Kitchen Worker Is Charged for Cocaine

Over the last two summers there have been a number of cocaine-related felony arrests of Montauk restaurant employees, and there was yet another last weekend.

An East Hampton Town police officer was checking out the parking lot behind the Gig Shack early Saturday when he reportedly spotted Richard P. Daunt, a Montauk resident, with an open container of alcohol. That sparked an initial code-violation charge and a search of Mr. Daunt, who, according to the officer, was found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana. However, he was also said to have on him over an eighth of an ounce of cocaine, a felony.

Mr. Daunt told East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky during his arraignment later that he works in Gig Shack’s kitchen, as well as at Shagwong Restaurant. Carl Irace, who represented him at his arraignment, entered a denial to the felony charge and questioned the legality of the search that produced it.

The district attorney’s office had requested that bail be set at $30,000. Mr. Irace argued that Mr. Daunt has strong ties here, and pointed out that his family was present in the courtroom. Justice Tekulsky agreed with Mr. Irace about Mr. Daunt’s ties to the community, but said that the charge was serious enough to warrant bail of $7,500. It was posted later at police headquarters.

A New London, Conn., man, Stephen T. Early, was arrested Monday by Sag Harbor police and charged with reckless endangerment. It was about 3 p.m., and Pierson High School had just let out. A line of cars was waiting to pick up students when, police said, Mr. Early, driving a Jeep Cherokee, pulled out and tried to bypass the line. Told by a traffic control officer, Pablo Londono, that he needed to wait his turn, Mr. Early reportedly responded with an obscenity, then began waving at the teenager he was picking up. As Mr. Londono continued to direct traffic, the student got into the Jeep, and Mr. Early began moving forward toward the T.C.O., who warned him not to run him over.

Mr. Londono told police he had turned to check the line of waiting school buses when the Jeep struck him on his thigh, causing pain and swelling. Mr. Early allegedly drove off. The T.C.O. radioed a description of the blue Jeep, along with its plate number, and police soon located it on Sagg Road.

Mr. Early was placed under arrest. After being processed at headquarters, he was released on $50 bail, to await a Dec. 1 arraignment in Sag Harbor Justice Court.