Crimes Nearby: Cops Say Sex Offender Failed to Register

Recent arrests and criminal court news from elsewhere on the East End:

RIVERHEAD

• Nicholas M. Horton, 33, of Riverhead, was charged with driving while intoxicated on July 29 at 9 a.m., after he almost hit a patrol car while he drove west on Route 25 in Orient, police said. The arresting officer was headed east on Route 25 at the time of the near-collision, police said. Horton was found to be under the influence of narcotics and was placed under arrest and held for arraignment, police said.

EAST HAMPTON

• Police arrested Melvin Smith, 46, of East Hampton, on July 24 after he reportedly failed to register as a sex offender. Reports state that following a sex offender registry investigation, it was found that Smith had failed to register, and was reportedly found in possession of several pills. He was arrested on charges of failing to register, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, as well as holding a controlled substance in a non-original container. In 1986, Smith was convicted of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy.

• Luis Guanga, 37, of East Hampton, was arrested on July 30 and charged with felony DWI, due to a prior conviction within 10 years. According to East Hampton Town Police, Guanga was seen driving westbound on Fort Pond Boulevard, near Florence Street, when he crossed over the solid white line twice.

Police said that upon approaching the car, Guagna had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and upon exiting the car, was unsteady on his feet. Police said he performed poorly on all field sobriety tests, and later failed a Breathalyzer test at police headquarters.

• Evan Lightcap, 20, of Montauk, was arrested on July 15 on misdemeanor charges of menacing in the second degree and criminal possession in the fourth degree, and was cited for unlawful possession of marijuana.

Police said they received a call reporting someone menacing with a handgun, and responded, where they found a vehicle fitting the description reported. Police said that after pulling the car over, and asking the driver, Lightcap, to exit, a CO2 cartridge fell from between his legs while exiting. Police reported finding a loaded soft air pistol in his center console, as well as a green leafy substance and a grinder.

NORTH FORK

• David Colon, 21, of New York City, was charged with third-degree criminal trespass on July 29 at 9:56 a.m., after police responded to a report that Colon would not leave the property of a resident on Broadwaters Road on Nassau Point in Cutchogue, police said. Colon was processed at police headquarters in Peconic and held for arraignment.

• Branden Sutherland, 25, of Greenport, was charged with petit larceny this week in connection with an incident of a theft of copper piping from beneath several homes on Sandy Beach Road in Greenport last November, police said. Sutherland was arrested after an investigation revealed that he was responsible for stealing the copper piping, police said. Sutherland was charged with six counts of petit larceny and was released on bail for an August court date.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

• Nichol M. Dewitt, 42, of Patchogue, was arrested July 29 at 5:03 p.m. in Hampton Bays on Ponquogue Avenue and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and criminal possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors, as well as failure to use a designated lane, a traffic infraction. Police said Dewitt was involved in a motor vehicle accident and found to be in possession of heroin when she was searched at police headquarters in Hampton Bays.

• Lisa Ann Heusel, 38, of Shirley, was arrested July 23 at 10:21 p.m. in Hampton Bays on Montauk Highway West and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, both misdemeanors. Police said they responded to a call of an erratic driver driving eastbound on Montauk Highway, driving into oncoming traffic. Heusel was placed under arrest and her vehicle was impounded due to a prior DWI conviction, according to the arrest report.

• Robert C. Hickey, 49, of Mineola, was arrested July 29 at 1:17 a.m. and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and speeding, a traffic infraction. Police said they pulled Hickey on Foster Avenue in Hampton Bays and his breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage, his speech was slurred, his eyes were red and glassy, he was unsteady on his feet and performed poorly on sobriety tests.