Riverhead Blotter: Passed out man in McDonald’s leads to heroin arrest

A Mattituck man was arrested for heroin possession Saturday night in Riverhead, police said. 

Thomas Dougherty, 30, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument following his arrest about 11 p.m. near McDonald’s on Route 58, according to town police.

An officer had responded to a 911 complaint that a man was possibly unconscious in the bathroom of the restaurant, police said, but the man had left by the time the officer arrived.

A search of the area turned up Mr. Dougherty, who refused to comply with an officer’s requests to keep his hands out of his pockets and waistband, police said. Mr. Dougherty admitted to having two needles in his pocket, which were retrieved by the officer, and a further search turned up a brown sand-like material, which police identified as heroin, in Mr. Dougherty’s front pocket.

• An employee at the Empire gas station on Route 58 in Riverhead told police that someone had passed a counterfeit $100 bill and gotten $90 in real money as change on Saturday afternoon.

The suspect fled westbound in a gold Jaguar sedan with chrome wheels, according to police.

• A woman reported to police at 1:22 a.m. Friday that someone had stolen her wallet from an unlocked car on Harrison Avenue, near Route 58. The woman told police the wallet contained $1,800 in cash, according to police.

• A security guard at Target was threatened with a knife Monday afternoon by a man who was trying to seal about $175 worth of assorted clothes, according to police.

The suspect escaped, but the merchandise was recovered, according to police.

• Underwear was reported stolen from a store at Tanger Outlets Sunday, according to police.

A manager at the store said an unknown black male wearing a green jacket, a baseball hat and tan pants removed several pairs of underwear from two display tables at the Hanesbrands store at Tanger and then fled on foot, according to police, who searched the area but were unable to find the suspect.

• David Akines, 23, address unavailable, was charged with third-degree assault and resisting arrest Monday night about 7 p.m. on Court Street in Riverhead. He was involved in an assault earlier in the day on West Main Street, where the victim was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, according to police. Additional information was not available.

• Three cans of copper wire and a Garmin GPS unit were reported stolen from a car parked at the Riverhead Charter School Friday morning.

• An unknown person broke the rear driver’s side window of a car parked on Griffing Avenue in Riverhead around 5 p.m. Friday, police said.

• A Microsoft Surface Pro 2 tablet and a driver’s license were reported stolen from a car parked on Park Place in Baiting Hollow about 5 p.m. Friday, according to police.

• A 12-foot-long kayak was reported stolen from the driveway of a home on Park Road in Baiting Hollow Saturday morning, police 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.