Police said a man stole a grill outside a Miller Place Shop April 26. Photo from SCPD
Police said a man stole a grill outside a Miller Place Shop April 26. Photo from SCPD
Suffolk police are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a person who allegedly stole a full display grill from outside a Miller Place store last month.
Police said a man allegedly cut the cable and stole a Weber Spirit grill outside Brinkmann’s Hardware, located at 900 Route 25, on April 26. The grill was valued at approximately $700.
People with information can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, utilizing a mobile app which can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play by searching P3 Tips, or online atwww.P3Tips.com. Police offer a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. All calls and texts are confidential.
Police arrested a man Sunday, April 27 after an alleged several-hour long armed standoff at his Rocky Point residence.
Suffolk County Police said the landlord for the property located at 56 Shell Road called 911 at around 6:30 p.m. to report her tenant, Damien Loecher, 39, had locked himself inside the residence following a verbal dispute.
What followed was several hours of negotiations between Loecher and police as the man had barricaded himself inside the small, single story house with a rifle. 7th precinct officers, Emergency Service Section officers and members of the Hostage Negotiation Team responded to the scene. Loecher allegedly broke windows, damaged the interior of the house and threatened police. At around 10:15 p.m., Loecher exited the rear of the residence where police said officers apprehended Loecher in the backyard of the residence and arrested him. There were no injuries.
7th Squad detectives charged Loecher with menacing a police officer and criminal mischief 2nd degree. He will be arraigned on a later date.
Suffolk County Police have arrested a Medford man after he allegedly assaulted a woman and barricaded himself in a Kings Park house for approximately 8 hours April 26.
Mark Reyes entered the home of a female acquaintance, located on Clover Lane, the evening of April 25 and allegedly held the woman against her will overnight. The 33-year-old woman was assaulted and sustained knife-wounds in the incident. She escaped the house at approximately 9:30 a.m. Sunday and was taken to an area hospital for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injures. Two children who were in the house at the time of the incident were unharmed.
Reyes fled the house on foot and kicked in the back door of a nearby house, located at Rumford Road, at approximately 9:35 a.m. Sunday.
A good Samaritan saw Reyes enter the home on Rumford Road and called 911. Suffolk County Police Emergency Service Section officers and members of the hostage negotiation team responded to the scene. Emergency Service Section officers were able to enter the home and bring a 77-year-old female resident to safety while Reyes barricaded himself in an upstairs bathroom. The woman was uninjured.
At approximately 5:45 p.m., Emergency Service Section officers re-entered the home and removed Reyes from the house. Reyes, who had a self-inflicted knife wound, was transported to an area hospital for treatment of serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Reyes, 51, is being charged with criminal mischief, criminal obstruction of breathing, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, assault in the first degree, aggravated criminal contempt, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, criminal trespassing in the second degree, and criminal mischief in the third degree. Other charges may be pending. He will be arraigned on a later date.
Suffolk County Police arrested a man for allegedly making graffiti in Smithtown this morning.
Responding to a 911 call, a SCPD 4th Precinct patrol officer observed Anthony Garcia painting graffiti on a bus stop shelter, located on Nesconset Highway near Terry Road, at approximately 12:30 a.m. Recent graffiti was also observed on a second bus stop shelter nearby.
Garcia, 30, of Patchogue, was arrested and charged with making graffiti and possession of graffiti instruments, both misdemeanors. He was issued a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip May 15.
District Attorney Tim Sini (D). File photo by Victoria Espinoza
By Leah Chiappino
Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini (D) hosted a Town Hall Meeting via Zoom on Thursday, with over 300 constituents in attendance.
Sini first took a moment to acknowledge the difficulties the pandemic is having on people’s mental health and offered condolences to those who know someone who has lost their life to the virus.
“This is more than an inconvenience and will have a long-term impact on mental health, especially with those who have pre-existing conditions and substance abuse disorders,” he said.
The District Attorney, who himself tested positive for COVID-19 March 24, says he has made a full recovery after self-isolating for two weeks, while experiencing mild symptoms such as the loss of smell and taste. He added his diagnosis was not surprising, given the high contact nature of his position
“As of March 16, I was still in court, and doing community outreach and public engagement,” he said. “I am definitely one of the lucky ones.”
Sini is participating in an antibody testing program at Stony Brook Hospital to see if his blood plasma can be found with antibodies for the virus. He encouraged other survivors of the virus to do the same.
Sini reported that violent crime has seen a 24.3 percent reduction, and most other major crimes are down with the exception of commercial burglaries and motor vehicle theft. He says the rise commercial burglaries makes sense, as businesses are shut down and people are taking advantage. His office is coming up with a strategy to address the increase in the coming weeks. However, since March 23, 130 out of 188 handcuffed arrests have been the result of a domestic or child abuse crime.
“We recognize this challenge and we’ll come up with strategies to combat it,” Sini said. He added that prosecutors and victims advocates are mean to get in contact with those who have reported a domestic crime. They are also in coordination with safe shelters for domestic violence victims, most of whom are running and working with hotels if needed. The county has also granted an automatic extension on orders of protection until a victim’s next court date, or until a judge changes it. Victims can text 911 for help or call 631-853-4138 to obtain an order of protection.
The district attorney’s office is assisting enforcement of social distancing guidelines, as part of New York State on PAUSE executive order, made effective March 22. Sini said they would prosecute those who don’t heed warnings by Suffolk County Police, code enforcement officers or village Police, with charges of obstruction of governmental administration and/or disorderly conduct.
“If someone needs to be taught a lesson or made an example of, we’re willing to do that,” he said.
Throughout the call, Sini reassured the DA’s Office will continue operate at its fullest capacity
“We are getting things done,” he said. “You have enough to worry about, whether it be health, homeschooling your children, or finances. One thing you do not have to worry about is whether or not the DA’s office is keeping you safe.”
Sini said his office is continuing to invest in technology and update their protocol to ensure employees can work from home effectively. As of March 16, 80 percent of employees at the DA’s office was working from home, and the entire staff was working from home as of March 17. Suffolk County was the first County in New York state to allow essential hearings and arraignments to be done via Skype, with the necessary paperwork being shared via email.
Sini added the office is taking the time to invest in professional development and zoom-based training. 115 employees have taken Spanish language classes. The bureau is also reviewing strategy, policy development and long-term planning.
According to the district attorney, The Financial and Money-Laundering Bureau is aggressively vetting Personal Protective Equipment suppliers to the county to ensure there are no scams. The county has obtained and distributed 2.2 million pieces of PPE to healthcare workers. Justin Meyers, Sini’s Chief of Staff, is acting as a liaison to the county executive, as well as to hospitals working on expansion and coordinating the implementation of mobile testing sites and PPE Distribution.
Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson. File photo by David Luces
Though the majority of local residents are doing their best to practice social distancing and comply with state executive orders, Suffolk County police said others have been belligerent and uncooperative in suppressing the spread of coronavirus.
Police said 6th precinct officers responded to Main Street in Port Jefferson Sunday, April 19, at around 1:30 p.m. There was a report of a large group of people not practicing social distancing.
Police said one individual refused a request to social distance or put a mask on. He was taken to the Sixth Precinct and was released with a civil summons returnable to the Village of Port Jefferson for failure to comply with the executive order.
Port Jefferson village Mayor Margot Garant said in the April 20 trustees meeting that Sunday saw large groups of people down in Port Jefferson, with many congregating on Main Street and in Harborfront Park. Many were not wearing masks. The park along the waterfront was temporarily closed after the incident when cops arrived.
“Sunday was a very difficult day in the village — it was a sunny day and people had cabin fever,” the mayor said. “Between groups of motorcycles, people showing off muscle cars … we did have to close down Harborfront.”
She said such actions by locals and visitors means they could be spreading the virus not only to others, but also to police and code enforcement, which she said should be especially respected now since they are “part of the front line.”
The fear, village officials said, was a kind of political backlash and further gatherings. In other states, there have been protests about closures of businesses and amenities. While nearly every state, both Republican and Democrat-led, now has some sort of lockdown laws in place, these protests have taken on a political edge to them, with President Donald Trump (R) in some cases explicitly supporting the rallies, despite health officials warning it may spread SARS Cov-2 even more.
Some of these protests have blocked roadways and reportedly even restricted health care workers from getting to hospitals.
“Knowing there are certain groups that are causing rallies, this will not be getting better for us,” Garant said. “This situation is not going to get better for us, this is a destination village.”
Currently, the village is working on staggered shifts, and suspects some projects slated for 2020 may be put on hold, though the Toast stairway project is moving ahead, with only sprinkler systems yet to be installed.
Otherwise the village has instituted a spending freeze, and any expenditures have to go through administration staff before they get approved.
The mayor added village tax bills are still being generated, and will be due June 1.
Terryville EMS members, including, from left, Lauren Maloney, Andrew Hoyt, Tom Fauteux, Daniel Ortiz, Jacob Parrish and Gina Brett. Photo by Kyle Barr
If we are to keep using war terms to describe the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, calling nurses and doctors “soldiers” who are “on the front lines,” whose personal protective equipment are like “tools” or “weapons” in the fight against COVID-19, then the Emergency Medical service members, whether paid or volunteer, truly are the ones who make first contact with the enemy.
Joe DiBernardo, President of the Lieutenant Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, donates masks to Kyle Matura of the Miller Place FD. Photo from DiBernardo
Though members of local EMS services said they don’t know exactly how to feel about that terminology. If anything, it’s the unknown of every situation that makes the whole thought stick.
“Every patient is a risk,” said Daniel Ortiz, an EMS member of the Terryville Fire Department. “That’s where I guess they say it’s a war zone, because you don’t know what you’re walking into.”
EMS members from all over the North Shore have experienced a heavy time of stress during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, though as the number of cases seems to have plateaued as New York enters the middle of April, these service members, both paid and volunteer, are still asking people to continue their social distancing, as we’re not out of the woods yet.
The emergency service members said they have been wearing much more gear than normal, including masks, head coverings, face shields and eye protection. Every single call they go on is in this gear, since every case is now treated like a COVID-19 situation, despite what might have been said by the caller on the phone.
“We trained for this, and I can honestly say this is the first time in 10 years that I’ve seen anybody suit up other than your annual refresher,” said Terryville member of the EMS squad Andrew Hoyt.
While the Terryville Fire District only covers about eight square miles, the Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps. covers nearly 15 square miles, dipping into both the Huntington and Smithtown townships.
Joseph Vollers, the 3rd assistant chief of the Commack corps., said they have been helping neighboring districts with their call volumes, including Brentwood, which has been a particularly large hotspot for coronavirus cases. With that, they have gone from one to two full crews with a driver and EMT available at all times. Terryville has effectively done the same, moving from one to two ambulances available.
“It’s a pretty big area we have to cover,” Vollers said.
Other fire districts increased the load and numbers of EMTs and paramedics on a shift. The extra hard part has been decontamination, as now after every call both the people on the truck and the truck itself have to be cleaned from top to bottom.
If the job was stressful before, the understanding that one might be potentially taking the virus home with them after each stress only adds to the level of concern. Most agreed they had never seen anything at this scale. While EMS members knew they had to be aware of contractible diseases, such as tuberculosis, flu, scabies or even bed bugs, the pandemic levels of how far the virus has spread, every single person is approached as if they have SARS-CoV-2.
David Sterne, the Setauket Fire District Manager, said there were five cases of COVID-19 in the department, with more staying home with suspected cases. Though as of now, four of those cases have returned to work. In Terryville, they’ve had two cases out of the 15 paid paramedic staff and 25 volunteer EMTs.
“It’s stressful for a lot of reasons,” Sterne said. “We’re in their environment where there could be infectious viral loads. If a patient is sick, it could be 10 or 15 minutes to take them to the hospital … everyone fears bringing it home to their families and loved ones.”
Sterne added the district has had to make do with a lack of certain items, such as the coveted N95 masks for their medical personnel. New policy has been these masks, which are normally only supposed to be used once and then thrown away, have been used multiple times. Setauket FD had been concerned at several points with limited supplies, but with support from Suffolk County, Sterne said they are now in a relatively good spot.
But support for the fire departments are coming from all corners and some unexpected places. On Wednesday, April 15, retired FDNY Deputy Chief Joe DiBernardo, who is president of the Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, worked with y Fire Hooks Unlimited, a company that manufactures tools and supplies for firefighters and police, to deliver 100 N95 masks to the Miller Place Fire Department and 200 to the Setauket Fire Department.
Joe DiBernardo, president of the Lieutenant Joseph P. DiBernardo Memorial Foundation, center, donates masks to the Setauket Fire Department. Photo from DiBernardo
The memorial foundation is for DiBernardo’s son, Joe DiBernardo, who was injured in the line of duty during a tenement fire in 2005. He died as a result from his injuries in 2011. The foundation works to train and equip firefighters in need.
Now the districts have settled into the routine and have seen a small improvement in the number of calls from mid-to-late March, where the number of coronavirus deaths started to rise with startling speed.
With suspected coronavirus patients, it wasn’t so much the usual dealing with people having injuries or back and abdominal pains, it was instead situations where a person might desperately need oxygen. While the numbers of people with heart attacks and other sudden traumas have stayed the same, EMT staff said people calling for respiratory issues tripled in the month of March.
Other, more usual calls of non-life threatening injuries dropped off significantly. EMTs said this was largely because people did not want to go to the hospital where the possibility of viral infection was that much higher.
“I think there’s people afraid to go to the hospital,” said Gina Brett, the Terryville EMS coordinator. “They say, ‘I don’t want to go to the hospital for knee pain, because I might get very sick at the hospital.’”
District officials said that despite the load, they’ve managed.
“Overall it hasn’t been exceedingly stressful where we can’t function,” Vollers said. “Our crews have been amazing at overcoming all stresses, with 2, 3, 4 calls back-to-back, they’ve done a great job.”
Despite the stress, the service members agreed their communities have been excellent in their care and even compassion. The Commack Fire Department, for example, recently held a drive where community members donated over 500 items, both nonperishable food and medical supplies.
Otherwise, EMTs said the best thing for people to do is continue social distancing to help flatten the curve. Another suggestion is after calling 911, people should meet the EMTs and paramedics outside the home in order to best reduce first responders’ interaction with anything that may be contaminated.
“It is an incredibly long time to have that level of awareness and vigilance,” said paramedic Dr. Lauren Moloney, an associate medical director for the Stony Brook University paramedic program. “God knows how long it’s going to go on for. That’s the hardest thing — trying to find what is your date you’re trying to get through.”
This article was amended April 16 to amend the nature of Fire Hooks Unlimited’s operations.
This article was amended April 17 to correct the name of the Commack volunteer ambulance corps.
Port Jefferson EMS team has been on the front lines of the pandemic since its start. The team covers the Mount Sinai, Port Jefferson and Belle Terre communities. Photo from Michael Buckley
By Rich Acritelli
Working over 180 hours over the last two weeks, Paramedic Michael Buckley of Port Jefferson has been extremely busy providing dire medical attention to the North Shore community. During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Buckley has been a key member of the Port Jefferson Emergency Medical Services. Around the clock, Buckley has been caring for patients in Belle Terre, Port Jefferson and Mount Sinai. Like every American, he is looking forward for this nation to getting back to normal where he can go to the gym, see his friends and family, and go out to a nice dinner.
Michael Buckley in his military uniform with his brother Shawn. Photo from Buckley
Even during the interview, Buckley was called twice for services to bring sick residents to the Mather, St. Charles and Stony Brook University. It has been a trying period for our nation, but citizens like that of Buckley demonstrate their compassion to help other through perhaps the worst viral this nation has endured in recent memory. He is one of 250,000 Emergency Medical Service workers that immediately answers every type of health-related call. This particular ambulatory company is located on Crystal Brook Hollow Road in Mount Sinai and it is one of the nearly 22,000 transport medical organizations that answer an estimated 240 million calls made each year. During every type of weather condition, this ambulance company has tirelessly worked for the betterment of these local hamlets and villages.
This native of Port Jefferson completed his education at St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington. He enjoyed playing football, excelling at his grades, and continuing the strong tradition of family members that worked and went to this school.As a young man, Buckley was an Emergency Medical Technician who worked closely with ambulance crews. After graduating in 2008, Buckley was accepted to St. Johns University in Jamaica, Queens. During his college years, he majored in business management and was accepted into the Officer Candid School for the military at his college.
After earning his degree in 2012, Buckley enlisted into the U.S. Army in 2013 where he completed his Basic Training and Officer Candid School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was later ordered to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and was later commissioned as a field artillery officer before being transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He was assigned to the field artillery for the combat renown 82nd Airborne Division.With this elite unit, Buckley earned his wings and eventually made thirteen training jumps. Currently, he is a captain at reserve military base in Farmingdale, where he assists the enlistment of former officers through the Army Reserve Career Division.
This extensive military training has prepared Buckley for the rigors of being on the front lines of dealing with COVID-19. Every day, he is covered from head to toe with protective gear, including a N95 face mask and shield, gloves, goggles and a protective gown. As he still handles every type of medical call, Buckley responds to numerous suspected Covid-19 emergencies that bring people to the three major local hospitals. With twenty words or less, the ambulances quickly communicate with emergency rooms to inform them of the severity of the call. While Buckley does not know the name of every medical professional in these sick bays, he is always amazed at their unyielding devotion to help other during this crisis.
Chief Rob Stoessel is an executive director of this ambulance service and he is extremely proud in how hard his crews are working during this crisis. As he believes that there are less cardiac and respiratory calls, the COVID-19 cases are hampering the process of bringing patients to the hospital. With these crews wearing extensive protective clothing and constantly cleaning their vehicles, equipment and themselves after every call, it has been a daily challenge to carry out their tasks. In order to protect these men and women, they can take showers and wear clean clothing before they drive home in their own cars. The Port Jeff EMS has increased its mobile fleet to five ambulances and three emergency service vehicles that are operating during all hours of every day. Stoessel said he wanted to thank his EMTs who were students at Stony Brook University. For a time, many of these student-volunteers were without housing, but they have shown an extreme amount of comradery to support the operations of the ambulance company.Currently, some of these volunteers are staying at Danford’s Hotel in Port Jefferson.
Buckley said he believes that the “social distancing” has been working, but people still need to stay home and away from each other. Driving numerous hours through our local towns, Buckley has seen a tremendous growth in the use of face masks and gloves. From his own observations, he sees the importance of listening to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and following the guidelines issued by the Center by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even as Buckley has been working through this daunting physical and mental schedule, he has been enrolled at the Farmingdale State College. He is using his Montgomery GI Bill to complete the necessary prerequisites to be accepted by a future medical school. With a wealth of military and health background, he is determined to help future citizens in becoming an emergency room doctor. Stoessel said he has been highly impressed by the skills and dedication of Buckley and he believes that this paramedic “represents all that is good with this country.”
The money police said a St. James man sent to St. Louis as part of a phone scam. Photo from SCPD
Suffolk County Police worked in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to intercept cash sent by a St. James man as part of a phone scam.
Police said a 79-year-old man received a phone call April 8 from an individual who claimed the man’s grandson had been involved in a motor vehicle crash and subsequently arrested. The caller said the victim needed to send $9,500 in cash to an address in St. Louis to be utilized for his grandson’s bail.
This kind of scam has been used before, where scammers pretend to be a family member needing cash for bail. Scammers often use social media to get facts about the person before calling up family members, usually the grandparents.
The man, who sent the cash via USPS, then spoke with his grandson and determined the call was a scam and called police. Financial Crimes Unit detectives contacted officials at the New York office of the Postal Inspection Service who then contacted officials in the St. Louis office. Postal inspectors intercepted the package prior to delivery and turned over the cash to detectives April 14 to be returned to the victim.
“I would like to commend the efforts of the Financial Crimes Unit detectives who kept an innocent victim’s money from making its way into the hands of a scammer — a result that is not always easy,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said. “We would like to remind people to be alert to scams such as this one, as well as those involving the IRS, Social Security and utility companies. It is also important to be aware of emerging scams relating to COVID-19.”
Suffolk County has had difficulties coming up with PPE devices during the ongoing pandemic. Stock photo
With 20,000 Suffolk County residents testing positive for Coronavirus and 1,642 people in the hospital with symptoms of COVID-19, the pandemic has created a tremendous strain on health care workers, first responders, and on the county’s supply of personal protective equipment.
The latest and strongest need in the county, County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters, is gowns.
The county had ordered 25,000 gowns, which were supposed to arrive yesterday. On a follow up call, Bellone learned the gowns were in Allentown, Pennsylvania and were scheduled to arrive April 14, which is not nearly soon enough.
Bellone sent a crew from the Department of Public Works to Pennsylvania to pick up the gowns, which are now expected this afternoon.
Those gowns, however, “will not last long,” especially as the ongoing need for health care services remains high, Bellone said.
The number of fatalities related to complications from COVID-19 climbed another 52 and now stands at 414.
“What is frightening about those numbers is that we know they will continue to rise,” Bellone said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) said today he would issue an executive order to bring more funeral directors amid high mortalities in the state.
“This has been a real challenge for funeral directors and the staffs at cemeteries across the county,” Bellone said. Funeral homes are dealing with the “same kind of shortages across the board. That creates issues with the entire system. We are grateful to the governor, who is thinking about these issues and challenges.”
To increase awareness of the ongoing crisis in communities where the infection rate is high, the county recently opened a testing site in Huntington Station. Today, Suffolk also opened sites in Brentwood and Riverhead and is also exploring adding testing facilities at other locations.
The county has added a Spanish language text messaging service with updates on the coronavirus. People who are interested in receiving updates in Spanish can text CovidEspanol to 67283.
Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) directed schools and nonessential businesses to remain close for two more weeks, through April 29th.
New Yorkers can collect an additional $600 in weekly unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks, for a total of 39 weeks.
On Wednesday, the Suffolk County Police Department arrested Richard Green, a resident of Mastic Beach, who allegedly broke into four businesses in Patchogue and Center Moriches over the past few months.
“This should serve as a reminder that while the police department is engaged in COVID-19 responses, they are continuing to do everything they have to do to protect the public and public safety in this county,” Bellone said. “If you are thinking this might be a good time to commit a crime, think again. You will be apprehended and arrested.”
In thinking about a return to a more normal future after social distancing and New York Pause ends, Bellone said the county has engaged and formalized a Suffolk Recovery Task Force, which Deputy County Executive Jon Kaiman will lead.
Kaiman, who is a former North Hempstead Supervisor, has “extraordinary experience in government,” Bellone said, adding that he led Cuomo’s recovery efforts on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy.
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