Cops labor over holiday weekend

Monroe - The last long weekend of summer kept police busy, as they made nine arrests for crimes ranging from smoking pot to public lewdness, investigated a burglary at Smith Clove Park and the thefts of a stolen car and a commercial trailer and assisted a woman who needed to be hospitalized. According to information from Chief Dominic Giudice's office, Monroe Police issued seven quality of life summonses in the Lake Street and Smith Clove Park area over the course of the weekend. Three were for open container violations and four were for marijuana possession. One of the people arrested for marijuana possession also was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration, both misdemeanors. He was given youthful offender status because he is a minor, police said. On Sunday morning at Smith's Clove Park, police charged Peter J. Rosario, 30, of New Windsor, with public lewdness. Police said he was exposing himself to other people in the park. Later Sunday afternoon, police charged Stefan Dombi, 52, of Erie, Pa., with driving while intoxicated, driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of more than .08 percent, leaving the scene of an accident and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. Police said Dombi tried to parallel park his vehicle on Lake Street but twice hit an unoccupied vehicle on Lake Street before leaving the scene. But some people who saw the incident called police with a description of the vehicle and license plate number, and Dombi was stopped a short time later. Police said his BAC was .35 percent, or more than four times the legal limit. He was sent to Orange County Jail on $1,000 cash bail. Also on Sunday afternoon, residents on North Main Street called police to report that a woman was going house to house, trying to open doors and taking property from one of the residences. Officers quickly located the 67-year-old Monroe woman. After interviewing her and her family, police realized she had mental health issues and so they transported her to the Arden Hill Mental Health Unit in Goshen for evaluation. No criminal charges have been filed. Meanwhile, the first of several property investigations began Friday night when a burglary was reported at the Smith's Clove Park refreshment stand. On Saturday night, a 1991 Nissan Stanza was reported stolen from the parking lot of JB McMinnions restaurant on Route 17M. It has not yet been recovered. At 5:30 a.m. Sunday morning, officers found a vehicle parked on Lake Street that had its windows smashed out, the interior of the car damaged and the engine vandalized. Then at 2:30 a.m. Monday, a large commercial trailer was stolen from a business in Monroe. Police later recovered the trailer and subsequently identified four suspects. However, the case was closed when the owner declined to prosecute. The other incidents remain under investigation.