Northport Court Report: Tree Removal, a Dog Bite and More

Village Calendar

• William Beener, of , returned to court on charges that he removed a historically-designated tree from the parking lot of the at 330 Main Street (a violation of CVN 277-5A) .
  
  During the course of the court appearance, it was revealed to Judge Senzer that the church previously applied for a permit to remove the tree. They hired Beener to remove the tree after that application was denied. The parking lot for the church building, currently being renovated, will not be finished for approximately another year.
  
  The case was adjourned for a month so that Beener can work out a plan with the church and with Village Administrator Gene Guido that everyone agrees on.
• Jeffrey Rathbun pleaded guilty to (CVN 88-4C) immediately after arraignment proceedings were closed. He was sentenced to a $25 fine.
• Northport resident Scott Schnell pleaded guilty during Monday's Northport court session to a charge of having an unleashed dog, a violation of section 93-3C of the Northport Village Code. 
  
  Schnell's mixed-breed pitbull escaped from his property on March 30 and bit another t. The beagle developed several puncture wounds to his leg but was able to fully recover. 
  
  Since it was his second violation of the same section of the code, Schnell was sentenced to a conditional discharge and a $250 fine. He was commended by both Judge Paul Senzer and Village Attorney Karen Kerr for installing indoor and outdoor invisible fences on his property (installations that cost him approximately $4,000) and for taking his dogs to a trainer in an effort to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

Arraignments

• Peter G. Madsen was arraigned on two DWI charges (New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192-02 and 1192-03). The incident in question occurred on April 29 at 10:15 p.m., where Madsen. A breathalyzer test taken at the scene revealed a blood alcohol content of .151.
  
  Madsen's privilege to operate a motor vehicle in the state of New York was suspended. There was talk of Madsen applying for an extreme hardship license, but his defense attorney chose not to do so at this time. He will next appear in court on June 13.

Other Cases

• Ian Smith was produced in Northport court in custody on May 2 to face charges of facilitating the unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle (NYS VTL 511-A). A bench warrant for Smith was issued in the case on March 28 after Smith failed to appear in Northport court on multiple occasions. His license was suspended due to his failure to make child support payments.
  
  Smith also has three recent arrests in Suffolk County on his record, including one from January on a Class B felony charge of criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was released on $100 bail from Northport court so he could appear an appearance in County court in Riverhead the next day. His next appearance in Northport will be on May 23.
• Also appearing in court was Erik Bauer, who had both an outstanding DWI case (VTL 1192 03) and a possession of an opern container case (CVN 88-46) against him. In the DWI case, Suffolk Assistant DA Caroline Mayerhoffer offered a conditional discharge pending the completion of 100 hours of community service. Bauer revealed to the court that only eleven of the hours were currently completed, something that Judge Senzer was not happy about; he told Bauer that he needed to do better. Bauer was given until July 11 to finish the remaining hours. Kerr told Judge Senzer that the Village's case against Bauer would be dismissed upon completion of the 100 hours.
• Howard A. Stabile, , had a registration suspension against his 2010 Mercedes lifted in order to allow him to drive with a newly-approved extreme hardship conditional license. He will next appear in court on June 13.

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