A homeowner on Main Road in Cutchogue contacted police on Aug. 12 to report a woman attempting to break into his vacant home. The homeowner described the woman as approximately 50 years old, wearing a maroon shirt and driving “what appeared to be a white Town of Southold vehicle.” The officer who answered the call contacted the town’s building department to find out if anyone from that department had inspected the property and is awaiting a response, according to police.
• Also on August 12, the owner of a farm stand on Main Road in Cutchogue reported to police that a security camera at the stand captured a man in his 60s with short gray hair, a long gray beard, and wearing a gray T-shirt with blue shorts damaging the lock box and stealing one of two five-dollar bills inside. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
• Also on August 12, the owner of a farm stand in Mattituck reported his cash box missing. He said it must have been taken sometime between August 10 and 12. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.
• On August 13, a Southold resident told police she was contacted by phone by someone claiming to be a Suffolk County police officer. The “officer” instructed her to drive to various locations to purchase gift cards and text the associated barcodes back to the caller. The Southold Police Department Criminal Investigation Division was notified.
• On August 14, a Greenport man reported to police that he was being harassed by a group of men he believed to be members of the MS 13 gang. The man said that on August 8, eight cars surrounded his vehicle in a parking lot at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead. At one point, as he entered the mall’s food court, he was followed by two of the men, who he believed were trying to steal his car. He told police that the same cars that surrounded him in Riverhead drove past his Greenport home the next day. Then, on August 11, he said, 13 cars followed him out of Smith Haven Mall, where he wanted to get his phone repaired. The man told police that he was able to “outrun” the caravan by driving at 100 mph. When asked why he didn’t contact police, he said he couldn’t get his phone repaired at the mall. An officer who answered the call described the man as “paranoid” in a police report. The man requested additional police patrols in his neighborhood.
• On August 14, a Mattituck man received a citation for demolishing a home on East Mill Road without a permit following a complaint from a city manager.
• On August 15, police received a report of two vehicles drag racing in the area of Bridge Lane and County Road 48 in Cutchogue. The two vehicles, which were not found, were described as a maroon pickup truck and a gold Tahoe.
The people named in the police reports have not been convicted of any crime or offense. The charges against them may later be reduced or dropped, or they may be found not guilty.
