Southampton Blotter: Taxi driver had license suspended three times

Southampton Town police arrested a taxi driver in Riverside last Tuesday after a report of an unrestrained infant in the back seat.

Alexander Pappas, 59, of Riverhead was operating a Star Light Taxi northbound on Peconic Avenue when he was stopped and officers discovered his license had been suspended three times in September, officials said.

Mr. Pappas was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor, and several vehicle and traffic violations. He was released on an appearance ticket, police said.

• A 38-year-old Riverside man called police Friday around 4:41 a.m. after he heard his dog barking and saw the doors to two cars in his driveway wide open. It’s unclear if anything was removed from the vehicles.

• Police responded to a Wood Road Trail residence last Wednesday after a resident reported to police that an unknown person entered his property and stole a boat battery, tire and rim overnight.

Police were unable to locate any suspects, according to a report, but are conducting extra patrols of the Flanders neighborhood.

• A 53-year-old Flanders man called police last Tuesday afternoon to report that an unknown person cut the valve stem on a tire on his vehicle in his driveway overnight.

• Police arrested a 24-year-old Riverside woman for a harassment violation after she allegedly grabbed her housemate’s hair and scratched her face during a dispute over a shared kitchen last Tuesday afternoon, according to a police report.

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 The charges against them may later be reduced or withdrawn, or they may be found innocent.