Crimes Nearby: 2 DWI Charges Within 4 Days for East Hampton Man

The following information was supplied by police departments on the East End. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate convictions.

Recent crimes reported elsewhere on the East End:

EAST HAMPTON

• East Hampton resident Guido Tapia, 41, was arrested on Oct. 31 on charges of aggravated DWI, a misdemeanor, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, a felony.

Police said that Tapia – who had been was arrested on DWI charges just three days prior – was seen by police driving on Springs Fireplace Road when an officer who knew Tapia noticed him and turned around. Tapia, according to reports, proceeded to turn onto Abrahams Path and speed up, reportedly swerving over the double yellow line through turns and driving through a stop sign before making a turn into a driveway on Three Mile Harbor Road.

Police said that upon contacting Tapia, he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. Reports state that he performed poorly on roadside sobriety tests. He was placed under arrest, transported to headquarters and allegedly blew a 0.22 percent blood alcohol level. Tapia was later held for morning arraignment.

• Keara Dombrowski, 19, of Montauk, was arrested on felony charges of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree.
According to police, two men reported finding a driver's license and various personal papers belonging to a Montauk woman on Nov. 1. Upon contacting the woman, she told cops that had left her Louis Vuitton purse while inside Bliss Restaurant the day before, which contained about $20 and various credit cards and a debit card. Police said Dombrowski, a Bliss employee, places the woman's purse inside her own while at work. After contacting Dombrowski at her home, she gave police the purse containing all of its contents, reports state. She was arrested, transported to headquarters for processing, and released on $200 bail.

RIVERHEAD

• Three men wearing masks, one with a handgun, held up Barth's Drug Store on East Main Street in Riverhead Wednesday, police said. Riverhead Town Police said on Wednesday at 5:59 p.m., three suspects wearing masks, one armed with a handgun, entered the store and demanded cash and prescription drugs from employees.The three suspects then fled through the rear of the store with an unknown amount of proceeds. Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery to contact the Riverhead Police Detective Division at 631-727-4500. The robbery is the third in recent weeks during which suspects were armed and wearing masks. One robbery occurred at the Spirit Halloween store in October; held up a Valero in Riverside.

• A Wading River health care aide had been charged with stealing from the elderly client she was hired to care for. Southampton Town detectives arrested Tara E. Clark, 37, of Wading River on Oct. 26 and charged her with stealing over $1,000 from an elderly man living in Eastport that she was hired by his family to watch over. The investigation, spanning several months, revealed that Clark used the victim's personal bank card and bank account to obtain money to pay for personal expenditures including a tattoo parlor and nail salon, police said. Clark was charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree.

• A Riverside man seen conducting a drug deal attempted to swallow the narcotics when approached by authorities, police said. Southampton Town Police said on Friday, members of the East End Drug Task Force and Southampton Town police officers arrested Spencer Hobson, 45, of Vail Avenue in Riverside after authorities said they observed him conducting a drug transaction and trying to swallow the evidence when approached. Hobson was charged with three felony counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, and two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree, a misdemeanor. Hobson was also charged with conspiracy in the second degree for his alleged involvement in a drug investigation that has since concluded.

• Road rage led to violence in Riverside when a woman hit an 80-year-old man with a tire iron, police said. Southampton Town Police said on Oct. 13, Rochelle Allen, 41, of Riverside was arrested by the Southampton Town Police detective division after she allegedly struck an 80-year-old man in the head with a tire iron after a road rage incident at Enterprise Drive in Riverside. Allen was charged with assault in the second degree, a felony, and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a felony.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

• On Oct. 27 Quogue police charged Tia Booker, 31, of East Quogue, with aggravated DWI with children, a felony under Leandra's Law. Police, who were on foot helping children cross Old Country Road during a Quogue Wildlife Refuge event, said they stopped Booker for having a headlight out. When she rolled down her window, police said, a waft of marijuana smoke came out of the car. Booker, who had her two children in the car, a 12-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, was additionally charged with ability impaired by drugs; two counts of failing to restrain a child in a child seat; unlicensed operation of a vehicle; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child; and unlawful possession of marijuana.

NORTH FORK

• Mark A. Culleton, 53, of Cutchogue, was charged with driving while intoxicated on Nov. 2 at 10:21 a.m., after he was involved in two motor vehicle crashes on Highland Road in Cutchogue, police said. He was found to be intoxicated and police also charged him with leaving the scene of an accident. Culleton was processed and held for arraignment, and his vehicle was impounded due to a prior DWI conviction, police said.

• Police said a Riverhead man was arrested Thursday evening after he got in a verbal dispute at the Hess Station on Route 25 in Mattituck, and proceeded to drive drunk. Joseph A. Kess, 29, was arrested on misdemeanor DWI charges. Southold Police said he was seen driving his car in the parking lot of the gas station and following the dispute, was found to be intoxicated. Police did not release information regarding the nature of the dispute, though across Long Island on Thursday, drivers raced to the pumps to pick up what gas was left as scores of stations across the Island remain without power in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.