Cops: Pet store owner found dead in motel
A local pet store owner died in a Riverhead motel room Saturday morning after he was found not breathing, Riverhead Town police said.
Police said the man’s death “does not appear to be suspicious,” according to a press release issued Monday afternoon.
A man tried to wake Scott Kaphan, 42, of Hampton Bays in a room at the Swiss Motel on West Main Street about 11:09 a.m. when he found Mr. Kaphan was not breathing, according to a police report.
The man called 911 and a police officer who arrived on the scene found Mr. Kaphan — the owner of the Puppy Experience on Main Road in Aquebogue — was unresponsive and had no pulse, the release states.
Police said resuscitation efforts “were not warranted,” and Mr. Kaphan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Riverhead detectives and the Suffolk County Medical Examiners Office investigated the scene and took Mr. Kaphan’s body to be autopsied.
His cause of death is unknown at this time and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
An employee at the Swiss Motel declined comment Monday afternoon.
