Crimes Nearby: Man Charged with Sexually Abusing 12-Year-Old

The following information was supplied by various town police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation and does not indicate guilt.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

• A clerk at the Southampton Town Police Department found herself on the wrong side of the bars. Elizabeth R. Rush, 31, of Hampton Bays, allegedly stole "a few hundred dollars" from the petty cash drawer," according to police. She was arrested at police headquarters on Friday morning at about 10:15 a.m. on petty larceny charges.

• James Pallister, 50, of Hampton Bays, was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration in the second-degree, both misdemeanors, and second-degree harassment, a violation, in Hampton Bays on Aug. 14 at about 12:15 a.m. Police were initially called because Pallister reportedly pulled his girlfriend's hair and punched her in the back of the head at a house on Fanning Avenue, but he left before police arrived. While an officer was speaking with alleged victim, they saw Pallister drive by the house. A sergeant followed his vehicle and pulled him over. Pallister got out of the car and ran into the woods. He was located a short time later, police said.

• Two people were stabbed during a fight at the in Hampton Bays during the early morning hours on Saturday.
said they received a call about several people fighting at the club at 58 Foster Avenue at 2:21 a.m.
The stabbing victims were lying outside the Beach Bar when police arrived, according to a police statement.
New York State Police and Riverhead K-9 responded to assist in a search for the perpetrators. They were not found.

• A Hampton Bays man was arrested on Wednesday on charges that he sexually abused a 12-year-old child last month.
Fabian D. Valencia, 36, was released from the Suffolk County jail on $5,000 cash bail the day after his arrest at Southampton Town police headquarters.
said that Valencia was charged with sexual abuse in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.


NORTH FORK

• Southold Police arrested a Ridge teenager after they said he was caught smoking marijuana by the Greenport Railroad Museum after fleeing police. According to police, the 16-year-old male was sitting on the deck of the museum with another teenager around 6:30 p.m. when they were approached by police and subsequently ran. Cops said the boy was caught with a glass marijuana pipe, and admitted to leaving marijuana back at the museum. He was arrested and given a field appearance ticket.

• A Southold man was arrested last Thursday night after police said he fled from cops on an all-terrain vehicle, proceed to speed through the woods, and was caught later with his ATV in the back of a truck after police sought after him with a K-9.
According to, a man was spotted by police driving an ATV down Main Bayview Road around 5:30 Thursday evening. Police said that upon attempting to stop the two, the ATV fled and led cops on a pursuit along several roads in the area, eventually heading into the woods.
Police responded with a K-9 unit and found the woman hiding in the woods, saying that her boyfriend, 21-year-old William Moore, let her get off. One officer patrolling the area reportedly saw the ATV being loaded into the bed of a pickup truck. Police said they stopped the vehicle and Moore, the passenger in the truck, admitted to operating the ATV. He was arrested on 11 vehicle and traffic violations and released on an appearance ticket.

SOUTHAMPTON

• Matthew F. MacGowan, 34, of Manorville, was arrested on drug charges after he was pulled over for talking on his cellphone on Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton on Aug. 16 at about 8:30 a.m. Police said they smelled marijuana coming from his car. A search found a small quantity of marijuana and a cigar case with some oxycodone pills that had not been described to MacGowan. He allegedly told police, "I got those from a friend for when my teeth are bothering me."

EAST HAMPTON

Several pieces of jewelry have gone missing — totaling $18,768 — from a house on Island Road between April and August. Among the items were a David Yurman bracelet, worth $1,400, a ring, worth $600, and a watch worth $700, all of which was reported stolen on Aug. 11.

Police said that on July 15, a Montauk man was walking across The Plaza on Main Street and was assaulted by a passenger in a car that stopped abruptly in front of him, at a stop sign. The driver put his hands up and appeared annoyed that he had to stop and the passenger grabbed the pedestrian by his shirt. The pedestrian told police that he threw a punch to break free, but suffered "a completely shattered nose" that required 20 stitches under his left eye. He filed a report at the police precinct and Montauk Fire Department ambulance personnel transported him to the hospital.

A Holtsville man reported $5,450 in watches stolen from his vehicle that was parked in a parking lot off Main Street on Aug. 14 and 15. He said that he has a watch case in the back of 2003 GMC that holds six watches. The Bulova watch and two Rip Curl watches were taken, but the more expensive watches were left behind. A Tag Heuer, worth $4,400, was stolen from the glove compartment. Police noted the GMC's windows were left down overnight.