ICE Detains Man After D.W.I. Arrest
A Friday driving-while-intoxicated arrest could lead to the deportation of a Mexican citizen who worked at Cittanuova restaurant in East Hampton.
East Hampton Village police said Francisco L. Mones-Tonacatl of East Hampton was drunk when he was seen speeding on Pantigo Road in a 2015 Nissan Altima at 2:20 a.m. on Friday. After his vehicle was brought to a stop, police said, Mr. Mones-Tonacatl, 44, appeared intoxicated and failed roadside sobriety checks. He also was unable to provide a driver’s license or another form of identification.
Police said that Mr. Mones-Tonacatl told them he had earlier consumed two beers and a margarita. A half-full glass of margarita remained in the sedan’s cup holder, according to the official report. Both a roadside breath test and a formal one administered at headquarters indicated that Mr. Mones-Tonacatl had indeed been drinking, police said.
Because he had been convicted on a D.W.I. charge in 2008 in East Hampton Town Court, Mr. Mones-Tonacatl was charged with three felonies: aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated driving while intoxicated, as well as four violations. Police impounded Mr. Mones-Tonacatl’s Nissan due to the severity of the charges.
East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana set bail at $5,000 with a June court date, but because Mr. Mones-Tonacatl had a warrant for his arrest from the Department of Homeland Security, he was held until agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement could pick him up, which they did later on Friday.
Another driving-while-intoxicated arrest was made when Burgess J. Abdallah neglected to signal soon enough as he turned his car from Montauk Highway near Lincoln Road in Montauk at about 1:50 a.m. on May 8, according to East Hampton Town police.
Mr. Abdallah, 31, appeared to the arresting officer to have been drinking and displayed signs of intoxication. He was charged with misdemeanor D.W.I. and released later that day without bail by Justice Rana. It was Mr. Abdallah’s first drinking and driving arrest, police said.
That night, at about 8:30, another town officer noticed a vehicle on Montauk Highway traveling without headlights. Armando Carmona-Romero, 45, of Springs was behind the wheel. Police said he appeared intoxicated and arrested him. After a positive breath test for alcohol, police held Mr. Carmona-Romero overnight. He was released by Justice Rana on $500 bail in the morning.
Being in the driver’s seat in a car moving at 64 miles per hour in a 40-miles-per-hour zone on Flamingo Road in Montauk proved unwise for Joshua M. Fazeli, 32, of Brooklyn in the early hours Sunday. Town police said they observed Mr. Fazeli’s 2016 Mazda swerving to both sides of the road and crossing over hazard markings on the pavement.
After being stopped, Mr. Fazeli was said to smell strongly of alcohol, to appear drunk, and to perform poorly on roadside sobriety tests.
He was released without bail on a first-offense misdemeanor charge by East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky later that morning.