Two men were arrested on felony cocaine possession charges in Montauk over the weekend.
At about 1:40 a.m. on Friday, on South Elmwood Avenue near South Embassy Street, an officer on foot patrol heard yelling and saw a man sitting in his car with the interior lights on and the door open. The officer spoke to the man, Dennis T. Lestrange, 24, of Houston, who seemed nervous. He eventually admitted to having cocaine on him, and took two glass vials with a white powdery substance that later tested positive for the drug out of his pocket.
On Friday at about 11:40 p.m., police stopped Daniel W. Shuman of Montauk, 19, at the Second House Road intersection with Montauk Highway, for driving without headlights. Police said the car smelled of marijuana, and searched both driver and vehicle, finding three small plastic bags, whose contents reportedly proved to be cocaine, in a cigarette box in the center console and in his wallet.
The cocaine weighed at least 500 milligrams, according to police. The exact weight will be determined through lab analysis.
Both Mr. Lestrange and Mr. Shuman were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, a felony. East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana arraigned Mr. Lestrange on Friday morning and released him on $1,000 bail. Mr. Shuman was arraigned on Saturday by Justice Steven Tekulsky and released on his own recognizance.
Back on July 21, a Yonkers, N.Y., man was charged in Montauk with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, after he fought back when police tried to take him into custody; he had allegedly pushed a marine patrol officer. Police said James Anthony Curtis, 26, pushed Officer Christopher Pennisi at about 12:50 a.m.; both were standing on South Emerson Avenue at the time. Mr. Curtis then swung his arms and resisted being put in handcuffs, police said, adding in the report that it took three officers to subdue him. He was additionally charged with second-degree harassment, a violation.
Police released him on an appearance ticket. He is due in Justice Court on Aug. 22.