Springs Man Begins Jail Term

Jefferson Davis Eames, 49, was handcuffed on Thursday and taken to a holding cell in East Hampton Town Justice Court, his first stop before beginning to serve the eight-month sentence Justice Lisa R. Rana had just handed down.

Toward the end of last year, Mr. Eames's house in Springs was the scene of parties where underage drinking and drug consumption took place. He pleaded guilty in May to endangering the welfare of a child and hosting a party at which minors were consuming alcohol, as well as driving with ability impaired by drugs and unlawfully fleeing a police officer. The various charges stemmed from five different incidents.

Justice Court was packed Thursday, with a crowded criminal calendar awaiting Justice Rana's disposition. Mr. Eames's name was called first. She sentenced him to eight months on three of the five misdemeanors, all three to run concurrently, and fined him $1,000 for the drug-related charge and another $200 for harassment, plus court costs. He has paid some of it and was given time to pay the rest. He will be on probation for three years after his release, which, taking time served into account, is likely to happen in four months.

Mr. Eames's legal troubles are not yet over. He is still facing numerous zoning violations, among them having an open fire on his property, from which he runs a woodcutting business. Those charges are currently on the local court's Aug. 14 zoning calendar.

More seriously, he has an open felony charge against him for allegedly cashing a check for $24,200 last December without authorization. He is due back in court in Central Islip on Tuesday on that matter.

From Justice Court, he was taken first to police headquarters, then to a facility to be treated for a medical condition, after which he was to be transported back to jail in Riverside. He will serve his time either there or in Yaphank.