Ordered to Treatment After Felony Charges

Two college friends are free after being arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court Sunday, although one is headed for residential drug treatment. Christopher R. Kayser, 18, who lives with his grandparents in Hither Hills and has a history of entering houses in nearby Ditch Plain, is facing two felony burglary charges and three misdemeanors, while Alex Micciantuono of the Bronx, his 22-year-old co-defendent, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle as a misdemeanor. 

According to police, on Friday at around 3:30 a.m., the pair found themselves stranded at Ditch Plain contemplating a long walk. However, police said, Mr. Kayser spotted a 2017 Toyota Tacoma parked with the keys in the ignition, and took off. Mr. Micciantuono accompanied him, which led to his misdemeanor charge.

Stopping at 7-Eleven, Mr. Kayser was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and Xanax, telling detectives at headquarters on Saturday night after his arrest that he had stolen some food and remembered that he had driven the truck west, leaving it near his grandparents’ house on Sycamore Lane. He could not recall, however, how its front end had wound up with fairly significant damage.

During the course of interviewing him, police connected Mr. Kayser to several open cases, dating as far back as  New Year’s Day 2017. He told police he had forced his way into several houses in the area, first on Jan. 1, when he smashed a rear glass sliding door to enter an Old Montauk Highway residence, and then in February when he allegedly forced his way into a Willow Lane residence.

He said he had gone into the house on New Year’s Day “to get out of the weather and smoke a joint.” When he left, police said, he took a Bose speaker, valued at $200, with him, leading to a felony burglary charge. 

As for the house he entered in February, he told police, “I never stole anything from the house, but, like I said, I went inside twice and got high.” A third house he admitted entering, on Laurel Drive, belongs to an uncle. He told police that a back window had been smashed by a tree limb, making it easy to get inside. Admitting to have taken a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Rum, he wound up with the second felony burglary charge.

He was also connected by police to another case of unauthorized use of a vehicle, dating from July. As with the most recent incident, he found himself on the night of July 16 with a friend in the Ditch Plain area with no way to get home. Once again, according to police, a vehicle was found with keys in the ignition, this time, a 2017 Toyota 4Runner, parked at the Montauk Shores Condominiums. He drove it to the 7-Eleven but left it there. “I was a mess. I didn’t think about consequences,” he told police. 

Arraigned by Justice Lisa R. Rana, the men were represented by Carl Irace, an attorney supplied by the county. Mr. Micciantuono was arraigned first. Justice Rana noted that he had been convicted of driving while ability impaired last year in North Carolina. She asked if his mother, who lives in North Carolina, knew he had been arrested. “I was never allowed to make a phone call, for some reason,” Mr. Micciantuono claimed. Bail was set at $350.

Then it was Mr. Kayser’s turn. Justice Rana said it was his third time through the justice system in East Hampton, with one case sealed under state youthful offender rules and a second being adjourned with charges to be dismissed if he stayed out of trouble. “You’re looking at some real serious stuff,” Justice Rana said. “Two class C felonies, three class A misdemeanors, plus you have a prior and an ACOD.” 

She told Mr. Kayser she expected him to immediately enter residential drug treatment. “You are going to go in there. It may not even be my choice. These are felonies. It could go to county court,” she said, if an indictment from a grand jury is obtained. 

“They’re asking for $50,000 cash bail,” she said of the county district attorney’s office. Mr. Irace pointed out that one of the burglary charges involved a relative’s house and said Mr. Kayser’s grandfather could post $3,000 bail. Justice Rana set bail at that amount. 

“I’m going to tell you something, and you better listen to me. You need to get yourself into rehabilitation right now.”