Marty
12-01-2004, 05:30 PM
The Hamptons, NY -- The Hamptons, NY -- It was see ya later gator, figuratively and literally. In an arrest that reads like a video game, police broke down a door, got past a snarling pit bull to find a pound of pot, a firearm of unknown origin, four suspects, and an alligator.
Acting on information provided by a source, cops from the Shelter Island Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department Emergency Services and Canine Unit, and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, descended on a residence located on West Neck Road in Shelter Island just after one last Friday morning. According to Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg of SIPD, the county’s unit gained entry by “compromising the door” which in regular person verbiage, as opposed to copspeak, means they broke down the door.
Once inside the residence, the officers were confronted by a pit bull which they say was violent and, according to the PD press release, left them “no options other than to dispatch the animal.” Again, in normalspeak, that means they shot the creature to death. “This agency has had problems with the pit bull before,” Det.
Sgt. Thilberg said yesterday. The canine had a history of biting people, he claimed.
A child was attacked this summer and an adult last year. The town had issued a summons for the animal’s behavior in the past, the sergeant said, “so we anticipated a problem.”
Cops also expected to find a weapon, plus drugs. They uncovered what Det. Sgt. Thilberg described as a “military sniper rifle” that is “not from this country” stored in a chest in a bedroom. The firearm, along with its large magazine filled with numerous rounds, was sent off to the county crime lab for analysis, as was the pound-plus of pot recovered from the house. Also found were pills and a small quantity of cocaine.
And as to the gator? Cops expected to encounter a reptile, too — hence the presence of DEC agents. According to Det. Sgt. Thilberg, the cold-blooded critter was contained in a bedroom overnight until DEC officials were able to make arrangements for its safe transport and legal shelter.
David Bartilucci, 23, will face a felony charge of criminal possession of marijuana, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, resisting arrest, and possession of dangerous wildlife without a permit. He’ll also face rehab for the injuries sustained when he resisted arrest. Two 24-year-old female occupants of the house were charged with CPCS 7th; a 31-year-old housemate was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A fifth suspect, a 20-year-old Shelter Island woman — who did not reside at the domicile — was also charged with unlawful possession.
Reflecting on the excitement, Det. Sgt. Thilberg allowed, “We had knowledge of a lot of what we could expect [in the house]. In a place where there are drugs, these are the things we encounter.” He said he wasn’t certain exactly what type of alligator was found, or whether the reptile of about two to three feet in size was an alligator at all, and concluded, “Obviously we don’t deal with this on a daily basis.”
Acting on information provided by a source, cops from the Shelter Island Police Department, the Suffolk County Police Department Emergency Services and Canine Unit, and the State Department of Environmental Conservation, descended on a residence located on West Neck Road in Shelter Island just after one last Friday morning. According to Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg of SIPD, the county’s unit gained entry by “compromising the door” which in regular person verbiage, as opposed to copspeak, means they broke down the door.
Once inside the residence, the officers were confronted by a pit bull which they say was violent and, according to the PD press release, left them “no options other than to dispatch the animal.” Again, in normalspeak, that means they shot the creature to death. “This agency has had problems with the pit bull before,” Det.
Sgt. Thilberg said yesterday. The canine had a history of biting people, he claimed.
A child was attacked this summer and an adult last year. The town had issued a summons for the animal’s behavior in the past, the sergeant said, “so we anticipated a problem.”
Cops also expected to find a weapon, plus drugs. They uncovered what Det. Sgt. Thilberg described as a “military sniper rifle” that is “not from this country” stored in a chest in a bedroom. The firearm, along with its large magazine filled with numerous rounds, was sent off to the county crime lab for analysis, as was the pound-plus of pot recovered from the house. Also found were pills and a small quantity of cocaine.
And as to the gator? Cops expected to encounter a reptile, too — hence the presence of DEC agents. According to Det. Sgt. Thilberg, the cold-blooded critter was contained in a bedroom overnight until DEC officials were able to make arrangements for its safe transport and legal shelter.
David Bartilucci, 23, will face a felony charge of criminal possession of marijuana, two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, resisting arrest, and possession of dangerous wildlife without a permit. He’ll also face rehab for the injuries sustained when he resisted arrest. Two 24-year-old female occupants of the house were charged with CPCS 7th; a 31-year-old housemate was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. A fifth suspect, a 20-year-old Shelter Island woman — who did not reside at the domicile — was also charged with unlawful possession.
Reflecting on the excitement, Det. Sgt. Thilberg allowed, “We had knowledge of a lot of what we could expect [in the house]. In a place where there are drugs, these are the things we encounter.” He said he wasn’t certain exactly what type of alligator was found, or whether the reptile of about two to three feet in size was an alligator at all, and concluded, “Obviously we don’t deal with this on a daily basis.”