Road Rage, Alleged Pot Sales

Photos taken during what East Hampton Town police have called a road rage incident led to a felony arrest on June 10. A woman, whose name was not released, called police after a motorcyclist punched the side mirror on her new Toyota RAV-4 on June 8. The photos she took helped police get the motorcycle’s license plate number and track down its owner. 

The incident began at around 1:15 p.m. on Swamp Road. After some kind of dispute on the road, the woman said Peter John Smith-Johannsen, 43, of East Hampton, swung a U-turn, followed her Toyota, and waved his hands and yelled for her to pull over. At the intersection of Route 114, Mr. Smith-Johannsen got off his motorcycle, hit the car’s windows, and then punched the driver’s-side mirror, damaging it, before he sped off. He was charged with criminal mischief in the third degree, a felony, because the damage was estimated at $400. Also charged with second-degree harassment, a violation, he was released with an appearance ticket and will be arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court on July 12. 

An 18-year-old from Manhattan was charged with felony drug possession with intent to sell late Saturday night after police reportedly found him with over 100 Xanax pills. Police were called to a disturbance in the area of 125 Mulford Lane at Lazy Point, Amagansett, at around 11 p.m. They found a 2013 BMW parked at the end of Mulford Lane and said that despite its windows being closed, there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. 

When the officer knocked on the window, he found three people inside, one of whom admitted having marijuana and handed it to the officer, who then searched the vehicle. He found 91 full alprazolam pills and 80 half-pills in the defendant’s backpack in three clear plastic bags. Although the young man identified the pills as Xanax, a lab analysis will have to confirm it, Detective Sgt. Dan Toia said. 

The young man, whose name was withheld by police due to his eligibility for youthful offender status, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, a felony, unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation, and possession of a controlled substance in a non-original container. Justice Lisa R. Rana set bail at $3,000. He was taken to Suffolk County jail in Riverside and released after his bail was posted.

In a different encounter with police, Adam L. Webb, 35, of Southampton dropped small baggies of cocaine in a misguided attempt to prove he had no marijuana in his pockets. He was pulled over on a traffic infraction on Three Mile Harbor Road, near Boatyard Lane in Springs, on June 3 at about 2:15 a.m. Police said there was a strong smell of marijuana coming from the car, and they were at first concerned that he had been driving under the influence. He passed field sobriety tests, however, but apparently trying to show he had no marijuana, he emptied his pockets and dropped two small plastic bags with cocaine in them instead, police said. 

He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, a misdemeanor, and released with an appearance ticket.