'Drugs and Money' Were the Targets

On the same day they announced the arrest of a man suspected of burglarizing two Amagansett residences, East Hampton Town police detectives arrested two other men, suspects in an unrelated April 16 burglary in East Hampton.

Juan Cano, 19, who moved to Springs recently from the Montauk apartment he shared with his mother, and Donya Davis, 20, of East Hampton, were arraigned Friday afternoon before East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana on felony charges of burglary. Mr. Cano was also charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana.

According to the police, the two, using a Hide-a-Key, entered a house on 7th Avenue, where they stole $1,500 in cash. They were looking for drugs and money, they told police, and that house was third or fourth on their list of targets. Each young man, interviewed separately, accused the other of being responsible for the theft.

Mr. Cano has had two other run-ins with the law in the last few weeks, once last month following a fight with his mother that allegedly turned physical. She received an order of protection against him after that, but on April 1 he was charged with violating the order, a felony, as well as unauthorized use of her vehicle and misdemeanor drug possession.

Justice Steven Tekulsky set bail on those charges at $5,000 on April 2. His mother, who had told police she was afraid her son might kill her, posted the $5,000, freeing him.

The victim of the April 16 burglary was issued an order of protection Friday against both defendants. The woman, Drita Mushkolat, spoke briefly that afternoon while waiting for the document to be drawn up. She was at work that day, she said, and her family was out all day as well. She had withdrawn the stolen cash from the bank that morning and left it in a drawer, she said. When she opened the front door that evening, she was horrified to find objects tossed about everywhere; the house had been ransacked. What made it worse, Ms. Mushkolat said, was that one of the men charged, Mr. Davis, was a close friend of her son. "I fed him," she said.

According to Detective Sgt. Greg Schaeffer, police were led to the pair after speaking with other members of the family. Detectives then broadened their interviews and quickly zeroed in on the two defendants. Both men cooperated with police, the detective said.

Mr. Davis was brought in to headquarters on Thursday, and reportedly gave a full statement that amounted to a confession. Mr. Cano was picked up Thursday night near the East Hampton train station. Mr. Davis said they had tried and failed to get in to at least three other houses before gaining access to the one on 7th Avenue. While Mr. Cano's version was slightly different, he named the same three potential victims.

Both men said they had taken multiple doses of Xanax that day. They told police they had paid $100 for 10 pills.

At their arraignment, both were wearing hooded sweatshirts, partially covering their faces. Mr. Davis's stepfather was in the courtroom. "We didn't see this coming," he said. Donya Davis is a graduate of East Hampton High School and is currently attending community college while working in East Hampton.

The district attorney's office had recommended bail for Mr. Davis be set at $25,000. Brian Francese, a Legal Aid attorney, called Justice Rana's attention to the presence of the defendant's stepfather in the room and told her that Mr. Davis was a lifelong resident of the town.

She used the occasion to give Mr. Davis some advice. "You're so young. You need to get into treatment. You need to do it now, or flush the rest of your life down the toilet," she told him. She warned him that whatever glamorized image of jail he might have, he was mistaken. "It's a horrible place to be. It's oppressive."&

Bail was set at $1,000, which Mr. Davis's stepfather said he would post. Then it was Mr. Cano's turn to be arraigned.

Mr. Francese asked that bail be set at $1,000, again stating that the defendant was a lifelong resident. "That's not happening," said Justice Rana. The district attorney's office had asked for bail of $50,000.

The court reviewed Mr. Cano's criminal history, which also includes a conviction for driving under the influence of drugs. "You are a flight risk," Justice Rana told Mr. Cano, as she set bail at the requested amount. "Will you be able to make bail?"

"Fifty thousand dollars? No," he responded.

If he is unable to post bail, he will be held in the county jail until Wednesday, when he will be returned to Justice Court here.