Police News

Toys R Us Dash

A Mahopac woman will have some explaining to do when appearing later this month in Yorktown Town Court following her arrest for child endangerment.

Dawn Defeo, 50, was arrested last week on the misdemeanor charge after cops were summoned to the Toys R Us store in Jefferson Valley at 8:15pm for a report that four young boys were acting disorderly inside the store.

Lt. Richard Malan said patrols went to the scene and located the youths before bringing them to police headquarters in order to contact their parents.

The lieutenant said when Mrs. Defeo arrived at the stationhouse to pick her children she reportedly told investigating officers that “she was responsible for the 10, 11, 12, and 13-year-olds and had allowed them to cross heavily traveled Route 6 unsupervised from the Jefferson Valley Mall to visit the toy store.”

Defeo was arrested on the spot. She was released without bail pending the future court hearing.

District Attorney Adam Levy said endangering the welfare of a child was a Class A misdemeanor carrying a maximum period of incarceration of up to one year in a county jail if found guilty.

98 MPH on I-84

A vehicle allegedly speeding on I-84 after crossing the Putnam County line into East Fishkill was stopped after a trooper clocked the auto at 98 mph.

East Fishkill State Police said the driver of the car was charged with speeding since the speed limit along that section of interstate is 65 mph.

Christopher Haskell, 18, of Rockland, Mass., was also charged last Wednesday with criminal possession of a controlled substance when a quantity of marijuana was reportedly found inside the car. His passenger, Daniel Woods, 21, of Whitman, Mass., was also charged with the drug possession offense.

Both men were arraigned in East Fishkill Town Court and were released on bail pending future court hearings.

Danbury Drug Bust

A Carmel couple is facing a variety of drug charges in Connecticut Superior Court following their arrests in downtown Danbury.

Danbury Police arrested Auriel Cote, 24 and his companion, Gabrielle Rega, 18, last week after receiving a report at 9pm that suspicious activity was taking place inside a car parked at the Taco Bell parking lot on Main Street in Danbury.

Officers responded and reportedly found the couple using drugs while seated inside the vehicle.

Both were charged with possession of a controlled substance and when police found Rega in the possession of several prescription drugs in improper containers, additional charges were lodged against the young woman.

Cops said the two refused to exit their car when approached by police and reportedly became belligerent and unruly. Additional charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration were also lodged.

Following arraignment, Cote and Rega were remanded to jail on bail pending arraignment Thursday.

Aggravated Unlicensed

Operations on Rise

The incidence of aggravated unlicensed operation arrests continues to increase throughout the region. Carmel Police and members of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department have made numerous arrests in recent days.

Carmel Officer Thomas Johanson stopped a car on Weber Hill Road in Mahopac at 2pm after it was observed to be speeding in an erratic manner. The driver, Noberto Ortega, 46, of Mahopac, was driving with a suspended license. Ortega was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation, speeding, tailgating, for making an unsafe lane change, and, when a quantity of marijuana was allegedly found inside the car, additional charges of unlawful possession of marijuana were lodged.

Officer Stephen McCabe investigated a single car crash on Route 6N in Mahopac at 12:45pm. A computer check with the New York State DMV database revealed the driver, Fernando Serrano, 21, of Mahopac, was driving with a suspended license. Serrano was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation.

Officer Jeffrey Eagan made a pair of arrests, as well. He first stopped a speeding car on Route 6N in Mahopac Falls. A computer check revealed the driver, David Scicolone, 19, of Yorktown, was driving with a suspended license. He was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation as well as for speeding.

Officer Eagan returned to patrol and observed a vehicle being operated with a broken headlight. The car was stopped and a computer check determined the driver, Marko Milicevic, 38, of Mahopac, was operating his car with a revoked license. While being taken into custody, the officer reportedly found a plastic bag in Milicevic’s possession containing a quantity of marijuana, three decks of heroin, a hypodermic needle, and assorted drug paraphernalia.

Milicevic was arrested on charges of aggravated unlicensed operation, possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a hypodermic syringe, and unlawful possession of marijuana. Each of those arrested was released without bail pending hearings later this month in Carmel Town Court before Justices Thomas Jacobellis or Joseph Spofford.

The Sheriff’s Department has had its own share of AUO arrests.

Deputy Edward Kennedy stopped a car on Route 9 in Philipstown for committing a traffic violation. Salvador Lopez, 34, of Wappingers Falls, was arrested for aggravated unlicensed operation after he was found to be driving with a suspended license.

Deputy Shaun Menton arrested Joseph Scelza, 27, of Cortlandt Manor, for aggravated unlicensed operation after stopping his car on Oscawana Lake Road in Putnam Valley.

Menton also charged Scott Staten, 35, of Mahopac, with aggravated unlicensed operation after stopping his speeding car on Peekskill Hollow Road in Putnam Valley. Sgt. William Mooney said both men had been operating their vehicles with suspended licenses.

Deputy Thomas Lee also made an arrest when stopping a car on Route 6 in Southeast. The driver, Shashana Mc- Neil, 30, of Poughkeepsie, was charged with AUO after a computer check determined the woman was operating her car with a suspended license.

Those charged were released without bail pending future court hearings this month in Philipstown, Putnam Valley, and Southeast.

DWI Victim Corners

Drunk

A motorist whose vehicle was struck by a man later arrested for DWI became so enraged after the suspect’s car fled the scene that police say he followed the wanted vehicle to a cul-de-sac in Mahopac and boxed in the vehicle until police arrived.

Carmel Police Chief Michael Johnson reported the incident last week telling the Courier Officer James Evans was dispatched to the cul-de-sac of McNair Drive around 12:45am.

“The victim advised the officer that the other driver had struck his car while driving in the opposite direction on Union Valley Road in Mahopac and took off. The innocent victim followed the wanted car to the residential area and prevented it from escaping,” said the chief.

Thomas Shaw, 48, of Mahopac, was questioned by Officer Evans and was reportedly found to be highly intoxicated. He was arrested for DWI and when his blood alcohol level measured in excess of .18 percent or more than twice the legal limit for intoxication, more serious charges of aggravated DWI were lodged.

Additional charges of leaving the scene of a crash were filed.

Shaw was arraigned on the charges and was released to the custody of a family member pending a March 8 hearing before Judge Joseph Spofford in Carmel Town Court.

A Mother’s Love

A Mahopac woman who allegedly lied to police about who was driving the family car when it became involved in a crash has some explaining to do when appearing in Carmel Town Court later this month.

Carmel Police arrested Tamila Machitidze, 45, last week after Chief Michael Johnson said Officer Stephen Kunze was flagged down by a motorist on Route 6 in Mahopac concerning a property damage crash.

The chief said while interviewing both drivers, “Officer Kunze determined that Mrs. Machitidze had lied about driving the vehicle, since her son, who was not at the scene, was the driver.”

The woman contacted her son via cell phone who returned to the scene and upon further questioning the 16-yearold boy admitted to being behind the wheel when his vehicle crashed.

The mother was arrested for obstructing governmental administration while her son, who possessed a valid junior operator’s license, was not charged.

Machitidze was released without bail pending a March 22 hearing before Carmel Justice Joseph Spofford.

Attempted Robbery

Brewster State Police are investigating the attempted robbery of a Southeast service station.

The incident was reported last Wednesday around 8pm, when a man wearing dark-colored clothing entered the Citgo Station on Route 22 north of Milltown Road and brandished a handgun to announce a stickup.

Investigator Armando Barquin said the suspect apparently became frightened when a vehicle pulled into the station to obtain fuel and bolted out of the front door empty-handed.

The man, who was wearing a mask, was last seen fleeing the station in an undisclosed location on foot.

Inv. Barquin has asked anyone in the area at the time of the attempted robbery who might have observed something suspicious to call Brewster State Police at 279-6161. All calls will be kept confidential.

French Fry Fire

A 20-year-old Brewster man found out the hard way that cooking French fries can be dangerous to your health.

Anthony Medina, 20, of Peaceable Hill Road, suffered second and third degree burns on his hands, arms, and legs last Thursday around 11am, when fire engulfed a pot of oil on the victim’s kitchen stove.

Putnam Deputy Emergency Coordinator Kenneth Clair said when the oil went up in flames Medina attempted to extinguish the blaze by placing a towel over the pot which inadvertently knocked it off the stove with its scalding contents spilling onto the man’s arms, legs and hands.

Medina’s brother, Austin, who was in the kitchen at the time, managed to extinguish the fire before calling 911. The Brewster Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire with injury along with the Brewster FD Rescue Squad, a paramedic from the TransCare Ambulance Company, Brewster Village Police, Sheriff’s Department personnel, members of the Brewster State Police, and the Putnam Lake Fire Department under mutual aid.

Medina was taken by ambulance to the Westchester Medical Center, in Valhalla, where he was admitted to the Burn Unit in serious condition.

Brewster Assistant Chief Dave O’Hara, the incident commander, praised the rescue effort and the rapid response of emergency responders during daytime hours when it is often difficult to man a crew for the all volunteer firefighting corps.

Captain William McNamara of the Sheriff’s Department said following an investigation the incident was termed as a tragic accident.