Cutchogue Man Arrested for Menacing Beachgoers, Car Chase & Burglary

Southold Police units responded to a report of a man dressed in a red lifeguard shirt chasing people on the beach near 101 Nassau Point Road on Nassau Point in Cutchogue late Friday morning, May 6. Police said the man fled the scene, forcing a car chase, and racking up multiple traffic violations in the process, before he was finally stopped and arrested for a variety of crimes, including burglary.

Southold police said they arrived at the scene close to 11:30 a.m. on Friday and were directed to a nearby residence, where they found Alexander Ellioff, 35 of Cutchogue, dressed in the red lifeguard shirt described in the report.

Ellioff fled the area in a white Jeep Liberty and refused to stop for the officers in pursuit, police said. The car chase continued up to the town line on Sound Avenue in Mattituck, but Ellioff was eventually apprehended after he was involved in a collision at the intersection of State Route 25 and Edwards Avenue in Calverton, police said. Responding units from Riverhead Police Department detained Ellioff after the crash until he could be arrested by Southold Police.

Police said Ellioff suffered minor injuries in the crash and was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment.

Further investigation of the Nassau Point Beach area, where police said Ellioff was chasing people while dressed in a lifeguard shirt, revealed that two buildings on the property had been burglarized. Southold Police said Ellioff was found to be in possession of proceeds from those burgled buildings.

His list of offenses include burglary, menacing, resisting arrest, and numerous vehicle and traffic law violations, according to police.