‘My Kids Are by Themselves’

An East Hampton woman is facing felony charges of aggravated drunken driving, as well two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, following her arrest last week. According to the East Hampton Village police, Amber Elizabeth Gregg, 27, left her two children, a 4-year-old and a 7-month-old baby, alone in her apartment while she was out drinking on the morning of Aug. 16.

She was almost home at 4 a.m. when she was arrested, at the wheel of a 2001 Hyundai, in the parking lot off Newtown Lane, just before the North Main Street intersection. She had turned into the lot, police said, without signaling, and at a high speed. “I had two Jack and Cokes at the Talkhouse,” she told the arresting officer.

Ms. Gregg, who was convicted of misdemeanor drunken driving in 2012, making the new charge a felony, was taken to Cedar Street headquarters, where her breath test produced a reported reading of almost .21. The high reading raised the charge to the aggravated level.

“I want to see my kids,” she told the arresting officer, according to the report. She was asked if they were with a babysitter, and she replied that they were. “You’re not in shape to see your kids. You’re under arrest for driving while intoxicated,” she was told. “I need to see my kids. They are by themselves,” she then replied. She was asked where the babysitter was. “She left,” was the answer. An officer was sent to the apartment and found the children alone.

East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky set bail later that morning at $5,000. It was posted by Ms. Gregg’s grandfather, who was in court for her arraignment.

Robin H. Stoller, 49, was westbound on Bluff Road in Amagansett a little after midnight Saturday when she ran the stop sign at the Indian Wells Highway intersection, according to town police. The officer who stopped her 1996 Honda on Further Lane reported the smell of burning marijuana coming from the car. “I’m coming from the Talkhouse. I smoked earlier and had some red wine with dinner,” she reportedly told police. She failed the roadside sobriety test, police said, and was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of drugs. At headquarters, she consented to having blood drawn; it will be tested for the presence of alcohol and drugs. The charge against her is a misdemeanor.

Carl Irace was on hand Sunday for her arraignment under Suffolk County’s “weekend lawyer” program, which provides representation for defendants arraigned on weekends. He questioned the police search of the Honda. On his way out of the courthouse, Mr. Irace said Ms. Stoller might have a good defense, depending on the outcome of her blood test. He will not be the one defending her, though; the weekend program prohibits its lawyers from representing defendants after their arraignment is concluded. Ms. Stoller was released after posting $250 bail.

Another driver, James Patrick Shea of Worcester, Mass., 23, who is currently living and working in East Hampton, was allegedly clocked at 52 miles per hour on Woods Lane early Sunday morning, where the limit is 30. Village police said his 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck had swerved while turning onto the lane, and that he failed the field sobriety test.

“He stated he had a couple of drinks at Stephen Talkhouse,” the arresting officer reported. Mr. Shea’s Breathalyzer reading was just below the .31 number that triggers a trip to Southampton Hospital. That high reading raised the misdemeanor charge to the aggravated level. He posted $250 bail later that morning.

Jason P. Anderson of Montauk, 35, was arrested there early Sunday, on North Greenwich Street, after police said they clocked his 2002 Toyota, headed south on West Lake Drive, at 46 miles per hour; the limit is 30 m.p.h. He was pulled over on North Greenwich Street, yards from his house. In addition to D.W.I., he faces four other misdemeanor charges: Police said they found tablets of Xanax and an oxycodone derivative in his possession, and that his license had been suspended for failure to answer a summons from county court. His breath test slightly exceeded the .08 reading that defines intoxication, and he was released without bail.

Jonathan I. Pena-Tacuri, 22, of East Hampton was charged Saturday night after his 2007 Honda Civic was pulled over on Abraham’s Path in Amagansett with one headlight out, according to police. His breath test produced a .08 reading, just high enough to trigger the misdemeanor D.W.I. charge. He was also charged with unlicensed driving. Justice Tekulsky warned him that were he to be arrested again for D.W.I., and convicted in his court, “I will send you to jail.” Mr. Pena-Tacuri said he understood. He was released on $250 bail.

Thirteen officers were deployed overnight Friday as part of a town police crackdown on drunken driving. They ended up making three arrests for D.W.I. and issuing 20 summonses for moving violations, according to Chief Michael D. Sarlo.

Mario Zeledon of East Hampton, 23, David M. Chinn of Sag Harbor, who turns 31 on Saturday, and Elizabeth F. Reid of Manhattan, 49, were arraigned Saturday morning before Justice Tekulsky. Their breath tests were all at about the .11 mark. Mr. Zeledon, who had been stopped on Town Lane in Amagansett, and Mr. Chinn, who was pulled over on Cedar Street in East Hampton, were released without bail, with a nod to their community ties.

Their arraignments were relatively routine, though that of Ms. Reid, whose  2017 Buick allegedly ran the red light at the intersection of Stephen Hand’s Path and Route 114, was not. Police said she had initially balked at getting into the van that transports prisoners from police headquarters to the courthouse. Once inside, they said, she apparently fell and scraped her elbow. She asked several times during the arraignments that morning to have her handcuffs removed, until Justice Tekulsky explained that it was a courthouse rule that prisoners were handcuffed.

After he suspended Ms. Reid’s driving privileges, Mr. Irace, representing her, asked that she be released without bail. “Let me tell you why I’m not going to do that,” Justice Tekulsky responded. “Her privilege to drive in New York State was suspended for failing to answer a summons out of Southampton.” He set a return date of Sept. 14. “Court starts at 9:30,” he told Ms. Reid. “Now that you are in our system, you need to comply with our rules.”

After the arraignments ended, she again declined to get into the van. Police finally agreed to walk her over to their substation nearby, process her bail, and release her, with a future date on Justice Tekulsky’s busy criminal calendar.