East Hampton Homeowner, 7 Others Plead Not Guilty in Overcrowding Case

The East Hampton homeowner and seven other people who were charged earlier this month with multiple violations for overcrowding a local home by converting several rooms into bedrooms pleaded not guilty in court last Monday.

On Nov. 9 East Hampton Town Ordinance officials, assisted by members of the Town Police Department, executed a search warrant at 2 Amagansett Drive East in East Hampton, which was reported to have been overcrowded and converted to a multifamily residence, according to officials.

Officers, who were on site for approximately 45 minutes examining the house and grounds, found that the house had been converted from the originally approved layout of a four-bedroom house designed for one family, officials said.

Inspectors found that people were residing in the basement and garage, and that a laundry room, dining room and office had been converted to bedrooms, according to officials.

These conversions changed the occupancy to a house with eight bedrooms, doubling the approved number of sleeping areas.

The owner of the house, Manuel Guerrero, 54, faces various charges including having no building permit, no certificate of occupancy, converting a single-family home to a multi-family home, and overcrowding.

Seven other people on site were also charged with Town Code violations related to multi-family occupancy in connection with the investigation: Trasito Auquilla, Ana Dsorio Marquez, Millar Cauama, Sandra Contrvas, Antionio Matailo, Carlos Calle and Rina Alvarado.

Guerrero, a native of Ecuador, stated that the other seven people accused of renting the home, are family, friends or acquaintances from Ecuador who are staying at the home temporarily, and that he claims that the renovations to the home were approved by the Town, which he has documents to prove it, according to a report in Newsday.

This is the second search warrant issued on the home, the first in 2006 when Guerrero was charged with similar violations, Newsday reports.

In both instances, Guerrero said he was “falsely accused,” according to the report.

Photo: Google Maps