Police & Courts

A 56-year-old man was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, on Dec. 23 after crashing a 1997 Ford van into bushes off Route 27 in Montauk near Ditch Plain Road.

As of Jan. 1, when New York State’s controversial new bail reform laws took effect, 301 inmates in Suffolk County jails had been released. The new laws, which mandate that those charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies be released without bail following arraignment, have triggered anger across the state as people accused of serious crimes walk free.

A 17-year-old girl went to the East Hampton High School resource officer on Dec. 4 to report that she has been receiving harassing messages through her Instagram account since October.

The news stories that captured East Hampton Star readers' attention in 2019 include headlines involving murder, drunken-driving crashes, major drug busts, fires, and a shooting.  

Lisa Rooney of Montauk faces 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison but remains free without bail under New York State’s new bail reform law.

The parents of a 15-year-old were arrested Friday night after East Hampton Village police found teenagers drinking at a house party at 26 The Circle.

A fire Saturday morning in a Water Mill home owned by the publishing heiress Anne Hearst caused major damage to the 17,000-square-foot house, though Ms. Hearst and several family members escaped uninjured. Firefighters were able to rescue two cats and a substantial amount of artwork.    

The Southampton Town fire marshal investigating the cause said that between the size of the residence and the way it had been built, the fire proved difficult to put out, with pockets of flames popping up from behind walls well into the evening.

Rogue embers, still smoldering in a fireplace at an East Hampton house, erupted into flames in the early hours of Sunday morning.

A man arrested in October for allegedly forcing a woman he had just met to perform a sex act on him pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in East Hampton Town Justice Court, but will have to register as a sex offender.

Did someone lose a Christmas card? An envelope with a card inside and a $20 bill was found on Main Street Saturday afternoon and turned in to police. The card thanked “Ricky and the entire North Haven Village staff.” A Sag Harbor Village officer dropped it off at North Haven Village Hall.

Two accused murderers spent Christmas behind bars while their cases remained pending in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead.