Wrong Time for a Nap

A Springs man was arrested at about 8:40 a.m. on Monday after running his 2000 Dodge pickup down Church Street and through a stop sign at Gingerbread Lane, where it jumped a curb outside the East Hampton branch of Bridgehampton National Bank, mowed down some shrubs, and drove off. East Hampton Village police said black tire tracks extended 20 yards away down Church Street. Children had been arriving for the start of classes at the John M. Marshall Elementary School on Gingerbread Lane nearby as the incident happened, police said. It occurred minutes before the official drop-off time.

Christopher S. Verity, 21, had fallen asleep at the wheel, one of the passengers in his truck later told police. “He was out like a light,” the person said, and leaning sideways. When his passengers began screaming, Mr. Verity came to, gunned the engine, and drove into the long-term parking lot by the school before jumping out and fleeing. There were several witnesses in addition to the passengers, as the bank’s staff were getting set to open.

A village detective caught up with Mr. Verity on Newtown Lane after a pursuit. He initially ignored an order to stop and fall to the ground, but then obeyed. As he was about to be handcuffed, however, he resisted, leading to a physical confrontation. The detective subdued him using “joint-locking technique,” according to a report.

Charged with driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, he was taken back to village headquarters on Cedar Street to spend the next 24 hours awaiting a Tuesday-morning arraignment in East Hampton Town Justice Court. Mr. Verity, who now lives in Sag Harbor but has longtime roots in the Springs community, was released without bail but with a future date in court.

East Hampton Town police arrested three men during the week just past on the same charge. Emiro Saavedra of Montauk, 61, was pulled over a little past midnight last Thursday on West Lake Drive there; police said he had been speeding. He reportedly failed field sobriety tests and was taken back to headquarters in Wainscott, where his blood-alcohol level was said to be .19 of 1 percent, high enough to raise the D.W.I. charge to the aggravated level.

Mr. Saavedra has three drunken-driving convictions on his record already, two of them felonies, though all three happened more than 10 years ago. Otherwise, this charge would have been yet another felony. Further, he narrowly missed being charged under Vince’s Law, which was signed by Governor Cuomo on Aug. 1 and takes effect on Nov. 1. Named for an 81-year-old man killed on his way to church by a drunken driver who was awaiting sentencing on his fifth D.W.I. conviction, Vince’s Law states that after two D.W.I. conviction in 15 years the charge becomes a Class D felony, with a possible prison sentence of seven years. It appeared to Justice Steven Tekulsky, during Mr. Saavedra’s arraignment Friday morning, that the brand-new law would have applied to him.

Justice Tekulsky set bail for him at $8,000, which has not been met. Mr. Saavedra is being held at the county jail in Riverside, awaiting his next court appearance in East Hampton.

The second man arrested, also from Montauk, was Joseph V. Belsito Jr., 54, who was stopped downtown in that hamlet early Sunday morning; police said he was driving without headlights. His breath test reportedly produced a reading of .15.

Mr. Belsito case has two prior D.W.I. convictions, one here in 2003 and the other following a 2006 arrest in Florida. In 2006, however, New York State classified out-of-state D.W.I. convictions as D.W.A.I., driving with ability impaired by alcohol, which is a violation, no more. Since then, the laws have been toughened, and out-of-state convictions are now viewed at the equivalent level in New York.

The timing was in the defendant’s favor, Justice Tekulsky observed. “You’re fortunate this is not a felony charge,” he said. He released the defendant without bail, noting his ties in the community.

The third defendant, an 18-year-old, was arrested early Saturday morning on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. It was the first such arrest for the youth, whose name was withheld, apparently because he is eligible for youthful offender status.

Under youthful offender status (ages 16 through 18), a first conviction is vacated and the defendant has no criminal record; he would be sentenced under special guidelines. Justice Tekulsky set bail for the young man at $250.

Sag Harbor Village police were called to a Redwood Road residence Monday night on a report of a domestic dispute and ended up arresting Naseen Malak, 42, on charges of drunken driving and criminal mischief. Mr. Malak was outside the residence, which he shares with his girlfriend, who had locked him out. When she refused to open the door he went to the rear of the house, police said, and “intentionally broke the rear bedroom window attempting to talk” to her. The woman told police “she did not want to have any contact with Mr. Malak if he had been drinking.”

Police saw the man drive away from the house and stopped his 2000 Subaru on Garden Street, where he allegedly failed roadside sobriety tests. Back at headquarters his blood-alcohol level was reportedly over .18, making the charge aggravated D.W.I. The criminal mischief charge was leveled in connection with the broken window. Mr. Malak was released in the morning and given a date to return to court.

Finally, New York State troopers arrested Jonathan J. Majico, 23, of East Hampton on Sunday morning and charged him with felony D.W.I. as well as criminal impersonation. He was stopped on Sandy Hollow Road in Southampton, reportedly for making an unsafe lane change.