Skip to main content

Leandra’s Law Arrest

Thu, 05/23/2019 - 07:22



A New York State trooper arrested an East Hampton man on Saturday night on a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child in the car, a felony.

State police said Flavio E. Pena-Vallejo, 42, was drunk when he was pulled over for a traffic violation on Montauk Highway near Ocean Road in Bridgehampton a little before midnight. His 6-year-old son was in the back of his 1998 Honda Civic in a booster seat.

Mr. Pena-Vallejo was taken to state police headquarters in Riverside, where he agreed to take a breath test. It reportedly produced a reading of .18 of 1 percent or higher, leading to a felony charge under the state’s Leandra’s Law. He was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and several traffic infractions.

Leandra’s Law, which took effect in November 2009, was named for Leandra Rosado, who died earlier that year in a car crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway.Mr. Pena-Vallejo was held overnight at the county jail in Riverside and arraigned Sunday morning in Southampton. His son was turned over to an uncle.

Early Monday morning, Amagansett Main Street was the scene of the arrest of a Fresh Meadows man on two misdemeanor charges, driving with ability impaired by drugs and possession of cocaine.

Brett E. Backerman, 30, was driving without headlights, according to East Hampton Town police, when they stopped him. He reportedly failed roadside sobriety tests, and was then searched. Police said they found three small packets of cocaine on his person.

Mr. Backerman allegedly refused to take a chemical test at headquarters. At his arraignment later that morning, East Hampton Town Justice Lisa Rana set bail at $300, which was posted.

A Naples, Fla., woman who had just sold her late mother’s Northwest Woods house was arrested on an aggravated misdemeanor D.W.I. charge early Thursday morning. Mary K. Meyers, 49, was swerving across lane lines, according to town police, when they pulled her over on Miller Terrace in East Hampton. After filing field sobriety tests she was taken to headquarters, where police said her blood-alcohol level was recorded at .21.

In court later that morning, she told Justice Steven Tekulsky that she was in town to complete the sale. Justice Tekulsky, who set bail at $500, noted that it was her first arrest. Because she is an out-of-state resident, it is likely that her case will be expedited.

A Patchogue man who was pulled over on Montauk Highway early Sunday morning for going the wrong way on what may be Montauk’s only one-way street was arrested on a drunken-driving charge. Frank P. Stoutenburgh, 56, was driving a 2009 Mercedes Benz when he turned onto the highway from South Elder Street, a one-block-long road by the I.G.A.

Town police said they found two marijuana cigarettes in his pocket, and added a violation charge of possession to the misdemeanor D.W.I. charge. At headquarters, he refused to take the breath test.

In court the next morning, Mr. Stoutenburgh told Justice Rana that he was a commercial fisherman. “What is the name of your boat?” she asked. “No name.” “The name of your boat is No Name?” “No. There is no name on the boat,” he answered. He told her he digs for clams around New York. “You dig clams in New York City?” Justice Rana asked. “Right by the Throgs Neck Bridge. Deep-water clamming. I’m a dinosaur,” he said.

Justice Rana explained to him that because he had refused the breath test, his driver’s license was suspended. She cited his many years of residency in Suffolk County as she released him without bail, but with a future date on her criminal calendar.

 

On the Police Logs 07.17.25

A man “with white hair and a blue jacket” took another patron’s phone during a movie at the Regal Cinema and said he would not return it. He later told police he’d taken the phone to “make a stand” because the owner was talking loudly on it during the movie.

Jul 17, 2025

Found With Coke in Cars

Two drivers were charged last week in unrelated cases with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance after East Hampton Town police found bags containing a “white rock-like substance” in their vehicles.

Jul 17, 2025

Overturned by the Overlook

A Brooklyn man was arraigned recently on multiple misdemeanor charges related to a May 25 accident that injured four passengers in his Mercedes S.U.V., according to police.

Jul 17, 2025

Combs Verdict on Trafficking Is Examined

To Cate Carbonaro, executive director of the East Hampton advocacy organization the Retreat, who has worked extensively with victims of sex and labor trafficking as a public defender, the split verdict in the federal criminal trial of Sean (Diddy) Combs presents a “stark reminder of how far we still have to go” to educate both the courts and the public about what the “often misunderstood” charge of sex trafficking really means.

Jul 10, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.