Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Young Mom Killed in Eastport Hit-and-Run

Also, Suffolk County police said there have been a series of armed robberies at businesses, including one in Calverton, since the end of October.

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

WESTHAMPTON

• A woman was killed and a man was injured during a hit-and-run accident in Eastport on Saturday night.

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Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Vehicular Crime Unit are investigating the crash that occurred on Montauk Highway, near Old Montauk Highway, at about 9:05 p.m.

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Erika Strebel, a 27-year-old mother, and her companion Edward Barton were standing near Strebel’s disabled 1988 Jeep on the shoulder of the eastbound lane when they were struck by a vehicle that was travelling east on Montauk Highway, according to police.

The vehicle, which police said would have sustained front end damage, fled east on Montauk Highway. According to a police spokeswoman, the vehicle that hit them was believed to be large, like a sport utility vehicle or a pickup truck, and possibly metallic blue.

• A 29-year-old East Quogue man has been charged after a Southampton Town police investigation found that he had burglarized an East Quogue home several times over the past year. 

Police said aside from stealing items, including electronics from the residence between March 2012 and October 2013, Hector Alexis Aguilar allegedly performed lewd acts while peering into the homeowner's windows. 

Police said they were able to recover many of the items Aguilar took from the home. 

RIVERHEAD

• A man who held up a Calverton Hess at gunpoint recently could be wanted in a string of other Suffolk County armed robberies, police said.

Suffolk County police said they are also working with Southold Town police to see if the suspect could be linked to this week's armed robbery at Game Stop in Mattituck.

Suffolk County Police Pattern Crime Unit detectives are investigating a series of armed robberies that occurred at businesses throughout Suffolk County since the end of October.

Police said that, during the past two weeks, a man entered eight establishments and pretended to purchase an item. When the employees opened their cash registers, the man displayed a black handgun and demanded cash. The suspect then fled the locations on foot, possibly to a vehicle waiting nearby.

The robberies have occurred at seven gas stations located in Calverton, Eastport, Mastic, North Babylon, St. James, Dix Hills and Bohemia as well as at Jamba Juice in Stony Brook. No one was injured during any of the robberies, police said.

The suspect is described as a white man, between 25 and 35 years old, approximately 5'10"  to 6"2' inches tall with a thin to medium build. He usually wears a dark-colored or gray hooded sweatshirt, police said

Detectives are asking anyone with information on these robberies or if anyone recognizes the suspect in the attached photo to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

• An Amityville man was arrested on Sunday after police said they found him sleeping in a stopped car with the engine running in Northampton. According to Southampton Town police, William Washington, 29, was arrested at 6:12 a.m. at the intersection of Lakeview Drive and Lake Avenue. An investigation revealed that Washington was intoxicated, police said. He was charged with DWI, a felony. Washington was transported to police headquarters for processing, and held for arraignment.

NORTH FORK

• An armed robber who held up a Game Stop in the Mattituck shopping plaza was still on the loose Thursday night, police said.

According to Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley, an armed white man entered the store on Tuesday evening and demanded cash from a clerk. After he was given cash he fled on foot, police said. He has not yet been located.

Flatley said a K-9 unit was called in, to no avail. "It did not yield any new investigative leads, unfortunately," he said.

Veronica Jacobson, who works next door at Michelangelo's pizza shop said police had come to ask if anyone had information about the gunpoint robbery. Jacobson said Game Stop had been packed all day because the new "Call of Duty" game was released at midnight Tuesday.

EAST HAMPTON

• A 17-year-old from Elmhurst was arrested on a drunken driving charge and his mother, who was a passenger, was arrested as well when she tried to prevent his arrest during a traffic stop in Springs on Nov. 1. 

Police said the family's 2010 Nissan was seen swerving on Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road, near Folkstone Drive, at about 10 p.m. The officer reportedly saw the Nissan unsafely pass another vehicle in a no passing zone, too. Police tried to initiate a traffic stop at the intersection of Gann Road, but the driver drove off the pavement and continued several hundred feet before stopping near Squaw Road. The driver —a teenaged boy — appeared intoxicated and performed poorly on field sobriety tests, police said.

While an officer placed the teen under arrest, his 33-year-old mother "became irate and exited the front passenger seat in an attempt to prevent the arrest," police wrote in their report. They said they warned her several times to stay in the vehicle, but she pushed one of the officers she was trying to get past — not once, but twice in the chest. 

• Rody D. Tapia, 39, of Springs, was arrested on a felony drunken driving charge, following an accident close to his house on Roosevelt Avenue on the evening of Oct. 27. Tapia was driving his 2009 Audi north when he hit a 1991 Nissan, parked on the side of the road at about 7:50 p.m. He then proceeded to his driveway. When police arrived they found a vehicle matching the description in the driveway of 40 Roosevelt Ave., and found three men standing around the Audi, which had front driver's side damage. There was also blood on the steering wheel and driver's seat, police said. Tapia came out of the house and stood on the front porch, and police said they could see he was bleeding from his face. Police interviewed him, found he didn't need medical attention, but that he had been drinking. He was placed under arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, a felony, at 8:40 p.m. His Audi was impounded. Held overnight, he was arraigned the next day. Bail was set $10,000. 


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