Bail Set at $11K For Former Bonac Football Star

Joseph R. Dowling, 24, of Sag Harbor, a former star player for the East Hampton High School football team, was arraigned in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court Saturday morning on two felony charges, possession of heroin with an intent to sell and making an actual sale and possession of more than half an ounce of the narcotic.

He had been arrested Friday by detectives with East Hampton Town police, who said Mr. Dowling sold the drug to an undercover agent. He was also charged with a misdemeanor, possession of a hypodermic needle.

Justice Lisa R. Rana entered a denial to the felony charges, and a not guilty plea to the misdemeanor.

Mr. Dowling's mother was in the courtroom, tears in her eyes. When Justice Rana set bail at $11,000, the mother softly said, "Oh my God."

In addition to the charges he is now facing, Mr. Dowling will likely be charged with violating the terms of probation, opening the door to a possible re-sentencing on October 2014 charges.

In 2014, he was also charged with possession with intent to sell and possession of heroin at the felony level. The arrest was made in October 2014 after a high-speed chase at speeds of over 100 miles per hour on Route 114, with police finally tackling and subduing him in some woods near Swamp Road, after he abandoned the late-model Mazda he was driving. Besides the two felony charges in 2014, he was also charged with seven misdemeanors, and nine moving violations.

After that arrest, he was allowed to enter a drug treatment program. Eighteen months later, on Feb. 4 of this year, the district attorney's office dropped all charges except for two misdemeanors. He was allowed to plead guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to three years probation.

Correction: Joseph Dowling's arrest in 2014 was the result of a patrol investigation, not an undercover drug operation.