Photos: Guardian Angels Kick Off First Patrol in Hamptons After Brutal Home Invasion, Stabbings

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 an alleged double gang stabbing at a Hampton Bays nightclub — the first-ever South Fork Guardian Angels patrol hit the streets Thursday.

The familiar red berets were greeted with a warm welcome from residents in both Hampton Bays and Southampton who said, across the board, that they were grateful for their presence.

Guardian Angels, founded in 1979 in New York by Curtis Sliwa, is a not-for-profit crime fighting organization whose members are unarmed but are trained in self-defense.

The patrol began at the Hampton Bays rail road station, and encompassed the immediate vicinity, including the shopping plaza, as well as a CB's, where double stabbing took place during a gang assault, police said.

Next, the Guardian Angels headed to Little Plains Road, where terrifying home invasion and sexual assault was reported in August.

Residents expressed thanks, with many honking their horns and stopping to meet the Guardian Angels.

Susan Laskey, originally from New York and now living in Florida, was waiting for a train and said while at first she was "very taken aback, very shocked," to see the Guardian Angels, "It's such a nice thing to see."

Jason Speedling, who said he was homeless, said he welcomed the Guardian Angels, as he was the victim of a recent attack, assaulted while he slept on a bench, he said.

The Guardian Angels, who use street names while on patrol, told Patch what fuels their mission.

Ivan, 17, said he joined at 15, covering parades and other events, and then progressed to patrols at 16. His mom, he said, "remembered the Guardian Angels from the trains" when she was younger. Asked why he signed on, he said, "It feels good to help people."

Zeke, another Guardian Angels members, said they patrol as volunteers because it feels good to help others. "We're here to make sure everyone is safe."

Gang members, Ivan said, go where they're least expected and prey on communities who don't stand strong. Communities that band together, he said, will likely send gang influences seeking a weaker target.

In Southampton, where towering privets stand in front of multi-million dollar mansions, EQ, who heads patrols on the East End, said, "Crime can happen anywhere, affects everyone. In the best communities. No one wants t to be a victim, but anyone can be." And if action is not taken, he said, crime can grow like a cancer, its tentacles taking root.

He urged residents who see something out of the ordinary to work with local law enforcement, mobilize in civic associations, and consider a local Guardian Angels chapter.

Julie Powers of Shirley stopped the patrol in Southampton. "I think you guys are great," she said, thanking them for their positive efforts.

At the Hampton Bays shopping plaza, Bob Capra of Kings Park remembered meeting Curtis Sliwa years ago in Kings Park, at a rally urging residents to stand up for their rights.

Natasha Szurke, of Southampton, said the Guardian Angels are "quite helpful."

A potential new recruit, Aaron Vasquez of East Quogue, took a flyer from the pile the Guardian Angels were distributing and said he's interested in signing on. "You guys are cool," he said, adding, "And the attire is absolutely amazing. When you see those red jackets, you know it's no joke. They're here to do something above and beyond. It's infectious, to be good."

Patricia Schultz of East Quogue, warmly greeted the Guardian Angels. "I thin it's wonderful. Just the sight of the Guardian Angels deters" wrongdoers, she said. ""It makes people aware that they need to behave themselves."

Priscilla Hendrickson, of Hampton Bays, who works as a bartender in East Quogue, said, of the Guardian Angels, "It doesn't bother me. It's a good thing, I guess. The cops are so busy, especially on a holiday weekend."

A night manager at King Kullen, Rob Manfredi of Wading River, said he thinks it's a "great" idea to welcome Guardian Angels patrols. "There's always been a problem here, a whole underground world of drugs and crime that I've heard about, that not every average persons knows about," he said.

Others stopped at the shopping plaza, who asked not to be named, said there is a heroin, crack and gang problem, even in schools, that's escalating.

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

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.

"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.

Photos by Lisa Finn.