Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Riverhead Town police are offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information about a burglary at a house in Jamesport earlier this month.

Police say someone got into a house on Ziemacki Lane on Oct. 12 sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., according to a news release. A safe was stolen from a bedroom in the home, police said.

Riverhead Police have asked anyone with information to contact detectives at (631) 727-4500 ext. 633 or Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

psquire@timesreview.com

• A Northampton man was arrested as part of an undercover narcotics investigation. He’s facing several charges in relation to selling cocaine in Northampton, Southampton Town police said.

Tyrone Ligon, 43, of Birch Court was arrested at his home Friday afternoon as a result of a long-term investigation by members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s East End Drug Task Force, which uses officers from various East End departments to conduct undercover narcotics investigations.

Mr. Ligon is accused of making drug sales on July 17, 2013, July 25, 2013, Aug. 23, 2013, Oct. 14, 2013, and Nov. 19, 2013, all in Northampton, according to police.

He was charged with five counts of second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, which is a Class A-II felony carrying a penalty of up to eight years in jail.

• A Riverhead man was pulled over for a loud exhaust and was eventually arrested on marijuana charges, as an officer smelled more than just the car exhaust, according to police.

Brian Stokley, 29, of Fanning Boulevard was pulled over for the exhaust noise at the intersection of County Road 105 and Flanders Road Friday afternoon when an officer noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the car, according to police. After a search of the vehicle, the officer found a plastic container with nine Ziploc bags containing more than an ounce of marijuana.

Mr. Stokley was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and with vehicle and traffic violations for the loud muffler and exhaust, police said.

@ALL_Endnote:Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

A Riverhead businessman and philanthropist is facing multiple drunken driving charges — including two felonies — after allegedly crashing in the Riverhead High School parking lot Wednesday morning with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit while a teenager was in his SUV, according to town court documents.

Jesse “Bobby” Goodale, who was released on bail after his arraignment Wednesday, admitted to the News-Review that he had been drinking that morning after getting “bad news” and said he would accept the consequences of his “mistake.”

News of the arrest was first reported on RiverheadLocal.

“It was my mistake, there was no question it was my mistake,” Mr. Goodale said in a phone interview. “I’m very upset … but it was clearly my fault to allow this to happen.”

Mr. Goodale said he had never been arrested for such an offense before, and would have to see what would happen after the outcome of his court case. His attorney, John Ciarelli of Riverhead, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Town criminal filings state that Mr. Goodale was involved in an accident in the high school parking lot about 10:17 a.m.

No one was injured, Riverhead Town police said. Authorities had not released information about the arrest in publicly available releases.

Mr. Goodale said he had bumped into the bumper of the car in front of him while at the school, adding that there was no major damage to either vehicle.

Mr. Goodale, 67, of Flanders is accused of having a blood alcohol content of three times the legal limit at the time of the crash, according to town court documents. Mr. Goodale registered a .24 blood alcohol content after taking a breath test, and also had “glassy, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on [his] feet,” the documents state.

A 14-year-old child — who was not identified by police, but whom Mr. Goodale said was his child — was in the car at the time of the crash, court papers state.

Mr. Goodale was arrested and charged in Riverhead Town court with two counts of misdemeanor DWI, two counts of felony aggravated DWI and one count of misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, a court clerk said.

He was released from custody after posting $10,000 bail, according to the court.

Mr. Goodale was one of the Goodale family members who founded Riverhead Building Supply and is a former president of the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce.

He also previously served as the chair of PBMC Health’s board of directors. Mr. Goodale had sued the hospital in 2013 over the naming rights to the hospital’s expanded emergency center.

Mr. Goodale has been an active philanthropist on the East End, creating Goodale Productions, an independent film company that seeks to “instill a community friendly value in our children,” according to the company’s website.

He has also been involved in numerous other causes, such as East End Arts, United Way of Long Island and the Suffolk County Community College Foundation.

Mr. Goodale is due back in court on Nov. 26, a town court clerk said.

psquire@timesreview.com

Two days after Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Riverhead Town police offered a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information about a burglary at a house in Jamesport, police say the homeowner is also offering up a “substantial cash reward” for information that leads to the return of the safe, its contents or an arrest. 

Police did not say how much the additional reward would be.

Someone entered the house at Ziemacki Lane sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Oct. 12, according to a news release. A tan Sentry brand safe was stolen from a bedroom in the home, police said.

Riverhead Police have asked anyone with information to contact detectives at (631) 727-4500 ext. 633.

A 69-year-old Riverhead man was arrested on a drunken driving charge after he was involved in a minor crash on Route 48 in Peconic Friday afternoon, Southold Town police said. 

John Cardinale was charged with DWI following the crash, which occurred near Mill Lane about 4 p.m., police said.

He was held for a Saturday morning arraignment, police said.

A Hampton Bays man was charged with two felonies early this morning after Southampton Police said he was driving drunk on Peconic Avenue in Riverside. 

According to Southampton Police, 32-year-old Nester Ortega was driving around 1 a.m. when police said he was operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated condition.

He was charged with driving while intoxicated, as well as aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, both felonies.

A Flanders man with a revoked driver’s license was arrested Monday in Mattituck on felony drunken driving charges, Southold Town police said.

Gilberto Velasquez-Vargas, 31, was driving near the intersection of Route 48 and Westphalia Road shortly before 7 a.m. when police pulled him over for an undisclosed traffic violation and was found to be intoxicated, officials said. Police also found he was driving with a revoked license stemming from a previous DWI charge, officials said.

Mr. Velasquez-Vargas was charged Monday with DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, police said. He was transported to police headquarters, processed and held for arraignment, officials said.

Riverhead Police are investigating a burglary at the Citgo Gas Station in Riverhead Monday, according to a news release. 

A newspaper delivery person noticed the glass of one of the store’s doors had been busted, police said. The owner of the business responded and found that money and cigarettes had been stolen.

Police responded at 3:12 a.m. Monday and are asking for anyone with information to contact police at (631) 727-4500, ext. 302.

A crime scene investigation is underway on the north side of West Main Street in Riverhead, west of the library. (Credit: Paul Squire)

Update (3 p.m.): The body found in a wooded area in Riverhead Tuesday morning was that of a man in his 30s who died in an apparent suicide, said Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller.

An acquaintance of the man found the body about 11:30 a.m. near 400 West Main Street, Chief Hegermiller said.

The death did not appear to be suspicious.

The man’s name has not been released by police, who later said he appeared to have died in the woods by hanging.

The body was removed from the area and transported to the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office for further examination.

Original Story (1:15 p.m.): A body was found in the woods near 400 West Main Street in Riverhead, town police confirmed shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Sgt. Ronald Atkinson of the Riverhead Police Department confirmed the body was found, but said a cause of death has not yet been determined. Police did not release the identity of the victim.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner was on the scene, which was cleared about 1:30 p.m. The wooded area on the north side of the road had been taped off, police said.

West Main Street was closed between the Riverhead Free Library and Sweezy Avenue, but it has since reopened.

Check back for more details as they become available.

A Flanders man who was pulled over for not wearing a seat belt compounded his charges by giving the officer a false name and being found with crack, according to Southampton Town police. 

Eric Ross, 22, of Priscilla Avenue in Flanders was stopped on the intersection of County Road 105 and Flanders Road at noon last Thursday for not wearing a seat belt, according to police.

He gave no identification to the officer, but verbally gave a false name, police said.

The officer eventually found the man’s real name and discovered that his license was suspended, according to police.

Mr. Ross was then arrested and found to be in possession of crack cocaine, according to police.

He was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminal impersonation and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, according to police.

• There were three reports of items being stolen from unlocked cars in the Riverside and Northampton area over the past week, according to Southampton Town police.

A $90 Garmin GPS and loose change was reported stolen from an unlocked car on Old Quogue Road in Riverside on Oct. 31 at 6 a.m.; a $140 Bulova watch was reported stolen from an unlocked car in Northampton on Oct. 27 at 1:30 a.m.; and a DeWalt drill and battery and a laptop computer were reported stolen from a car on Cedar Street in Northampton on Oct. 28, according to police, who said the value of the items stolen in the latter incident was $1,250.

• There were five reports of car windows being shattered over the past week in Riverside, with three of the cases occurring overnight, and items being reported stolen in two of the cases, according to police.

The break-ins occurred on Flanders Road, Vail Avenue and Ludlam Avenue and two of them occurred in Riverwoods mobile home park, according to police.

• A pocketbook containing a Mexican passport and $150 in cash was reported stolen from a home on Cypress Avenue in Flanders on the evening of Oct. 25, according to police. A woman said she accidentally left the pocketbook on the front lawn of her house while waiting for a ride, and that when she went back for it, it was gone, police said.

• An electric jigsaw, a chainsaw and a screw gun where reported stolen from a shed on a property on Dogwood Court in Riverside last Wednesday night.

The estimated value of the stolen items is about $225, according to police.

• A GMC Denali bicycle valued at $700 was reported stolen from a home on Pond Lane in Riverside overnight last Thursday.

Those who are named in police reports have not been convicted of any crime or violation. The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.

Several agencies helped with the search warrant execution on Lewis Street in Riverhead. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

Police arrested an undisclosed number of people in a Wednesday afternoon search warrant that was executed at a house in Riverhead, authorities said.

Members of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, New York State police and Riverhead Police Department, along with several K-9 units, assisted Suffolk District Attorney’s office investigators in the 2:30 p.m. search on Lewis Street in the Millbrook Greens neighborhood, said Suffolk County Police Detective Sergeant James Rodding.

“We did have some arrests,” Det. Sgt. Rodding said. “This is an ongoing investigation and more information will be released at a later time.”

Southold Police officers also showed up to the scene about 4:30 p.m., about the same time children were getting dropped off by a bus at neighboring homes.

One suspect was taken away in a Southold squad car and another one in a Riverhead car.

No other details were immediately available.

Check back for additional information.

cmiller@timesreview.com

Kwame Opoku, 32, of Mastic Beach, being led to his arraignment on Oct. 16. (Credit: Carrie Miller, file)

A Mastic Beach man accused of shooting a man in Flanders is now facing upgraded charges, including attempted murder, after his arraignment in county court this week.

Kwame Opoku, 32, pleaded not guilty Monday in Suffolk County Criminal Court after being indicted by a grand jury on felony attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges, a court spokesperson said.

He remains held at Suffolk County Correctional Facility on $250,000 bail or $500,000 bond, jail officials said.

Southampton Town Police arrested Mr. Opoku and Emmanuel Coleman, 34, of Riverhead in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting that left one Flanders man in critical condition.

Police said the 36-year-old male victim was standing in front of his home on McKinley Street when he was shot. According to 27east.com, authorities said he was shot twice at close range in the elbow and back.

Mr. Coleman had pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to third-degree hindering prosecution, said Suffolk County District Attorney spokesman Bob Clifford; he will not serve any more time in county jail, as his sentence was the time he already served in jail since his arrest, Mr. Clifford said.

However, Mr. Coleman will serve one year in an upstate prison for a violation of parole, Mr. Clifford added.

Mr. Coleman, a father who had been working for a temp agency in Islandia, was originally charged with first-degree assault, a felony, officials said.

Mr. Opoku, also a father, was originally charged with first-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree criminal use of a firearm, and first-degree reckless endangerment — all felonies.

Mr. Opoku previously had a 2011 drug conviction overturned and he had filed a lawsuit against Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, according to prior Newsday stories. He dropped the lawsuit in September, Newsday reported.

An order of protection was issued the two men following their latest arrests for seven individuals — including two children who were home at the time of the shooting.

One of the children listed in the order is related to Mr. Opoku, prosecutors said.

He’s due back in county criminal court on Nov. 24.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

with Paul Squire

A 30-year-old Jamesport man was arrested on a drunken driving charge early Thursday in Mattituck, Southold Town police said.

Porfirio Martinez was stopped by police about 1:20 a.m. after he was spotted crossing a double yellow line while traveling eastbound on Main Road near Elijah’s Lane, police said.

Mr. Martinez was found to be intoxicated and charged with misdemeanor DWI, police said.

He was arraigned and held on $300 cash or $1,500 bond, records show.

Several law enforcement agencies assisted with a search warrant execution on Lewis Street in Riverhead Wednesday. (Credit: Carrie Miller)

A Rochester man — one of three people arrested during Wednesday afternoon’s raid in Riverhead — is facing charges for drug possession and fleeing police related to an October traffic stop, according to town court records.

The property on Lewis Street, owned by a former attorney for the Town of Southold, has also been boarded up by Riverhead code enforcement after finding unsafe conditions inside. The homeowner told the News-Review that he had “lost track” of the property after a “rental situation went bad” and commended Riverhead Town for addressing the situation.

“It was a classic situation where we had bad tenants a couple years ago,” said Greg Yakaboski, who added that he believed the house had been vacant since then. “Everything went south from there.”

Riverhead police and prosecutors would not release the identities of either of the two other people arrested, citing an active East End Drug Task Force investigation.

Details on their charges were not immediately available since they have yet to be arraigned in Riverhead Town court.

But one individual arrested was arraigned Wednesday night. Paul Houpe, 22, was taken into custody on an arrest warrant during the raid; the warrant was related to a traffic stop last month in which Mr. Houpe allegedly led police on a foot chase after he was stopped for driving with a suspended license.

Court filings state that on Oct. 17, Mr. Houpe was driving a 2006 Volkswagen on Old Country Road when he was stopped by police. A Suffolk County district judge had suspended Mr. Houpe’s license in 2012 after he failed to pay a fine, court papers showed.

Mr. Houpe allegedly ran from the car after he was stopped near a fast food restaurant, according to court documents. Police later found more than 500 mg of cocaine inside the center console of the car.

After his arrest Wednesday, Mr. Houpe was arraigned in Riverhead Town Court and charged with felony drug possession, as well as misdemeanors for aggravated unlicensed driving and obstructing governmental administration.

He was held on $5,000 cash bail and is due back in court on Monday.

Mr. Yakaboski, the owner of the home that was raided, had served as Southold Town attorney from 1998 through an administration change in 2004.

Mr. Yakaboski said he purchased the property “years ago,” but has since moved away from the area and now lives in North Carolina.

“It’s my fault, I didn’t pay attention,” he said. “I didn’t board it up. I should have.”

Mr. Yakaboski vowed to hire someone to maintain the property now that its condition has been brought to his attention.

“I regret that it became a problem for the community,” he said.

A notice issued by Riverhead Town’s code enforcement unit noted that the house was “unsafe” and “unsecured.” Investigators found the “roof failing, no heat, no electric[ity], windows broken, doors off [their] hinges, … no hot water” and that the boiler was “inoperable,” according to the notice.

Chief code enforcement officer Richard Downs said the portico of the house was also leaning heavily and appeared dangerously close to collapse.

“It was an imminent danger,” Mr. Downs said. Code enforcement officers were allowed into the house after people living there granted them access, he added.

Mr. Yakaboski has until Nov. 15 to begin fixing the property, Mr. Downs said.

psquire@timesreview.com

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest of a man they say stole from an Aquebogue home in the middle of last month.

According to Suffolk County Police, 23-year-old Christian Fusco took property from a Peacock Court home on Oct. 17.

Police did not say what was stolen or how much the stolen contents were valued at. An active warrant is out for Mr. Fusco’s arrest.

The incident came five days after a safe was stolen from a Jamesport home. The homeowner whose safe was stolen is now offering a “substantial cash reward” for information that leads to the return of the safe, or an arrest.

Suffolk County Police have asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(Credit: Google Maps)

A pair of East End Drug Task Force raids carried out across Riverhead just one minute apart this morning netted six arrests for felony drugs offenses, Riverhead court officials and town police confirmed.

All six defendants — five of whom were arrested in the same apartment — were held on bail, authorities said.

At 6:17 a.m., authorities with the East End Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at 641 Doctors Path, Riverhead police said. Five people, including two locals, were arrested:

• Ebony Booker, 24, of Riverhead;

• Eric Ross, 22, of Flanders;

• Kotara Jackson, 32, of Mastic;

• Tashara Horsely, 19, of Mastic Beach;

• Marquis Miles, 21, who gave a North Carolina address.

All five people were charged with felonies for criminal possession of cocaine and arraigned in court Friday, a Riverhead Town court clerk said. Additionally, Mr. Ross was charged with misdemeanor drugs possession.

Ms. Jackson was remanded to jail without bail, according to the court. Bail for Ms. Horsely, Mr. Ross and Mr. Miles was set at $25,000. Ms. Booker was held on $5,000 bail.

One minute after the initial raid, at 6:18 a.m., police conducted a second search warrant sting at 415 Union Avenue, where Tywan Jones, 35, of Riverhead was arrested. He was charged with felony cocaine and weapons possession, a court clerk said.

He was held on $5,000 bail, the clerk said. All six defendants are due back in court on Monday.

Friday morning’s raid came two days after state and local police swarmed a house on Lewis Street, arresting three people, including one Riverhead man.

A Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

psquire@timesreview.com

A Flanders man was arrested Friday afternoon after he entered McDonald’s in Riverside and violated an order of protection obtained by one of the fast food restaurant’s employees, Southampton Town Police said. 

Benjamin Velasquez, 53, had been repeatedly told that he is not allowed to enter the restaurant, police said.

Mr. Velasquez was charged with second degree criminal contempt and third-degree criminal trespass, police said. He was also wanted on a bench warrant for failure to appear in court, police said.

He is being held in Suffolk County Jail on $500 bail, police said.

There were 310 cases on the docket in Riverhead Town Justice Richard Ehlers’ court, Oct. 27-29. The following are among those adjudicated.

• Matthew Ogorman, 19, of Holly Berry Court in Wading River pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from driving while intoxicated, and was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $660.

• Veronica Cea, 39, of Shore Road in Stony Brook pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from driving while intoxicated, and was fined $660 and given a 90-day suspension of her license.

• Danielle Lewis, 33, of Priscilla Avenue in Flanders pleaded guilty to seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of a hypodermic instrument and was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $410.

• Alvaro Sandoval, 25, of North Howell Avenue in Riverhead pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was fined $1,300.

• Maximino Miranda-Muniz, 27, of Old Country Road in Eastport pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from driving while intoxicated, and was fined $875.

• Kevin McCormack, 40, of Railroad Avenue in Holbrook pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, reduced from driving while intoxicated, and was fined $660 and given a 90-day suspension of his license.

• Manuel DeLeon-Cuellar, 23, of Sound Avenue in Riverhead pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and was fined $300 and issued an order of protection to stay away from the victim.

• James Furey, 60, of South River Road in Calverton pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, reduced from second-degree criminal contempt, and was fined $250.

• Charges including aggravated driving while intoxicated against Hugo Carranza, 36, of Maple Avenue in Flanders were dismissed in town court, as he was indicted in county court.

A Hampton Bays woman was arrested Sunday on drug charges in Riverside, Southampton Town police said.

Tamara Thomas, 35, was in possession of crack cocaine and heroin during a traffic stop at 1:15 a.m. on Lake Avenue, police said.

Ms. Thomas was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, officials said.

She will be arraigned in Southampton Town Justice Court, police said.