Police

Driver who killed cyclist in Calverton last year back in jail following latest arrest

DUI, Brookhaven National Laboratory, bicyclist, Calverton
WILLIAM SLATTON after the 2012 arrest

The attorney for the man arrested last year for fatally striking a bicyclist along Route 25 in Calverton as he allegedly drove under the influence of drugs with a suspended license and his four young children in the car expects the charges against his client will soon be dropped.

But now William Slatton is once again in trouble with the law. The 31-year-old Farmingville man was arrested Wednesday on a fourth-degree grand larceny charge, a class E felony,  for using a credit card stolen from a Middle Island home, Suffolk County police said. A source familiar with the case said Mr. Slatton stole the card from the home of the mother of his kids, while he was visiting them last weekend.

STEVEN KANE
STEVEN KANE

Mr. Slatton made headlines last year following the Nov. 1 crash which killed avid bicyclist Steven Kane, 57, of Brightwaters, the manager of safety engineering at Brookhaven National Laboratory who was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of several passing motorists to save him.

Mr. Slatton is facing charges of driving while ability impaired by drugs, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child following his arrest last year. His attorney, Joseph Cozzo of Central Islip, said he anticipates charges in that case will be dismissed since Mr. Slatton was under the influence of methadone at the time of the crash, a drug he was using as part of his court-ordered treatment for heroin addiction.

“He was on methadone and he was getting it from a Suffolk County clinic,” Mr. Cozzo said Sunday. “I can’t speak for the District Attorney’s office, but I do anticipate charges being dismissed.”

Mr. Slatton is due back in Riverhead Town Justice Court Dec. 11 in relation to the crash, Mr. Cozzo said.  He has been free on bail since late last November after his bail was reduced from $50,000 to $1,000, which Mr. Cozzo previously told the News-Review was lowered so he could spend the holidays with his family.

Even if the crash charges are dismissed, Mr. Slatton could still face jail time for violating the terms of probation in relation to the 2007 felony attempted drug possession conviction that led to his suspended license. He’s due back in court Dec. 13 on the probation violation, online court records show.

“With this new arrest, he’s going to be in more trouble now,” said Mr. Cozzo, who is not representing Mr. Slatton in connection with his latest arrest.

The District Attorney’s office could not be reached for comment Sunday.

The source who alerted the News-Review to Mr. Slatton’s latest arrest said the father of four recently relapsed in his drug treatment and no longer lives with his children and their mother.

“He has stolen from family more times than I choose to remember and this time he went too far,” the source said.

Mr. Slatton is being held at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility on $7,500 cash bail or $15,000 bond, and is due back in district court Tuesday, jail officials said.

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