle, which then overturned.

The St. Patrick's Day parade in Montauk on March 27 led to some alcohol-fueled, rowdy behavior, according to East Hampton Town police, who were called on two occasions to the Shagwong Tavern. One person there described the place as packed wall to wall with revelers, despite a $10 cover charge. In the end, a couple of arrests, and a separate charge of harassment, soured the festive mood.