Lewisboro Police Blotter: Fake ID bust, employee dispute, tree falls on restaurant

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y. - Lewisboro Police responded to several unusual incidents during the latter part of March – beginning with an underage male using fake identification to purchase tobacco products.

This took place on Thursday, March 13, and was reported by a clerk at the Route 35 Shell station in Cross River. Upon the officer’s arrival, the clerk reported that the young man had used an Illinois ID to purchase two Zyn nicotine pouches. The clerk took a picture of the ID she believed to be fake, which the officer then copied. Accompanied by a friend, the boy had left the station and walked along Route 35 toward Cameron’s Deli.

The officer met two boys walking out of Cameron's Deli. This officer showed them the picture and asked which one of them had used it at the Shell station. One took the Illinois ID from his wallet and gave it to the officer, saying it was his friend’s ID. The officer kept the young man’s New York license and the fake ID and told both to return to the Shell station.

The clerk identified the boy who had used the fake ID. The boy called home on his cell phone, and the officer spoke to the boy’s mother. The officer advised the mother that her son had committed a crime, about which she said she and her husband would have a talk with their son later. She also instructed police to dispose of the fake ID and nicotine pouches. No further action was taken at the time.

On Thursday, March 20 a police officer spotted a man tampering with the window of Ring’s End in South Salem. He appeared to be breaking into the lumber store, which was closed at that hour. The officer approached the man, who identified himself with a New Hampshire driver’s license. The man stated that he was trying to find an outlet to charge his phone. He wanted to place a bet on a college basketball team and had traveled to New York to do so because it was a Connecticut college team. The officer advised the man that he could not use others’ electricity without permission.

A resident walked into Lewisboro Police Headquarters on Wednesday, March 26 to discuss a dispute with an employee who worked for her dog-walking business. When she terminated the employee, he became angry and began to throw objects. She had earlier asked the employee, by text, to send her his hours so she could pay him what he was owed – but he instead sent unwanted texts. The officer instructed the business owner to block the employee’s number and to instead obtain the pay sheet through the man’s mother, whose contact information she had available. She was also instructed to avoid further communication with the employee and to transmit the final payment through a cash payment app.

Police assisted the Vista Fire Department on Saturday, March 22, after a large pine tree fell onto the La Vista Ristorante in South Salem. Customers were evacuated on orders of the fire chief, and a building inspector said the building had significant damage. The restaurant’s owner was advised to shut power off to the damaged section of the building, to have a tree service remove the tree, and then reinspect the damage. The owner also said an insurance adjuster was en route to assess the situation.

On Wednesday, March 12, police spotted a crashed, unoccupied vehicle in a ditch on Chapel Road in Lake Waccabuc. The vehicle was impounded and towed by Sal’s Towing.  An eJustice check identified the owner, who was contacted and told police he thought his car was at home. The owner was also unaware that it had crashed and reported that his wife usually drove the car. She had said nothing to her husband about the crash and went to bed. The car owner said his wife was uninjured. He was instructed to contact Sal’s about retrieving his car.

On Friday, March 14, an officer conducting surveillance on Route 123 in South Salem spotted an individual riding in the back of a van without a seatbelt. After stopping the van, he discovered that the driver was unlicensed. The driver was issued a ticket for unlicensed operation and the passenger received a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt. The van was towed an impounded by East Towing.

On Monday, March 24, an accident took place at the Goldens Bridge shopping center. The driver of the first vehicle was backing into a parking space when her car stalled. She could no longer steer the car and backed into a second, unattended car as a result. Both vehicles were damaged and East Towing arrived on the scene. It discovered the first car’s battery was dead and towed it to the owner’s home. The parked car was being used by its owner’s brother, who worked at the shopping center. Both drivers exchanged information and the matter was closed.