The first night court session in Riverhead Town Justice Court’s history will take place Monday at 6 p.m., according to Town Justice Lori Hulse.

As of Wednesday, four small claims cases are listed on the night court calendar before Judge Hulse.

Riverhead Justice Court typically has between 375 and 500 cases on the docket each week and the addition of night court is designed to not only ease some of the court’s backlog, but to also provide scheduling flexibility, she said.

“People will no longer have to take off work to litigate a dispute over a couple hundred dollars,” she said. “This is a good starting point.”

A decision was made to offer night court for small claims matters since those cases, which have a jurisdictional limit of $3,000, are typically litigated by the parties themselves and the proceedings are less formal, she said.

Night court will be offered the second Monday of the month and each session is expected to average about three hours, Judge Hulse said.

Staffing will include a clerk, bailiff and two security personnel. Flextime, as opposed to overtime, is planned in order to make the addition of night court as budget neutral as possible, with the exception of additional expenses associated with stenographer services, she added.

Judge Hulse attributed establishing Riverhead’s first night court with the help from the Town Board, Supervisor Sean Walter and Town Justice Allen Smith, who will alternate with her presiding over night court.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

Photo: Town Justice Lori Hulse. (Credit: Tim Gannon, file)

A man fell in the water near Grangebel Park around 7:45 p.m. last Wednesday and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead for treatment of cold-water exposure, Riverhead Town police said.

A 911 caller reported seeing a man in the water behind Riverside Laundry in Grangebel Park. An officer then located the man in distress in the water.

The man removed himself from the water and was taken to PBMC by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance, police said. Additional information was unavailable.

• Police arrested a man for second-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident Sunday afternoon on Osborn Avenue in Riverhead. 

Jonathan Trent, age and address unavailable, reportedly hit someone with his car and then fled the scene on foot heading south on Osborn Avenue, police said.

A responding officer found Mr. Trent at the Middle Road/Osborn Avenue traffic circle and arrested him, police said.

• A Rocky Point woman is accused of illegally charging more than $200 to a Wading River man’s credit card, police said.

The victim reported that his credit card was being used without his permission. Riverhead detectives traced the crime back to Emily Mioducki of Rocky Point, 20, who was arrested Saturday morning on a third-degree identity theft charge, a misdemeanor.

Ms. Mioducki used the man’s credit card to purchase $235 worth of gift cards and other items at the Family Dollar Neighborhood Discount store in Rocky Point, police said.

• A “suspicious person” was arrested for third-degree criminal trespass last Tuesday morning at St. David’s School on Roanoke Avenue, Riverhead police said.

Edmund Blazer, 38, who police have said is homeless, was found hiding inside a wall at the school following an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting held the day before, police said.

• Someone stole $600 from a parked car on North Griffing Avenue in Riverhead around 11:20 p.m. Monday night, police said.

• Employees at the Giorgio Armani store at Tanger Outlets in Riverhead told police that several women stole about $150 worth of T-shirts from the store around 6 p.m. Friday, police said.

• Carlton Strong Jr., 65, address unavailable, was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed driving and a lane violation after he was pulled over in the Riverhead Plaza parking lot off Route 58 just after midnight Saturday, police said.

• Kristin Veto, 35, address unavailable, was charged with petit larceny after she attempted to steal $103 worth of merchandise from Walmart on Route 58 around 6 p.m. Saturday, police said.

• Margaret Wallace, 48, address unavailable, was charged with petit larceny at 11:17 a.m. Sunday at Walmart on Route 58. She was arrested on a civilian complaint filed by store security, police said. Additional information was unavailable.

• Stanley Lawrence, age and address unavailable, was charged with petit larceny around 5:45 p.m. Monday at Walmart on Route 58. Store security placed him under civilian arrest for allegedly shoplifting $198 worth of assorted merchandise, police said.

• Tomasz Zalewski of Riverhead, 27, was charged with petit larceny Monday afternoon at Walmart on Route 58, police said. Additional information was unavailable.

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.

An erratic driver in Greenport was found to be in possession of multiple drugs after police stopped him on Route 48 Sunday night, Southold Town police said. 

Kevin Kumbatovich, 37, of Riverhead was reportedly headed eastbound in a green PT Cruiser. Police had received a call about him driving erratically and police stopped his vehicle at 7:30 p.m., according to a press release.

An investigation revealed Mr. Kumbatovich was in possession of crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, police said. He was arrested for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, police said. He was transported to police headquarters and released for a later court date, police said.

The driver of a Ford Escape escaped serious injury after her vehicle overturned on Main Road in Aquebogue Tuesday afternoon, Riverhead Town police at the scene said.

The woman suffered minor lacerations to her left hand, police said, and was transported by Riverhead Ambulance volunteers to Peconic Bay Medical Center. Main Road was closed in both directions between Tuthills Lane and Colonial Drive as the Jamesport Fire Department worked to clear the scene.

The accident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. when the woman driving the Ford eastbound on Main Road collided with a Volvo that was attempting to turn from the eastbound lane into a driveway, police said.

The Volvo had four men inside who were also transported to PBMC as a precaution, police said.

Photo Caption: The overturned vehicle on Main Road in Aquebogue. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

Riverhead Town police are looking for two men who removed numerous items — including commercial mowers, weed wackers, hedge trimmers, backpack blowers and chainsaws — from Owen Brothers Landscape Design in Baiting Hollow early Wednesday morning. 

Police said the men entered the Sound Avenue property about 3:35 a.m., cut locks off an enclosed trailer and put the items on a open landscape trailer they removed from a truck yard and left in an SUV. Officials reportedly believe the car is a silver or gray Lincoln.

Anyone with information is asked to call Riverhead police at (631) 727-4500 ext. 332 or write to the department at Riverhead Police Department 210 Howell Avenue, Riverhead, N.Y. 11901, Attention: Detective Division, officials said.

A Baiting Hollow restaurant was broken into early Wednesday and two safes were stolen, according to Riverhead Town police.

The safes were later found intact on the property, and police believe the attempted burglar fled the scene.

According to a police news release, police were called to the Cooperage Inn on Sound Avenue for a potential commercial burglary about 3:40 a.m. An employee at the restaurant told police that the interior office had been broken into and two safes were removed, according to the release.

Police found the safes elsewhere on the property with the content apparently undisturbed. Police suspect the burglar was inside the building when the employee arrived and ran away, leaving the safes behind.

Town police are investigating the break-in and have asked anyone with information about the incident to call police headquarters at 631-727-5400 ext. 332.

An elderly man was airlifted to a local hospital Thursday afternoon after he suffered a “medical emergency” while driving in Calverton and crashed into a tree, Riverhead town police at the scene said. 

An elderly female passenger was also injured in the crash, police said.

The driver of a Ford crossover SUV suffered the medical emergency while driving west on Middle Road just south of Deep Hole Lane about 1:50 p.m., police said. The vehicle went off the road on the right shoulder before the driver overcompensated and drove off the left side of the road, smashing into a set of trees, police said.

Riverhead Fire Department was called to the scene for a possible rescue from the car, and set up a landing zone for a medical helicopter to land nearby.

The man was flown to Stony brook University Hospital, while his passenger was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Riverhead Ambulance volunteers.

Police said there were no signs the driver was speeding at the time of the crash. An update on the victims conditions was not immediately available.

Riverhead Town police arrested a Patchogue man who allegedly damaged a sign with graffiti in early April, according to a press release. 

Joseph Mark Kirch, 54, allegedly wrote the words “Pain Mgmt” with marker on a sign outside Health Now Walk in Medical on Route 25A in Wading River on April 5, police said. An investigation conducted by the Riverhead police COPE unit resulted in Mr. Kirch’s arrest, police said.

He was charged with making graffiti, a misdemeanor, and was arraigned in Riverhead Town Justice Court, police said.

Choking back tears, Riverhead physician assistant Michael Troyan detailed years of drug abuse and a scheme to sell painkillers on the street to feed his habit as he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in a federal courtroom in Central Islip Friday. 

Prosecutors will recommend a minimum sentencing of nine years in prison without parole and he has agreed to forfeit $710,000. He paid $3,000 at court Friday, but his attorney Mark Musachio of Deer Park, said he is unlikely to have the ability to pay that back prior to his sentencing as his plea agreement requires.

“Realistically he won’t be able to pay that in full by the time of his sentencing,” he said in court, adding that prosecutors will have to file a judgement to go after his assets.

Prosecutors said they will seek asset forfeiture at that point.

Mr. Troyan, who was wearing a black suit in court, is scheduled to be sentenced at 2 p.m. Sept. 30 before Judge Denis Hurley of the Eastern District Court. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Mr. Troyan agreed to waive his right to an appeal if the sentence is fewer than 12 1/2 years.

Mr. Troyan, 37, a physician assistant at East End Urgent and Primary Care in Riverhead, was arrested in November by federal authorities for illegally distributing thousands of prescription narcotic drug pills. He was described by prosecutors as the ringleader of the scheme, which unraveled after a complaint from a surgeon after one of his patients re-opened stitches with a pencil following a tonsillectomy because the patient was so desperate for pain pills. Prosecutors said Mr. Troyan was caught on video shortly before his arrest as well.

In court Friday, Mr. Troyan said there was “one main co-conspirator who hasn’t yet been named [in court]. That man would send in other people who would fill a prescription, return it to him, he would then distribute the pills and return to me not only money but pills … because I had a very bad drug problem.”

Mr. Troyan said he went through severe withdrawal while in custody. Since his arrest, he has received out-patient treatment for drug abuse and mental illness, Mr. Troyan said.

“I’ve been clean and sober for approximately 226 days,” he said in court.

Prosecutors said the scheme ran from November 2011 through October 2015. Judge Hurley asked Mr. Troyan in court about that date range.

“The date range is pretty accurate,” Mr. Troyan responded. “It’s how I maintained my drug habit.”

Former Southampton Town Councilman Brad Bender, a co-conspirator of Mr. Troyan, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to illegally distribute oxycodone. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 24.

Mr. Troyan was released after court Friday on a continuation of his bail agreement.

Mr. Troyan and his attorney declined further comment after the court appearance.

Photo Caption: Michael Troyan leaves court Friday surrounded by family members. (Credit: Grant Parpan)

A traffic stop in downtown Riverhead led to an arrest for heroin possession last week, Riverhead Town police said. 

Christen Fleming, 32, of Riverhead was charged with two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance last Thursday afternoon on East Main Street and Howell Avenue, according to police.

Ms. Fleming was pulled over on a traffic stop and an officer noticed that she was clenching something in her right hand.

When asked what she was holding, Ms. Fleming tried to hide the item on the side of her seat, according to police, who recovered it and determined it was heroin.

Ms. Fleming also had a plastic bag with a Xanax pill in it, police said.

• A home on Sound Avenue in Baiting Hollow was reportedly broken into Monday morning, police said.

The owner of the home said suspects broke a glass window to gain entry and then appeared to have slept in the house and to have made a meal using food from the cabinet and the microwave in the house, police said.

• A 2003 Cadillac was removed from the water at East Creek Marine in South Jamesport at 11 a.m. last Thursday, according to police.

Additional information was not available.

• A 2004 Nissan Altima reported stolen in the Suffolk County Police jurisdiction was found disabled on the side of Route 105 near Hubbard Avenue in Riverhead Saturday morning. The occupant of that car was arrested, according to Riverhead police.

Jason Moore, 38, of Riverhead was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He told police the car belonged to a friend, but a search of the state Department of Motor Vehicles database indicated that the license plates on the car were reported stolen by Suffolk County Police.

• Anthony Moore, 50, address unavailable, was arrested on two Suffolk County Police District warrants. Mr. Moore is facing charges of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and petit larceny in Suffolk courts.

• The owners of Kam Hung Kitchen on Route 25 in Jamesport reported last Wednesday night that someone broke in through a back door and took money from a tip jar in the restaurant, according to police.

• Oleksiy Pawlychka, age and address unavailable, was charged with driving while intoxicated at about 5 a.m. Sunday on Route 105, according to police.

• Selvin Ruiz-Gusman, 30, of Riverhead was charged with aggravated DWI at about 12:40 a.m. Monday on East Main Street and Howell Avenue. He also was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.

Mr. Ruiz-Gusman initially was pulled over for failing to stay in his lane of traffic, according to police.

• A woman reportedly stole $510 worth of nail polish from the CVS Pharmacy on Route 25A in Wading River Monday afternoon, according to police.

• A counterfeit $100 bill was found at The Home Depot on Route 58 Sunday morning. The bill was turned over to police.

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.

Southampton Town police arrested a Bay Shore woman for aggravated driving while intoxicated in Flanders last Wednesday.

Around 2:45 p.m., Noreen Domanico, 54, was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car on Westhampton-Riverhead Road that had been reported to police as being on fire, officials said. When police arrived, the car wasn’t on fire but reportedly had a blown radiator. Ms. Domanico allegedly smelled like alcohol and had slurred speech, no balance and bloodshot, glassy eyes. She performed poorly on a pre-screening breath test and was arrested for DWI and taken to headquarters to be processed, officials said. Her dog, which was in the car, was taken to Animal Control and the car was towed, police said.

Ms. Domanico was charged with aggravated DWI and driving while intoxicated, both misdemeanors, police said.

• A Southampton man was arrested Sunday for criminal mischief in Flanders, police said.

Carl Morgan, 50, allegedly kicked in a door at a Maple Avenue home around 8:45 a.m., causing damage to the frame and molding.

Mr. Morgan was charged with criminal mischief with intent to damage property, a misdemeanor.

• Police arrested a Riverhead woman for driving with a suspended license in Shinnecock Hills last Tuesday.

Lisa Hynds, 37, was stopped for speeding on Sunrise Highway around 10:20 a.m., when police learned her license was suspended in October 2015 for a DWI, Southampton Town police said. She was charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor, and a traffic violation.

• A Riverhead woman was arrested for driving without a license in Riverside last Thursday.

Neyda Rodriquez-Estrada, 35, was involved in a car accident on Flanders Road and Cross River Drive around 9:25 a.m. in which minor injuries were sustained, officials said. Police determined that Ms. Rodriquez-Estrada failed to yield while making a left turn from Route 24 onto Route 105 when she collided with another car, police said. A DMV check at the scene showed that she only has a Maryland permit as well as a summons from June 2011 for failing to appear in court, officials said.

Ms. Rodriquez-Estrada was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor, and two traffic violations.

• Police arrested a Riverhead man for driving with a suspended license in Sagaponack last Thursday.

Francisco Salguero, 45, was headed west on Sagaponack Road going 40 mph in a 15 mph school zone around 8:55 a.m., officials said. An officer followed the car along Parsonage Lane, where Mr. Salguero was driving 40 mph in a 25 mph zone, officials said. The officer pulled the car over and learned that Mr. Salguero reportedly had a suspended license and bench warrant following a DWI offense in July 2010.

He was charged with second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, a misdemeanor, and brought to court on the bench warrant.

• The exterior of a woman’s car was reportedly damaged last Tuesday after it was parked outside a unit at Peconic View Mobile Home Park in Flanders. In addition, police said, 40 Clonazepam pills were removed from inside the vehicle.

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 disbarred Wading River attorney previously convicted in a $4 million real estate Ponzi scheme was indicted last month for wire fraud in connection with an alleged theft that occurred prior to her conviction, according to a federal indictment.

Alice Belmonte, 49, bilked two California real estate investment companies out of approximately $1.8 million in March 2013, according to a May 12 grand jury indictment. Her latest arrest came just over one month after she was released from prison, New York State Division of Parole records show.

Ms. Belmonte had pleaded guilty in July 2014 to felony larceny, forgery and theft charges stemming from a foreclosure scam in which prosecutors said she forged contracts, faked e-mails from banks and signed her victims’ names for them while she bought new cars and took vacations to California with the stolen funds.

She was sentenced to serve three to 9 years in state prison, but was granted an early release on April 11, state records show.

At her latest arraignment in Eastern District Court of New York May 19, Ms. Belmonte pleaded not guilty to two charges of wire fraud and was released on a $500,000 bond, court records show.

A company connected to her most recent arrest, which was not named in the indictment, has alleged that $1.8 million it had wired to an escrow account Ms. Belmonte set up for real estate investments was redirected in March 2013 to her personal bank account after she forged “fraudulent disbursement instructions” in the name of one of the companies to the escrow company involved in the transaction.

Ms. Belmonte’s attorney, Brian Waller of Manhattan, declined comment on the charges Monday.

Prior to her initial arrest in October 2013, Ms. Belmonte was a sole practitioner, with offices in New York City and on Long Island specializing in real estate purchases and investments.

She told victims she had contacts with banks involved in real estate owned-listings, better known as foreclosures, that failed to sell at auction and were owned by lenders, according to records from her previous arrest.

That scheme started in 2011, when Ms. Belmonte told investors that all they had to do was deposit money in her escrow account as “proof of funds” to let her prove to the foreclosure listing owners she could close the deal, according to the documents.

She reportedly stole from 10 victims at the time, starting with a group of investors from Florida in late 2011. According to prosecutors, she secured contracts with each of the victims over the next several months, asking them to wire $3.6 million in total into her escrow account, court records show. Within days, the invested money had been taken out — in some cases on the same day it was deposited by her victims — and then held in other bank accounts run by Ms. Belmonte, which were later used to repay other investors lined up in the scheme.

In a 2013 state Supreme Court proceeding tendering her resignation as an attorney after 20 years, Ms. Belmonte admitted she “could not defend herself on the merits” of those charges. Her resignation was accepted and she was disbarred.

Ms. Belmonte is due back in court before Judge Leonard Wexler on June 29.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

Photo credit: New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision

A pedestrian was struck and “badly injured” by a westbound Long Island Rail Road train in downtown Riverhead Tuesday night, according to Riverhead Town police and the MTA.

The incident occurred on the tracks near East Main Street, police said. MTA spokesman Sal Arena said the incident happened between 10:15 and 10:20 p.m.

Mr. Arena said the man appeared to be lying on the tracks when the engineer spotted him and stopped the train, but not before striking the man.

The man survived, “but he was badly injured, suffering a serious leg injury,” Mr. Arena said in an email.

The 9:39 p.m. train from Greenport was scheduled to arrive in Ronkonkoma at 11:02 p.m. The LIRR posted on Twitter that the train was delayed “due [to] unauthorized person struck by train.”

There were three customers on the train at the time of the incident, Mr. Arena said.

No further information was immediately available.

Photo Caption: Police on scene investigating the train incident near East Main Street and Riverside Drive Tuesday night. (Credit: Paul Squire)

The attorney for former Southampton Town Councilman Bradley Bender has asked the judge in his drug case to consider a sentence that does not include time in prison, according to a memorandum filed June 17 in the Eastern District Court of New York.

Brian DeSesa of Bridgehamton said trauma suffered by Mr. Bender early in his life and his “charitable endeavors” in recent years could qualify him for a lenient sentencing when he appears before Judge Arthur Spatt Friday. Mr. DeSesa said Mr. Bender’s abusive upbringing led to his own drug habit.

Mr. DeSesa asked the judge to consider a sentence of five years’ probation, including one year of community confinement, and drug and psychological counseling.

Mr. DeSesa’s memo included more than 20 character references submitted by Southampton and Riverhead town residents on behalf of Mr. Bender, who pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute oxycodone.

In a letter submitted Tuesday, prosecutors asked the judge to instead consider a sentence of 37 months in prison, the maximum in a sentencing guideline that includes a minimum of 2 years behind bars, stating that it has become too common for people arrested in drug conspiracies to blame their own drug habits as their motivation.

“Bender sold over 3,000 oxycodone pills in exchange for cash and steroid pills for himself,” U.S. Attorney Robert Capers wrote. “He was pushing drugs into a community — Long Island — which is reeling from opioid abuse and overdose deaths.

“His dishonesty in contributing to the epidemic of prescription drug abuse while masquerading as a trusted councilman must be considered by the court in fashioning a sentence here,” Mr. Capers continued, noting a News-Review article stating Mr. Bender had been scheduled to listen to the concerns of community residents over crime in the Flanders-Riverside area on the day of his arrest.

Mr. Bender has already paid $5,000 in forfeiture money he was ordered to pay before his sentencing, court records show.

Riverhead Physician Assistant Michael Troyan, who allegedly prescribed the pills to Mr. Bender and has been charged in a kickback scheme he admitted to operating out of East End Urgent and Primary Care on East Main Street, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone last Friday. Prosecutors in his case have recommended a minimum of nine years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mr. DeSesa previously told the News-Review Mr. Bender became addicted to prescription pills Mr. Troyan legally prescribed him following an injury four years ago. Mr. Bender admitted in court to exchanging the oxycodone pills for cash and steroids with another co-conspirator.

Mr. Bender resigned from his Town Board post the morning of his arrest.

Caption: Attorney Brian DeSesa, left, and client Bradley Bender exit Eastern District Court on the morning of Mr Bender’s arrest. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)

gparpan@timesreview.com

Riverhead Town police are investigating an armed robbery Tuesday night that sent a man to a local hospital, according to a press release. 

The victim was approached by three or four people who demanded money and then physically attacked the man, police said. The victim managed to run from the suspects, whom he did not know, and returned to his residence, police said, but not before being cut by “an unknown instrument,” police said.

The attack occurred in the area of Railroad Avenue in Riverhead, police said.

A friend of the victim took him to Peconic Bay Medical Center on Wednesday and police said he sustained serious injuries and was then transported to another health care facility. Police received a report of the armed robbery about 7:20 p.m. Wednesday and the investigation is ongoing.

Police did not release any description of the suspects or the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (631) 727-4500, ext. 332.

Former Southampton Town Councilman Bradley Bender was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years’ probation Friday morning following his guilty plea in November to conspiracy to illegally distribute oxycodone.

Mr. Bender, who will now surrender at noon Sept. 15, was before Judge Arthur Spatt at U.S. Eastern District Court of New York in Central Islip.

Mr. Bender apologized for his actions in court prior to the sentencing, offering a tearful plea to the judge.

“I lost my job, my marriage and my reputation, but alas, I received the help to break my addiction,” Mr. Bender said in court.

Judge Spatt called Mr. Bender’s actions a “serious offense.”

“A councilman, an elected official getting involved with something like this? That’s outrageous,” he said.

The judge added that since Mr. Bender has no prior criminal history, he had no reason to believe he would commit any more crimes.

Mr. Bender said in court that he has been sober for more than seven months. His attorney, Brian J. DeSesa, said prior to the sentencing that any jail time would break the foundation of Mr. Bender’s sobriety.

Mr. Bender has already paid $5,000 in forfeiture money he was ordered to pay before his sentencing, court records show.

[Related story: Bender’s attorney seeks sentence with no prison time]

Riverhead Physician Assistant Michael Troyan, who allegedly prescribed the pills to Mr. Bender and has been charged in a kickback scheme he admitted to operating out of East End Urgent and Primary Care on East Main Street, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone last Friday. Prosecutors in his case have recommended a minimum of nine years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Mr. DeSesa previously told the News-Review Mr. Bender became addicted to prescription pills Mr. Troyan legally prescribed him following an injury four years ago. Mr. Bender admitted in court to exchanging the oxycodone pills for cash and steroids with another co-conspirator.

Mr. Bender resigned from his Town Board post the morning of his arrest Nov. 24.

He declined to comment outside court Friday following the sentencing.

jnuzzo@timesreview.com

Caption: Attorney Brian DeSesa, left, and client Bradley Bender exit Eastern District Court on the morning of Mr Bender’s arrest. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister, file)

A Riverhead man suffered second-degree burns Friday morning when the fumes from gasoline he was pouring into a lawn trimmer combined with a lit candle to spark a fire, according to the Riverhead Town fire marshal.

The man, who was pouring the gasoline inside his garage at his Foxwood Village home, suffered burns on his chest and arms, said Craig Zitek, a town fire marshal. The man, who is in his 60s, was airlifted from a nearby field to Stony Brook University Hospital, Mr. Zitek said.

A neighbor who witnessed it said the man’s son doused his father and the fire with a hose.

“I was on the phone and heard some noise,” said Jeff Rausch, who was visiting from Boston. “Then I saw that the garage was just consumed with flames and I noticed someone flailing and screaming. My mother called 911 and I ran across the street.”

The fire was already out by the time the Riverhead Fire Department arrived on scene shortly after 11 a.m.

Photo Caption: The fire sparked inside the garage Friday morning. (Credit: Tim Gannon)

tgannon@timesreview.com

Southampton Town police arrested a Riverside man for criminal possession of a weapon in Southampton last Tuesday.

John Haviland, 57, reportedly assaulted a victim with a pipe and a knife around 4:15 a.m. on Pine Grove Street, police said.

Mr. Haviland was charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree assault, all felonies.

• A Seaford woman was arrested Sunday for criminal mischief in Riverside.

Leann Dallas, 34, was arrested on Flanders Road around 9:25 a.m. after a police investigation determined she intentionally damaged someone else’s car, causing over $250 worth of damage, officials said. She was processed at headquarters and released on an appearance ticket, police said.

Ms. Dallas was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a felony.

• New York State police arrested a Greenport woman Saturday for drunken driving in Flanders.

Stephanie Wright, 19, was stopped for crossing left of pavement markings on Route 24. Police then learned she was intoxicated, officials said.

Ms. Wright was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor.

• State police arrested a Flanders man Saturday for driving while intoxicated in Riverside.

Arturo Perez, 31, was reportedly involved in a one-car accident that resulted in property damage on Lake Avenue and Lakeview Drive. Police then learned he was intoxicated, officials said.

Mr. Perez was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor.

• A Sayville man was arrested Saturday for driving while intoxicated in Flanders.

After Alexander Korpi, 24, was stopped for traffic infractions around 4:45 a.m. near Flanders Road and Pleasure Drive, police noticed he smelled like alcohol, had red, glassy eyes and slurred speech and was unbalanced, officials said. Mr. Korpi reportedly performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests and failed a pre-screening breath test. He was arrested, transported to headquarters, processed and held for morning arraignment, police said.

Mr. Korpi was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and two traffic violations.

• State police arrested a Queens man Saturday for drunken driving in Riverhead.

Emmanuel Chery, 32, was stopped on West Main Street and Osborn Avenue after police received a call about an erratic driver, officials said. Mr. Chery was charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.

• Two people were arrested for drug possession in Riverside last Monday.

Diego Ceballos, 22, of Southampton was driving on Flanders Road about 8:40 p.m. when members of the Southampton Town police Community Response Unit noticed his car had a cracked windshield. Police then learned he was driving without a license, officials said. Police interviewed all the passengers in the car and learned that the rear passenger, 20-year-old Luke Caprari of Eastport, reportedly had an active warrant out of Suffolk County police and was in possession of a narcotic without a prescription. The other rear passenger, Tina Costello of Riverhead, 48, possessed a quantity of crack cocaine, officials said.

Mr. Ceballos was issued a summons for third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and released at the scene.

Mr. Caprari and Ms. Costello were each arrested for seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, and taken to headquarters for processing. Mr. Caprari was also arrested for his outstanding warrant, officials said.

• Police arrested a Riverhead man Sunday for drug possession in Flanders.

Selvin Carrera-Cabrera, 22, was stopped on Flanders Road around 3:25 a.m. for driving without headlights, officials said. When the officer approached the car he reportedly smelled marijuana, and Mr. Carrera-Cabrera allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana before driving. The officer arrested him and determined during the search that Mr. Carrera-Cabrera possessed a quantity of cocaine, police said.

He was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs, both misdemeanors, and two violations. He was taken to headquarters and held for morning arraignment in Southampton Town Justice Court.

• A Calverton woman was arrested Friday for driving with a suspended license in Flanders.

Martha Ruthenberg, 30, was reportedly involved in a car accident that caused injuries on Flanders Road around 10:05 a.m. Police learned she had a suspended license, officials said.

Ms. Ruthenberg was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and a traffic violation.

• A Riverhead man was arrested for driving with a suspended license in Hampton Bays last Tuesday.

After Armando Felix, 36, was stopped for speeding near Old Riverhead Road and East Montauk Highway around 8:05 a.m., police learned his license had been suspended for failing to answer two summonses out of Nassau County Court, police said.

He was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and two traffic violations.

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.

Four people were arrested Saturday at Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office DWI Task Force checkpoints set up throughout Riverhead Town. 

The Task Force arranged additional patrols featuring members of the Suffolk County, Riverhead, Southold and Shelter Island police departments.

The following four people were arrested for offenses ranging from felony Driving While Intoxicated-Leandra’s Law to DWI, DWI-drugs and driving while ability impaired:

• Jonathan Trent, 26, of Riverhead was charged with DWI-Leandra’s Law after crashing into another vehicle at a checkpoint with a 1-year-old child in his car.

• Steven Velasquez-Perez, 19, of Riverhead was charged with DWI-drugs.

• Carlo Garcia, 46, of Elmhurst, N.Y. was charged with DWI.

• Laurie Milford, 52, of Wading River was charged with DWAI.

A fifth DWI Task Force arrest took place in Southampton Town when William MacDougal, 50, of Riverhead was observed with his driver’s side door open and his vehicle stopped in a westbound rest area entrance way on Flanders Road.

A woman was arrested on drug charges after she was found with prescription drugs she didn’t have a prescription for, Riverhead Town police said.

Elena Malchevsky, 38, address unavailable, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance Sunday afternoon on Harrison Avenue, police said. Police were called to investigate a suspicious person at an address on that street and found Ms. Malchevsky sitting in the front yard with a hypodermic needle in her arm, police said.

Mr. Malchevsy appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was found to be in possession of numerous expired prescriptions in her name, as well as six white pills that were identified as Clonazepam, a drug often used to treat anxiety disorders and prevent seizures, for which she didn’t have a valid prescription.

• Nicholas Grieco, 41, address unavailable, was arrested Sunday night on Roanoke Avenue, police said. He was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

• Wocjcheck Radziwonski, age and address unavailable, was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana Monday night on Hamilton Avenue in Riverhead, police said.

• Heather DeGroff, 28, of Riverside was arrested on a justice court warrant last Tuesday night at police headquarters, officials said. Ms. DeGroff is facing a petit larceny charge in justice court stemming from a Dec. 30, 2015, incident in which police said she stole assorted toys, food and a tote bag from the Route 58 Target.

• A Calverton woman told police last Wednesday that an unknown person scratched the driver’s side and passenger’s side door on her car the night before, causing about $2,000 worth of damage, official said.

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.