Cops: Man Looking for Work Groped by Stranger

Editor’s Note: The following information was supplied by the Riverhead Town Police Department. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

• A 52-year-old Wading River man was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of forcible touching in early July after he reportedly picked up a man near the Riverisde McDonald's, asked him if he was looking for work and proceeded to grope him once he got in his car.

According to a police report, the victim reported that as he walked on Route 24 on July 1 around 6:30 p.m., the Wading River man asked him if he was looking for work. After saying yes, the 52-year-old told him to hop in and he would take him to the site, and he reportedly proceeded to make his way over Pulaski Street, where he grabbed the victim in the area of his chest and penis several times.

After refusing the advances, the victim said he attempted to exit the car but it was moving too fast. He was later dropped off near the corner of Ostrander Avenue and E. Main Street, when he took a picture of the man and his car with his cell phone. A police man was flagged down soon after on Main Street, and the Wading River man was arrested the following day.

• Jairo Palma Betancourth, 24, of Brookhaven, was arrested on July 3 and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor. According to police, Betancourth was driving near Doctors Path and Main Road around midnight on July 3 when police saw him turn without using a traffic signal. He was later determined to be driving under the influence, police said.

• A 28-year-old Riverhead man was arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and criminal mischief in the fourth degree during a parole visitation on July 3.
According to Riverhead police, the man was told by his parole officer that he was being taken into custody for a separate parole violation, and the man resisted arrest, requiring the aid of another detective to get him in cuffs.

Police said blinds and Michael Kors watch were both damaged during the scuffle. The man was transported to Suffolk County Correctional Facility after being placed into custody.

• Police arrested a 35-year-old Rocky Point man on July 5 after he reportedly got into a fight with his girlfriend over how drunk he was, proceeded to choke her and bite her in the forehead, and later kicked out the window of a cop car after being places under arrest.

The woman reported to police that after getting in an argument with her boyfriend over how drunk he was, he pushed her to the ground, wrapped his hands around her neck and bit her in the forehead, causing swelling. 

The man was arrested on a felony charge of criminal mischief in the third degree and second-degree harassment.

• Manuel Cante, 37, of Riverhead, was arrested on a felony charge of first-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, as well as misdemeanor charges of DWI and circumventing an interlock device.

According to Riverhead police, Cante was driving on Shade Tree Lane in Aquebogue around 3:30 a.m. on July 6 when he was seen driving out of his lane. He was stopped and reportedly found to be drunk.

• A 25-year-old Riverhead woman was arrested on a petty larceny charge on July 6 after a Wal-Mart employee reported that she stole dryer sheets, valued at $2, from the store.

• Neri Ramirez, 29, of Riverhead, was arrested on a misdemeanor DWI charge on July 8. According to police, Ramirez was seen driving on Melene Avenue around 4 a.m. when he failed to use a traffic signal. He was later found to be under the influence of alcohol, police said. 

• A 60-year-old Westhampton man was arrested on July 8 on a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree criminal mischief. During a dispute, the man reportedly kicked another man's acoustic guitar while at the Department of Social Services on E. Main Street.

• A 46-year-old Riverhead man was arrested on July 8 after police said he was found on the third floor of a home on West Main Street, holding a glass pipe with crack cocaine inside it. He was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree.