Riverhead blotter: Police searching for two ‘heavy-set’ thieves

A “heavy-set” white male accompanied by a “heavy-set” white female removed $222 worth of men’s clothing from the Nautica Factory Store at Tanger Outlets last Thursday night and fled in an unknown vehicle, according to a police report.

The suspects were both wearing jeans and dark sweatshirts.

The male suspect returned to the store about 10 minutes later and exchanged the stolen items for a gift card.

The man left again and the gift card was later canceled by the store.

• A male juvenile was arrested last Thursday on two counts of first-degree robbery on Oakland Drive West. The charges stem from an incident that occurred on that street March 19, when a teenager was robbed and assaulted in a neighborhood park by a group of eight black males and two black females, according to police.

Police arrested an 18-year-old and a juvenile last week in connection with that case last week and charged both with first-degree robbery.

The juvenile was processed and turned over to family court, according to police.

• A 57-year-old Wading River man was charged with driving while intoxicated after he crashed his car into an office building on North Country Road in Wading River about 1:30 a.m. last Tuesday.

Kenneth Knapek told police he was traveling west on North Country Road and was falling asleep when he collided with the building, which is at the intersection with North Wading River Road.

Mr. Knapek was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Wading River Fire Department ambulance after he complained of chest pain. He agreed to a blood alcohol test at the hospital, police said.

He was arraigned at town Justice Court following his release from the hospital, according to police.

• Riverhead Town police made an arrest Monday in connection with a pair of larcenies in Riverhead last month.

Steven Price, 47, of East Quogue was arrested and charged with two counts of misdemeanor petit larceny stemming from thefts that occurred at the Route 58 CVS March 13 and at Walmart March 27, police said.

The arrest was the result of an investigation by the Riverhead COPE unit, police said.

• A Galaxy S5 cell phone was reported stolen from an unlocked car in the parking lot of Gala Fresh Farms on Route 58 Monday morning. The phone is valued at $380, according to police.

• Thomas Dougherty, 30, of Mattituck was charged with petit larceny following his arrest at Walmart on Route 58 Saturday night. Additional information was not available.

• A man used stolen credit card information to purchase $247 worth of merchandise from the Calvin Klein store at Tanger Outlets last Tuesday, according to police, who were alerted to the theft by store personnel the following afternoon.

• A woman attempted to steal $1,250 worth of merchandise from the Coach store at Tanger Outlets Sunday afternoon but was thwarted by store personnel and left without the goods, which were recovered, according to police.

• A box of new Disney children’s clothing and other items were reported stolen from a car parked on Mystic Court in Riverhead last Wednesday afternoon.

• A Patchogue man was injured Monday after the quad he was riding at the Enterprise Park at Calverton flipped over, according to Riverhead police. The 36-year-old man was last seen heading east on a dirt path about a mile south of Route 25 in the western portion of EPCAL on Monday afternoon when the quad overturned, according to police.

When an officer arrived, the victim had facial abrasions, a cracked helmet and minor bleeding from his head, according to a police report. The quad had front-end damage and was found facing west and off the path, police said.

The man told officers he had no memory of what happened.

He was taken to Stony Brook University Medical Center by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance and was initially described as being in shock, according to a police accident report. No summonses were issued.

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.