Rye Brook Blotter: Coyote Hit and Run, Teen Arrested for Underage Drinking and Marijuana Possession

Rye Brook Police have dealt with an array of incidents during the last two weeks, including more sophisticated forms of identity theft, a fight between co-workers and an elderly man who had a bit too much cognac. Read about all these incidents in the blotter below:

Dead, Injured Animal

On Aug. 29, a Rockledge Drive resident reported a dead raccoon in the rear of her yard. Authorities removed the animal.

Coyote Hit & Run

A car hit a coyote on Aug. 28 near the intersection of King Street and Hillandale Road. The animal, described as a young coyote with mange, was dead on arrival. Authorities made a call to the village's trapping company to see if the animal was needed for testing. A trapper came out to investigate and took possession of the carcass.

ATM Tampering Victim

On Aug. 29, a Rye Brook resident told police she used the ATM at Chase Bank, after police notified residents that a Queens man had been charged with using a credit and debit card skimming device at the ATM to steal personal account information. The woman told police she believes someone used her debit information to withdraw $1,000 from her account at an ATM in New York City on August 26. Police are investigating.  

Fight between Waitresses

On Aug. 29, a woman  reported that she was harassed by a fellow employee. Both are employed as waitresses at Racanelli's Pizzeria in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center. The woman told police her co-worker pushed her. She and her co-worker were both suspended. The woman told police she doesn't want to file charges.

Men Arrested for Re-Coding Credit Cards

On Aug. 27, police received a call from CVS at 253 S. Ridge Street that two people were trying to buy gift cards with fraudulent credit cards. Officers saw two men leaving the store and stopped them and questioned them. The officers asked to see contents of the men's wallets and discovered that each had numerous credit and debit cards. One of the cards didn't have any customer name on it, while both men had cards with the same number on it in each of their wallets. Police called in the Secret Service to investigate using a credit card verifier, a device that can detect fraudulent credit cards. Authorities discovered that alternate card numbers had been re-coded with stolen information on a magnetic strip on the back of the card.  One suspect, 28-year-old Carlos Aviles of Amsterdam Avenue in New York,  had four cards in his wallet that had been re-coded. The other suspect, Jorge Hernandez, 23, of 164th Street in New York City, had six cards that were re-coded. Aviles was charged with four counts of possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, while Hernandez was charged with six counts of the same crime.

DWI Arrest

On Aug. 26, police responded to a accident with minor injuries near Comly Avenue and King Street. When the officer arrived on the scene, he could smell alcohol on the breath of the driver of the vehicle, 68-year-old Czeslaw Zurawski of Yonkers. Zurawski also had glassy eyes, was unsteady on his feet, made no eye contact with the officer, and had difficulty locating his wallet and driver's license. He also had unopened bottles of alcohol in his car.

Zurawski told the officer that he had drank one or two shots of cognac two hours before the accident. The officer gave Zurawski a field sobriety test, for which he tested positive with a blood alcohol level of .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit. He was charged with an Aggravated DWI, and his bail was set at $250. Zurawski is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8. 

CVS Encounters More Fraudulent Credit Cards

On Aug. 25, A man attempted to purchase gift cards at CVS on 253 South Ridge Street using a stolen credit card. The manager of the CVS called police after recognizing the suspect, 23-year-old Richard B. John of Jamaica, Queens, from a surveillance video at the CVS in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center, where John had attempted to commit the same crime.

When the officer arrived on the scene, he saw John running from CVS to the parking lot, where his vehicle was parked with the keys in the ignition. The officer questioned John and discovered that he had a card with a magnetic strip that had been re-coded. Police discovered that his driving privileges had been suspended, so his car was impounded, as well. Bail for John was set at $5,000. He was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. 

Car Allegedly Gets Keyed at Doral Arrowwood

On Aug. 24,  a Doral Arrowwood employee went to police headquarters to report criminal mischief on his car that occurred on Aug. 18 while it was parked at Doral Arrowwood. He said he last saw his car at 10:30 a.m. on that day in good condition. On Aug. 24 at 9:30 a.m., the man said he noticed scratches on the hood of his car, right fender, right door and right quarter panel. The scratches appeared to have been deliberately done with a key or sharp object.

Fraudulent Charges on Credit Card

On Aug. 24, a woman told police that she logged into her online account for her credit card and noticed warnings urging her to call customer service. When she called, she learned that six fraudulent charges had been made on her Platinum City Select card on July 6. The charges totaled more than $1,800 and had been made in New York, Stamford and Greenwich. She told police that the last time she saw the card was on July 5. Customer service canceled the card and gave the woman a new credit card number. 

Underage Drinking

On Aug. 18, Police stopped a car after the driver failed to stop at a stop sign on Knollwood Drive. The two occupants were young boys under the age of 21. When police asked the boys to get out of the car, they noticed that the passenger had an open beer can in his hand. He also had a small amount of marijuana in his possession. The driver of the vehicle was not cited for any crime. The passenger, an 18-year-old Rye Brook resident, was charged with possession of alcohol under the age of 18 and unlawful possession of marijuana. He is  scheduled to appear in court of Sept. 22.