Arrested Twice in Two Months for Cocaine

A Montauk man has been arrested for the second time in less than two months on a felony cocaine possession charge. Richard P. Daunt, 27, was a passenger in a car that was stopped on South Federal Street, just yards from his house. His mother was the driver of the car. According to East Hampton Town Police Captain Chris Anderson, the car was pulled over after an officer saw something being thrown from it. The stop led to a search of Mr. Daunt, which police said turned up a packet of over 500 milligrams of cocaine. “I didn’t know that was in my pocket,” Mr. Daunt was quoted as telling the arresting officer.

Brian DeSesa, an attorney in East Hampton town Justice Court Sunday morning as part of a county program to ensure that defendants have a lawyer by their side during their arraignments, argued that the officer making the search may have lacked probable cause to do so. He said this as Justice Steven Tekulsky was pondering the question of bail. The district attorney’s office had phoned in a request for bail to be set at $50,000. 

“There [seems] to be no reason for the stop,” Mr. DeSesa argued. “No tickets were issued.” Justice Tekulsky set bail at $15,000. Mr. Daunt was held in county jail until Tuesday, when his family was able to post bail. 

The district attorney’s office does not send a prosecutor for weekend arraignments, but will have the opportunity to counter Mr. DeSesa’s allegations during Mr. Daunt’s next court appearence.

When he was arrested, Mr. Daunt was already out on $7,500 bail following his September arrest. At that time, police say, he was in the common parking lot behind the Gig Shack and Shagwong, both establishments he has told the court he works for, with an open container of alcohol. The arresting officer charged him with a violation, which led to Mr. Daunt being searched and, finally, a felony charge of possession of over an eighth of an ounce of cocaine. The September case is still open.