Two Charged With Felony DWI In East Hampton

The East Hampton Town police made two arrests on felony drunken driving charges during the early morning hours Sunday, December 2. For one of those arrested, Daisy Guerrero, 33, of East Hampton, it was the fourth time she has been charged with felony crimes. She was taken to county jail after her arraignment Sunday in East Hampton Town Justice Court, and will remain in custody until at least Friday.

Guerrero was driving a 2004 Nissan on Stephen Hands Path near Cedar Street at about 3 AM when she was pulled over. Police said she was swerving across the double yellow lines, into the oncoming lane of traffic. She was charged with two felonies, unlicensed driving and drunken driving. She was also charged with having an open container of alcohol in the car, a violation.

After her arrest, she was taken to East Hampton Town police headquarters, where she refused to take a breath test, police said. While she was being processed, police said they found a packet of cocaine in her purse, leading to a misdemeanor drug possession charge.

She already has been convicted four times previously on drunken driving charges, according to the complaint, all after arrests in East Hampton. The first two, in 2010 and 2011, were as misdemeanors. The next two convictions, in 2013 and 2015, were at the felony level. She also has at least one, possibly two arrests before 2010 on misdemeanor drunken driving charges. She was allowed, at the time, to plea bargain down to a simple violation charge of driving with ability impaired by alcohol, which does not leave one with a criminal record upon conviction.

Part of her sentence after the 2015 conviction was to serve five years of probation, along with six months in jail. On top of all her other new legal challenges, she could be found to be in violation of probation, if that sentence is still active.

The first time she was charged with a felony, Guerrero was 23. She was convicted of grand larceny, for stealing from a Montauk business at which she was an employee.

Town Justice Lisa Rana was clearly not happy to see Guerrero Sunday morning. “I did not really want to see you here again,” Justice Rana said. Carl Irace, who was on hand to represent those being arraigned Sunday, told the court he had explained to Guerrero that she was not eligible for bail.

Guerrero has been sentenced to jail time several times, both in East Hampton and in county court, with the six-month sentence following her 2015 conviction being her longest stint thus far. She has never served time in state prison.

The other defendant arraigned Sunday morning in East Hampton on felony drunken and unlicensed driving charges was James O’Connor, 58, who told the court he owns houses in River Edge, NJ, and Montauk. Police said that, a little after midnight, O’Connor, behind the wheel of a 2013 Subaru, was pulled over on Accabonac Road in Springs for swerving across the double yellow lines. His prior misdemeanor DWI conviction in Oneonta in 2015 makes the new charges felonies.

O’Connor took the breath test at headquarters, which produced an alleged reading of 0.21 of one percent alcohol content in the blood, raising the DWI charge to the aggravated level, which is automatic when the reading is 0.18 or higher. Justice Rana set bail at $5000, which was posted.

t.e@indyeastend.com