Riverhead Blotter: Oakdale woman charged with DWI

An Oakdale woman was arrested in Riverhead early Saturday morning for drunken driving, according to a police report.

Candice Giery, 33, was pulled over near the intersection of Sebastian Drive and Sound Avenue around 2 a.m. after traveling westbound on Sound Avenue with no front license plate, reports said.

Upon further investigation, police found Ms. Giery had slurred speech and difficulty locating her driver’s license, “which was in plain view when she opened her purse,” reports said.

Police then approached the passenger side of the vehicle and found an open bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila stuffed between the passenger seat and the door.

After conducting sobriety tests and confirming that Ms. Giery was intoxicated, she was arrested and charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, due to a prior DWI conviction, and two traffic violations.

• Paul Cascio, 68, was arrested on Sound Avenue in Riverhead Friday afternoon for DWI, police reports said.

A report of a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Roanoke and Sound avenues that occurred around 1:30 p.m. prompted a police investigation, reports said.

Mr. Cascio, of Riverhead, the operator of the 2007 Nissan Altima involved in the accident, was interviewed at the scene and found to be intoxicated and driving with a suspended or revoked license.

He was arrested and charged with a felony for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree, improper use of a vehicle interlock device, one count of DWI and one count of aggravated DWI due to a previous conviction.

• Gabriel Villa, 22, of Calverton was arrested on Bayberry Road in Wading River Saturday for drunken driving, police reports said.

An individual reported that a 2017 Ford Mustang crashed into his neighbor’s house on Bayberry Road around 4 p.m. When police responded to the scene, they found the vehicle had crashed into a car parked in the driveway and a closed garage door at the address, reports said.

Further investigation revealed the owner and operator of the vehicle, Mr. Villa, was intoxicated. He was arrested and charged with one count of aggravated DWI.

• Sean Fontana, 49, of Wading River was arrested for obstruction of governmental administration following a single-car crash outside the Riverhead Applebee’s last Wednesday evening, reports said.

Police responded to a report from an Applebee’s employee that a vehicle outside the restaurant had crashed into a tree and possibly the building around 9:20 p.m., reports said. When police arrived at the scene, an unknown woman directed police to a grey Mercury Mountaineer with the N.Y. license plate ILVMYMOM, driven by Mr. Fontana, that was attempting to leave the area.

When police spoke with Mr. Fontana, he was disoriented and stated that he did not crash his vehicle, reports said. Mr. Fontana was then asked to exit the vehicle as police conducted a DWI investigation due to the nature of the incident, reports said.

The officer on duty asked Mr. Fontana to stand by for a moment while he grabbed a breath tube for a sobriety test from his vehicle. At that time, reports said, Mr. Fontana disobeyed police orders and started walking toward his vehicle.

The officer attempted to control Mr. Fontana, which was met with resistance and several kicks to the knee, reports said. He was brought to the ground where he was physically detained and placed into handcuffs, reports said.

Mr. Fontana was arrested, charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, and two counts of harassment, both violations. He was released with an appearance ticket, reports said. He was not charged with DWI.

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.