Blotter: Riverhead police charge four in underage alcohol investigation

The Riverhead police COPE division, in cooperation with Riverhead Community Awareness Program, found employees at four locations who sold alcohol to a minor. The following people were  charged with first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child.

Diony Castillo, 27, an employee of Riverhead Supermarket and Deli, 945 West Main St., Riverhead.

Can Aydoner, 41, an employee of American Gas, 1427 Main Road, Jamesport.

Harmanbir Sing, 29, an employee at Bolla Market, 3705 Middle Country Road, Calverton.

Briana Cleasby, 24, an employee of Lidl, 1151 Old Country Road, Riverhead.

Five additional stores were found to be in compliance.

• A Riverhead woman was critically injured in an early morning crash involving an alleged drunken driver, according to Suffolk County police.

The crash, which claimed the life of a Central Islip man, occurred on eastbound Sunrise Highway near Exit 50 in Sayville shortly before 12:30 a.m. last Wednesday, police said.

Police identified the Riverhead woman as 42-year-old Lisa Hynds, a passenger in the vehicle driven by 46-year-old Miguel Berdecia, who was killed.

Police have charged Daniel Lazzaro, 37, of Centereach with driving while intoxicated in the chain-reaction crash. 

Mr. Berdecia was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the county medical examiner’s office. Ms. Hynds was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital in critical condition. Mr. Lazzaro was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Southampton police arrested Alexander Barrosbacuilima, 22, in Riverhead for driving while intoxicated Monday.

The Hampton Bays resident had struck a utility pole, according to an incident report, which notes his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, his breath smelled strongly of alcohol and he performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

Mr. Barrosbacuilima was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was arrested. After he was released from the hospital, he was transported to police headquarters for processing. Mr. Barrosbacuilima has been charged with operating a motor vehicle without an inspection ticket and his first DWI.

• Police arrested Michael Gilbert, 27, of Riverhead in Riverside Sept. 3 for driving with a suspended driver’s license after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Mr. Gilbert’s license had been suspended for failure to pay fines or answer a summons. He was issued uniform traffic tickets and released in the field.

• A Flanders woman was almost scammed out of $1,000 last week, according to an incident report.

She called police Sept. 6 to report a larceny, claiming she had been contacted the previous day by an unknown person on Facebook Messenger who said he’d help her obtain a $30,000 World Bank-issued grant for home improvements. He said application fees cost $1,000 so the caller purchased two $500 Vanilla Visa gift cards and shared their details with an unknown man who contacted her, claiming to be a PayPal supervisor.

The reporting officer contacted Visa and PayPal, which halted transactions connected with the cards. Visa advised the victim to contact the company in a week for new cards to access the original $1,000. Visa and PayPal plan to conduct further investigation into the fraud.

• A man reported to police that he was missing a large sum of money in Flanders last Wednesday.

The caller said his mother was keeping $9,000 for him in her room and “a large portion” vanished over the past two days, according to a police report. The family agreed to enter a civil agreement to collectively pay back the caller.

• Jesus Gastaliturri, 27, of Southold was arrested at a traffic stop in Hampton Bays last Monday, where police found he had an active bench warrant from Southampton Justice Court.

Mr. Gastaliturri had failed to appear in court in February 2019, according to an incident report. He was arrested and transported to police headquarters for processing, where he was held for arraignment.

• Police responded to a call reporting a possibly stolen vehicle in Flanders Monday.

The caller said his friend had parked his vehicle while he was away and it was not where it was supposed to be. Upon calling his friend, he learned the vehicle had been moved. No further action was taken.

• Art Aguiliarurban, 44, of Flanders was arrested in Flanders Monday after he was pulled over for failing to maintain his lane of travel and making an improper right turn.

A DMV check showed his license had been suspended for failure to pay a driver assessment responsibility fee. He was released in the field on uniform traffic tickets and will appear in court.

• Police arrested Antoine Thomas, 32, of New York City for stealing a pack of cigarettes from a gas station in Riverside last Monday. He was taken to police headquarters for processing and released on an appearance ticket for a future court date.

• Police arrested Christian Estrada, 27, of Flanders for driving with a revoked license Sept. 3. He was processed and released in the field on a uniform traffic ticket.

• Erwin Velezsinay, 38, of Flanders was charged with open consumption of alcohol in Flanders Saturday. He was arrested and released in the field to appear in court at a later date.

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.