Riverhead Police Blotter: Party bus driver arrested for DWI

A Mount Sinai man is facing an aggravated driving while intoxicated charge after allegedly driving a wine tour bus with 25 people aboard while his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, authorities said.

Christopher Dopkins, 48, was pulled over on Sound Avenue in Wading River after a witness reported a bus driving erratically in Cutchogue and then tailed it west, according to Riverhead Police Lieutenant Dave Lessard.

The witness said the driver had hit a road sign and was dragging a traffic cone under the bus, which is part of the Rocky Point-based Red Carpet Limousine’s fleet.
Mr. Dopkins was charged with felony DWI and was taken to the Suffolk County jail.

A man who answered the phone at Red Carpet Limousines declined to comment on the charge.

• A Riverhead man reported he was attacked by two unknown men and robbed of $348 while walking down Sigal Avenue early Sunday, town police said.

The victim reported that the men, who were standing by a black vehicle, asked him if he wanted to do business about 4:15 a.m., according to police. The victim, who replied no, was then grabbed from behind and put into a choke hold and dragged down the driveway of a Sigal Avenue home. The two men reached into the victim’s pocket and took his wallet and cellphone. They then threw him to the ground and punched him in the head. The men emptied the wallet and left it and the cellphone on the ground.

The victim was not seriously injured during the ordeal. No charges have been filed.

• A Coram woman was arrested after she stuffed six women’s sweaters into a purse designed to evade security sensors in the Calvin Klein store at Tanger Outlets, town police said.
An employee chased 28-year-old Julie Paola Peralta through the Tanger parking lot and caught her. Ms. Paola Peralta’s male accomplice escaped and was not apprehended by police.

Police did not say exactly how Ms. Paola Peralta’s purse was able to evade store security sensors.

Ms. Paola Peralta was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of an anti-security device.

• Two women were hospitalized following a two-car crash in Wading River Saturday night, authorities said.

The women were traveling on North Country Road near Gully Road about 6:20 p.m. when they crashed into another vehicle, Riverhead Town Police said.

One of the women, who were not identified by police, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center and the other was taken to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson. The helicopter landed at Wading River Elementary School.

The driver of the other car refused medical attention at the scene. No charges were filed.

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.