Overall police activity in Rye declined in December compared to the previous month, except for a noticeable uptick in arrests, department data shows.
Police made seven arrests in the city during the month of December, four more than in November. Two of the arrests were for felonies, including the Dec. 18 apprehension of a Brooklyn man who used counterfeit bills to buy items at two stores on Purchase Street in late November. Elijah Gay, 23, was charged with two counts of felonies.
Since Gay’s charges are counted separately, they result in the appearance of two arrests in the department’s monthly stats. He was only arrested once, however.
Earlier in the month, 41-year-old Jason Almonte, of New York City, was charged with a felony vehicle theft as well as an unlawful amount of marijuana — 174 grams.
Both men were due in Rye City Court on Christmas Eve, but their cases were adjourned to Jan. 21, according to a court representative.
Three arrests were charged as misdemeanors, according to the December stats. One misdemeanor arrest on Dec. 9 was for petit larceny when 39-year-old Kenneth Charles Sorrells, of Florida, allegedly stole $11 worth of food at Rockridge Deli.
Another misdemeanor arrest occurred on Dec. 18 when 33-year-old Kadeem McKenzie — facing two arrest warrants for failing to appear in court — turned himself into police. McKenzie, of the Bronx, was charged with two counts of bail jumping in connection with a 2016 incident where police said he used fake cards at the Rye Shell gas station. He had been released on bail at the time of his arrest.
The third arrest was for a traffic violation, according to Rye Lt. Michael Anfuso.
And Long Island resident Allen Jose Corona, 21, was taken into custody in early November for alleged vehicle theft and possession of 50 illegal pills, but his arrest was not officially processed until December. The December data does not disclose whether Corona was charged with a felony or misdemeanor.
December also saw two use-of-force incidents involving Rye police, the only other category to see a month-over-month increase, department data shows. Both incidents were felony car stops, one by Rye police when they arrested Almonte and another when Rye police assisted Rye Brook officers. In both instances the responding officers were forced to draw their handguns, although the suspects complied and no injuries were reported, according to Anfuso.
There were 2,399 calls for service in December, three fewer than in November. Traffic stops saw a bigger drop as police pulled over 119 vehicles — a decrease of 25 over the prior month.
City code complaints also fell in December with only nine complaints logged, compared to 18 in November. And there were six leaf blower complaints filed last month, compared to 10 in November.
