Town: East Hampton Homeowner, 7 Others Charged in Overcrowding Case

An East Hampton homeowner and seven other people were charged Monday with multiple violations for overcrowding a local home by converting several rooms into bedrooms, authorities said.

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 at 8:30 p.m. Monday.

The search warrant provided access to the single-family house on the property, 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, was on site and issued an appearance ticket to appear in Town Justice Court on Nov. 23.

He 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.

The ongoing investigation may result in additional charges, town officials said.

Inspectors previously executed a search warrant for similar violations in 2006, with numerous charges being filed against the same owner at that time.