After Brutal Home Invasion, Sexual Assault; Stabbings, Guardian Angels To Patrol in Southampton, Hampton Bays

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — After a number of brutal crimes — including a home invasion where a young woman was attacked and sexually assaulted on a tony Southampton street, and a double stabbing at a Hampton Bays nightclub — Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa told Patch he is sending patrols to the South Fork.

In past months, Guardian Angels patrols have been a visible presence in both Greenport and Riverhead on the North Fork.

And now, Sliwa said, patrols are heading out to the South Fork Thursday to help address concerns of residents.

In November, 2015, Sliwa said Southampton residents felt crime was "getting out of control" and reached out to the Guardian Angels when deciding whether to "organize their own citizen patrol and block watch because of the growing home invasion problems." Some considered becoming Guardian Angels, he said.

Police, however, acted quickly to allay fears and stepped up patrols, Sliwa said, and the public's interest in patrolling themselves waned.

"The local citizens decided to go in a different direction but the problems are real," Sliwa said. "They have a meth problem they are not publicly acknowledging. MS-13 and Bloods gang problems are creeping in."

Much of the issue, Sliwa said, centers on the fact that the hamlets are in close proximity to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.

In addition, the "very lucrative drug dealing" that takes place with residents on the East End is responsible for the escalating gang presence on the East End.

After a terrifying home invasion and sexual assault on Little Plains Road in Southampton earlier in August, and a double stabbing during a gang assault at CB's in Hampton Bays in March, local residents once again have reached out to the Guardian Angels for help.

Sliwa said the Guardian Angels have patrolled the Alive on 25 street festivals in Riverhead this summer, most recently this past Thursday.

"A lot of the residents attending are from nearby Southampton," Sliwa said. "Many residents from both Southampton and Hampton Bays have asked us to come and patrol their areas because of the growth of MS-13 and 18th Street gangs in the area."

The increase in home invasions and other crimes have also prompted the requests for help, he said.

"We were ready back in 2015 to assist the residents of Southampton and we are willing to help them at any time," Sliwa said.

Sliwa said he's learned that the attack at CB's included MS-13 attackers and 18th Street gang victims; all four arrested were members of the MS-13, he said.

"Even though the bar has been closed there is bad blood between both gangs, with 18th Street gang members seeking revenge," he said.

One of the defendants in that Hampton Bays case, Marvin Saul Siciliano-Nunez, 20, was charged recently after a home invasion during which he allegedly sexually assaulted a young woman and chased her with a baseball bat as she ran naked down the street.

After news of that crime spread, "Our phone rang with some calls from Southampton" residents asking for help, Sliwa said.

In addition, Sliwa said, he's received reports of MS-13 members meeting in Hampton Bays, with some reporting that the parking lot near the railroad station is a gathering spot.

Other residents, Sliwa said, have asked for help with "wild and drunken behavior" associated with certain nightclubs in Hampton Bays, "especially with local teens, hipsters and millennials pouring out and getting into DWIs, fights and just general rowdy behavior, especially on the Long Island Rail Road, that takes them out of town. There has been some interest expressed in us helping with this problem especially on Friday and Saturday nights."

But largely, Sliwa said, the requests have centered on help with tackling the increasing MS-13 and 18th Street gang presence in the area.

Sliwa took a photo outside of a Hampton Bays business, he said. The sign says "Watchman," and he said it was appropriate. "It struck me that the parking lot needed a watchman because of all of the problems that take place there, especially on the weekends. Instead, we may have to have the presence of the Guardian Angels."

Southampton Town Police Chief Robert Pearce did not immediately return a request for comment.

In July, standing before a table piled high with cash and six kilos of heroin and cocaine, a loaded shotgun and handgun, and gang-related magazines, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota confirmed an escalating gang presence on the East End, with 14 arrested and charged in the takedown of two major East End drug rings with Bloods gang affiliations — with 40 additional arrests of resellers and runners expected.

"They think they're going to get away. But we're going to get them," Spota said.

Spota described the dismantling of the heroin and cocaine rings, describing drug dealers who had hidden traps in their cars, dressers, and even in the bottom of a fish tank — and one suspect caught with a loaded shotgun at the foot of his bed in Riverhead.

He announced 14 people had been arrested and arraigned, including three members of the Bloods street gang, and multiple kilograms of cocaine and heroin had been seized during the execution of more than a dozen search warrants, Spota added.

Law enforcement officials also seized cars, firearms and traps created by drug dealers to hide cocaine and heroin. Investigators even found $95,000 in cash hidden in a trap in a vehicle’s front seat console, Spota said.
The drugs were sold across the East End, Spota said. One dealer allegedly made a weekly purchase of a kilo of cocaine in New York City to sell to street dealers who in turn sold cocaine to users in East Hampton, Riverhead, Southampton and Southold.

The heroin network was run by local members of the Bloods street gang, Spota said; Sliwa has said the Bloods and MS-13 presence is becoming more rampant on the East End.

Spota said investigators worked undercover; the busts, he said are a "testament to the cooperation, collaboration, and persistence of law enforcement" and the key to a successful outcome.

The investigations commenced after patrol officers noticed a "significant rise" in arrests involving heroin and cocaine on the East End, especially in Riverhead and Southampton, Spota said.

The drugs, he said, are not being sold to the rich and famous in the Hamptons but instead, to addicts craving the heroin and cocaine.

The drug dealers were making tremendous profits, he said, buying drugs for $38,000, for example, and selling them for double.

Patch photo courtesy of Curtis Sliwa.