Police & Fire

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Update: On Jan. 21, Suffolk County police identified the woman found dead in a Huntington apartment as Mareasa Westcott, 47. Her cause of death has been determined to be criminal in nature. The investigation is continuing.

Original release:

Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the death of a woman who was found deceased in her apartment yesterday in Huntington.

The landlord for the property located at 22 Elm St. called 911 Jan. 18 at 2:08 p.m. to request that police check on the welfare of a tenant who had not been seen in several days. When officers arrived at the scene they found an adult female dead in her apartment

The woman’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death.

Detectives are asking anyone with information to contact the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392.

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Suffolk County Police Sixth Squad detectives are investigating a two-vehicle crash during, where one driver was seriously injured and the other fled the scene in Port Jefferson Station.

On Sunday,  Jan. 17 at approximately 10:30 p.m., a woman driving a 2002 Ford Explorer was stopped in the westbound left turning lane of Route 347, at the intersection of Sara Circle, when she made a U-turn in the vehicle and collided with an eastbound 2012 Toyota Prius.

The driver of the Prius, Deogracias Pablo, 65, of New York City, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The woman driving the Explorer fled the scene on foot.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the Sixth Squad at 631-854-8652 or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

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Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police 4th Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate two people who allegedly stole from a Commack store in November.

A man and a woman entered Walmart, located at 85 Crooked Hill Road, at approximately 7:40 p.m. Nov. 15 and allegedly stole assorted household items before fleeing the scene in a maroon colored Nissan Murano.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about these incidents 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 at www.P3Tips.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker speaks during a press conference in 2017 about the creation of a permanent panel to address the ever-growing opioid crisis. File photo by Kyle Barr

Suffolk County’s 2020 annual report on the lingering opioid crisis showed an increase in the number of overdoses from the previous year, with experts expressing concern for the impact the pandemic has had on addiction rates.

The Suffolk County Heroin and Opiate Epidemic Advisory Panel released its findings Dec. 29 showing there were 345 fatal overdoses in 2020, which includes pending analysis of some drug overdose cases, according to the county medical examiner’s office. While, on its face, that number did not increase over the past year, nonfatal overdoses climbed by 90 to 1,208, com-pared to 2019, according to Suffolk County police. This increase defies a general trending de-crease in nonfatal overdoses since 2017. Police also reported 910 opioid overdose-antidote na-loxone saves for individuals compared to 863 in 2019.

In some ways more worrying than overall overdose numbers has been the treatment situation on the ground, with professionals in the field reporting an increase in relapses during the pan-demic, according to the report.

Numbers released by police after a May inquiry from TBR News Media showed overdoses were up dramatically when comparing months before the start of the shutdown orders in March to the weeks directly afterward. Medical experts and elected officials all agreed that pandemic-related anxiety, plus the economic downturn and mandated isolation led to increased drug use overall. People in the treatment industry have also said the pandemic has pushed them toward utilizing telehealth.

Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai), the panel chair, said COVID-19 has led to challenges among all county governmental and community agencies, with “overwhelmed hospitals fighting on the frontline, addiction rates skyrocketing with limited resources and economic un-certainty due to business disruption.”

There have been 184 deaths related to opioids in 2020, according to the report, with 161 poten-tial drug overdoses still pending review. Among the North Shore towns, not accounting for those still in review, there were 18 deaths reported in Huntington, 13 in Smithtown and 69 in Brookhaven, the latter of which had the most opioid-related deaths of any Suffolk township. Police data also shows the 6th Precinct bore the brunt of the most overdoses and the most Narcan saves.

National data also bears a grim toll. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention’s National Center for Health Statistics there has been a 10% increase in drug overdose deaths from March 2019 to March 2020. Approximately 19,416 died from overdoses in the U.S. in the first three months of 2020, compared to 16,682 in 2019. 

In addition to Suffolk’s report, the advisory panel has sent letters to state and federal reps ask-ing them not to cut any state funding for treatment and prevention and for the state to  sup-port provider reimbursement rates for telehealth and virtual care that are on par with face-to-face rates. They also requested that New York State waives the in-person meeting requirement for people to receive buprenorphine treatment, which can help aid in addiction to painkillers.

County legislators are also touting a new youth addiction panel, which is set to begin meeting in the new year. The county is also continuing its lawsuits against several pharmaceutical com-panies for their hand in starting the opioid epidemic. 

That’s not to say there haven’t been other setbacks in Suffolk’s efforts against opioids. Last Oc-tober, county Legislator William “Doc” Spencer (D-Centerport) was arrested for an alleged at-tempt to trade oxycodone for sex. Spencer was the one to initiate the creation of the youth panel. He has pleaded not guilty, though he has stepped down from his position on the panel, among other responsibilities.

There are currently 29 members on the opioid advisory panel, including representatives from the county Legislature, law enforcement, first responders, treatment centers and shelters.

While Anker thanked current members of the panel for their continued efforts, she said more work is needed.

“The opioid epidemic is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed continuously from all fronts,” she said.

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A Suffolk County Police officer was treated for smoke inhalation after he entered a burning home to evacuate a man and woman in Selden Saturday evening.

Police said 6th Precinct officers responded to a 911 call reporting a fire at a home located at 57 Abinet Court at around 4:55 p.m.

Officer Sean Kalletta entered the burning home and found two residents attempting to rescue their two dogs. Officer Kalletta escorted Robert Baker, 55, and his wife Debra Baker, 51, out of their home and attempted to rescue the dogs. One of the dogs bit the officer. Officer Kalletta was later transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and a dog bite.

The Selden Fire Department responded to the scene to extinguish the fire. First Assistant Chief Keith Kostrna and Farmingville Fire Department Firefighter Richard Piccirello rescued a dog from the residence. Units from the Centereach, Coram, Setauket, Terryville and Medford fire departments also assisted. Police officers transported the dog to Animal Emergency Service in Selden for treatment. The dog is expected to recover. A second dog exited the home on its own and was uninjured.

Suffolk County Arson Section detectives are investigating the cause of the fire.

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A man was arrested the early morning of New Year’s Day for allegedly driving while intoxicated after he crashed his car into the rear of a marked police car in Huntington.

Suffolk County Police said a 2nd Precinct officer initiated a traffic stop of a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica on eastbound Pulaski Road, near Frazer Drive, at around 12:20 a.m. Jan. 1. The officer was inside the police car, which was stopped off the roadway with its lights and flashers activated, when an eastbound 2019 Honda Accord allegedly driven by William Macari crashed into it from behind. The impact of the crash caused the police car to strike the rear of the Pacifca.

Police said the officer was airlifted via Suffolk County Police helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Macari and the driver of the Pacifica were not injured.

Macari, 54, of 73 Derby Ave., Greenlawn, was arrested and charged with DWI. He was held overnight at the Second Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Jan. 1.

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Suffolk County Police arrested a man Tuesday night after he allegedly shot a housemate with a crossbow in Stony Brook.

Police said James Nicosia was involved in a discussion with his landlord at his residence, located at 269 Hallock Road, when Xiaonan Sun, who is the landlord’s son and one of Nicosia’s housemates, allegedly shot him with a crossbow at around 6:55 p.m. Police did not give motive for the shooting.

Nicosia, 41, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital in serious, but stable condition.

Police charged Sun, 36, with assault in the 2nd degree. He was held overnight at the 6th Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip Dec. 30.

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Suffolk County Police detectives are continuing to investigate a car crash that killed a pedestrian in Stony Brook Tuesday night.

Police said Kimani R. Porter was driving a 2017 Dodge truck southbound on Nicolls Road, at the intersection of Shirley Kenny Drive, when the vehicle struck Kenneth Rott who was crossing the street at approximately 6:45 p.m Dec. 29. Rott, 60, of Kings Park was pronounced dead at the scene. Porter, 31, of Brooklyn was not injured.

The Dodge was impounded for a safety check. Detectives are asking anyone with information on the crash to contact the 6th Squad at 631-856-8652.

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A shooting in Commack during the early hours of Christmas morning left one man dead and another injured.

Stephan Harbison, 33, of Coram, entered 450 Moreland Road, at 12:45 a.m. confronted an employee, allegedly displayed a gun and demanded to see a resident. The employee brought him to the resident’s room. They entered the room, which was occupied by the resident, as well as a 17-year-old and a toddler.

Harbison allegedly moved the group into the lobby of the facility. A relative of the resident responded to the location and gunfire was exchanged inside and outside the facility between the suspect and the relative of the resident. Multiple people called 911 regarding the gunshots and 4th Precinct police officers responded to the location.

Harbison was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. Frenel Jean, 35, Dix Hills, a relative of a resident, was injured in the shooting and transported to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

 

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart, right, and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. File photo

Members of a task force meant to offer reforms to Suffolk police met with community members in the 6th Precinct Dec. 8 through Zoom to listen to concerns.

As part of the Suffolk County Police Reform & Reinvention Task Force, members have been hosting Zoom meetings for each of the town’s seven precincts plus East End towns for community comment. Members of the task force include everyone from Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart and Suffolk police union president Noel DiGerolamo to NAACP chapter president Tracey Edwards and Daniel Russo, administrator of Assigned Counsel Defender Plan of Suffolk County. 

In a meeting that went on for just under three hours and had over 150 participants Dec. 8, many in the community expressed some fear and apprehension surrounding police, often with people of color citing a different experience with law enforcement members than their white neighbors. A few others shared their general support for police and expressed their thanks for officers’ involvement in the community.

Erica Rechner, director of Opportunities Long Island, which tries to connect youth in underserved communities with jobs in the unionized construction industry, said she mostly works with many young people of color in communities who live in areas with high unemployment, and some come to her with criminal records. The interactions she said she’s had with police have been much different than those of her young clients.

“Their experience with the police department is not one me or my family recognize,” Rechner said. “My experience has been one of safety and security — I’m a white woman. At some point in their shared experiences the police officers are verbally abusive and often escalate to the use of excessive force. There are numerous instances of physical injury while in custody.”

She said she asked these young people to share their experiences at the public sessions, but practically all declined, fearing retaliation.

“Their experience has taught them the police are not meant for them or their community,” she added.

Odalis Hernandez, a graduate program administrator at Stony Brook University, said she was once stopped by police officers at night “with multiple police officers shining a flashlight in every window and asking for my ID and documents,” adding she felt she was being treated as up to no good from the get-go.

“I know of others who have been through much worse,” she said. “We can’t deny that those problems exist, and we need to hear that from all our precincts and leadership. We can’t let the police have a political affiliation because that disenfranchises people in the community.”

Hernandez said such things as bias and de-escalation training should not be a one-and-done class but should be a continuous dialogue for police.

Others criticized the Suffolk School Resource Officer Program, with some speakers saying such officers statistically lead to more physical confrontations and create more of a school-to-prison pipeline. Others said such officers target students who are people of color and treat them differently than white students for the same offenses. 

Michelle Caldera-Kopf, an immigration lawyer and managing attorney for the Safe Passage Project, said that SROs have caused “the wrongful detention and deportation of our students.” She said such officers have shared information about students with immigration authorities, sometimes over the heads of law enforcement.

Others indicated more positive interactions with police. Rob Taylor, a member of the Citizens Academy Alumni Association, said police already do a lot of things in the community people are not aware of.

“Suffolk County has gone through a lot of changes over the years, especially since around 2014 — they’re all EMTs, they’ve undergone crisis training,” he said.

Gail Lynch-Bailey, president of the Middle Island Civic Association, said that with whatever reforms take place, “I hope we don’t lose what’s already working in these relationships — community policing is still essential.” 

She added that police should look for uniformity on how crime data is presented and distributed at civic meetings, with more emphasis on displays and data-driven dialogue, such info to be published for all to see online.

“Real police reform must be data driven, and that data has to include honest breakdowns of who is being charged and where those charges are taking place,” she said.

Brookhaven Town Councilman Kevin LaValle (R-Selden) said there should be efforts to expand the positive interactions between community and police, some of which includes just talking about what may be going on in people’s neighborhoods.

“These are all things why we need to have our police department out there, doing events, interacting, because that really supports the mission our police department is here to do,” he said.

Others shared their desire for those Black and brown voices in the community to be heard. Erin Zipman, from Stony Brook, said police need to listen to those, envisioning a future where we don’t have to endanger the lives of citizens or officers, and instead focus on treating “the roots of problems instead of punishing them.”

The task force is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative. This executive order, originally signed in June, cites that every police agency must make a comprehensive review of police departments and their procedures, and address the needs of the community to promote “trust, fairness and legitimacy, and to address any racial bias and disproportionate policing of communities of color.” 

The county has an April 1, 2021, deadline to create its reform plan for its police department to be eligible for future state funding.