Northport Court Report

Jaye E. Racanelli
A court appearance for Racanelli turned contentious after it was revealed to her lawyer that DWI charges against his client were re-filed by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office without his knowledge.

The revelation of the new charges to defense attorney Steven M. Politi further upset him, especially because he felt the DA's office was not responding promptly to motions he filed after Racanelli was first arraigned. Politi noted that his office properly filed their motions as dictated by the court's schedule in October, while the DA's office continuously missed deadlines and asked for extensions.

Their ultimate response was to file the new charges to supersede the old ones. Suffolk Assistant DA Matthew Mays defended the people's decision by saying they had the right to follow superseding charges and added that they were ready on every court date.

Racanelli was then re-arraigned on two DWI charges, one of a DWI with a blood alcohol content greater than .08% (NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192-2) and another simply called driving while intoxicated (1192-3). The main difference between the old and new charges was that neatly-typed driver witness accounts that were not a part of the initial charges were attached to the new charges.

Village Justice Paul Senzer gave Politi two weeks to file new motions in the case based on the new charges, with the DA's response scheduled for two weeks after that. The defense is then scheduled to serve a reply by April 4th, and both sides will be back in court on May 2.

Sean Cummings
Sean Cummings, a resident of a FEGS Health and Human Services Center at 60 Fort Salonga Road in Northport, pleaded guilty to two separate second-degree harassment violations in court on Monday. The charges stemmed from two separate incidents at the FEGS center, where he attacked two employees working in the center, one on Dec. 29, 2009, and the other on May 23, 2010).

He was assessed a conditional discharge in each case, as well as separate $125 surcharges. Orders of protection were filed with regards to the two employees he attacked as well, prohibiting him from harassing either employee. He was also required to turn in any weapons in his possesion. The first order of protection also includes a condition where Cummings must refrain from communicating with the employee, but the second order of protection does not include this because that employee still works at the FEGS center.

Cummings was also asked to waive his sealing rights by pleading guilty, meaning that his case would be available for public record.

Guilty Pleas
A 55-year-old Huntington resident pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct. The charge stemmed from a Sept. 4, 2010 incident where the defendant acted in a disorderly manner while selling orchids at the . Suffolk ADA Mays' suggestion of a $200 fine (with a $125 surcharge) was assessed by Judge Senzer.

A 30-year-old Kings Park resident also pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct stemming from an incident where the defendant stole an item from the Rite Aid Pharmacy located at 395 Fort Salonga Road in Northport last November 10. This was her sixth court appearance. The defendant was assessed a $100 fine with a $125 surcharge. The judge granted the defendant's request for three months to pay the fine and surcharge, setting a deadline of June 6.

A 21-year-old Huntington Station resident pleaded guilty to one count of facilitating aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. The defendant's license was originally suspended after being involved in a motor vehicle accident in 2008, and was revoked between that time and the time of this violation (December 4, 2010, at 11:46 PM). The defendant was issued a $200 fine with an $85 surcharge, and their license remains revoked for an indefinite period of time.

Traffic Cases
A 54-year-old Greenlawn resident had an initial charge of two moving violations with points — occurring at 1:09 a.m. and 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2010 — reduced to a parking ticket without points. The defendant was assessed a $150 fine without a surcharge, and it was paid on the date of the court appearance.

Another defendant was assessed a $25 fine (with an $85 surcharge) for an expired inspection sticker on a 2009 GMC Sierra. The sticker was expired for nine months at the time it was ticketed. The defendant said that the $110 could be paid by Wednesday, since he did not have cash on him, but was given a week officially by the court (with the understanding that the charge could be paid before then).

A third defendant had a disobeying miscellaneous rules charge dismissed upon appearance in court.

Miscellaneous
One other defendant, who previously pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, had a special appearance in court because his lawyer originally requested to be removed from the case. Upon appearing in court, however, the lawyer stated that he was staying on the case. Judge Senzer then set a trial date for April 11 at 9PM. He also noted that Northport Police Department Officer Christopher Hughes would need to be subpoenaed, with several other officers or civilians potentially needed subpoenas as well.

All other cases were adjourned.

With preliminary jurisdiction over felonies and general trial jurisdiction over misdemeanors, traffic infractions and local ordinance violations, Village Court is in session every Monday at 7 p.m. except state holidays in . The Clerk’s Office is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and can be reached by calling 757-0935.

Other helpful numbers:
Suffolk County District Attorney (criminal, traffic & all state offenses): (631) 853-7500
Northport Village Prosecuting Attorney - Karen Kerr, Esq. (local ordinance matters): (631) 271-7560
Suffolk County Legal Aid Society: (631) 853-5212
Suffolk County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Information Service: (631) 234-5511