Brookhaven Town Police Blotter: Aug. 10 to Aug. 17, 2026

BROOKHAVEN TOWN, NY — Suffolk's first responders were busy last week, according to the Suffolk County Police Department and other first responders’ logs.

Here's a snapshot of some incidents and arrests:

CORAM

• A man was issued a summons for texting while driving after his vehicle struck a parked car on Old Town Road in Coram at around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday. No one was hurt.

FARMINGVILLE

• Ramon Rodriguez, 37, of Yaphank, was charged with two counts of second-degree menacing, police say, after an incident at the Grille in the Ville in Farmingville on Sunday. Further details were not available. He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail without any monetary conditions at his arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, online court records show. An order of protection was also issued, the records show.

MASTIC

• Police responded to a report of a person with a gun on Shinnecock Avenue in Mastic at around midnight on Thursday. No man was present upon the officers' arrival.
• Police responded to a physical fight between two friends on Montauk Highway in Mastic just before 11 p.m. on Monday Medical treatment was declined. No further information was available.
• A fire started while someone was cooking at a home on Madison Street in Mastic at around 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday. No injuries were reported to police.

PATCHOGUE

• Samantha Higgins, 33, of Patchogue, was charged with three counts of third-degree burglary on Aug. 11, police said, for breaking into Fortunoff Backyard on Sunrise Highway with three others. She pleaded not guilty at her arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, online court records show.
• Franklin Ganuza, 28, of West Babylon, was charged with second-degree assault on Aug. 12, police said, after being involved in an altercation with two people at Taco Bell in Patchogue, and at least one was stabbed with a knife. The person who was stabbed was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to police. His arraignment information was not available.
• Two New York City men were arrested in an incident at a location on East Main Street in East Patchogue on Aug. 14, police said. Enrique Cutipa, 27, of East Elmhurst, and Christopher Jimenez, 27, of Brooklyn, were charged with third-degree grand larceny, according to police. Cutipa was additionally charged with third-degree assault, police said. Further details were not available. Both Cutipa and Jimenez pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance at their arraignments in First District Court in Central Islip, online court records show. Orders of protection were also issued, the records show.

RIDGE

• Justin Leonard, 31, of Center Moriches, was charged with second-degree assault on Aug. 13, police say, after punching a man at Misfit’s Tavern in Ridge. The man was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to police. Leonard pleaded not guilty and was released on bail with no monetary restrictions at his arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip, online court records show. An order of protection was issued, the records show.

SHIRLEY

• Darnell Nash, 31, of Shirley was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny on Aug. 12, police said, for swiping $1,600 in cash from Mavis Tires in Shirley. Nash is set to appear in court on Sept.1, online court records show.
• A 911 caller reported a man on a boogie board in distress just off of Smith Point County Park in Shirley at about noon on Saturday. When officers arrived the man was out of the water and did not require transport to the hospital. Further details were not available.
• Police responded to a 911 call just before 4 p.m. on Monday for a man breaking things in the parking lot of Stop and Shop on Montauk Highway in Shirley. There was no man when police arrived, and a canvass of the area produced negative results. It is not clear what "things" he was breaking.

STONY BROOK

• Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter staff reported that a resident on Hastings Drive in Stony Brook’s dog was barking and it did not have access to water on Aug. 11.

YAPHANK

• Brandon Andrews, 28, of Bohemia, was arrested on an out-of-state warrant, police said, as a fugitive from justice, on Aug. 13 at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Yaphank. Further details were not available.