Community Corner

Week in Review: Rape Arraignment, Sycamore Circle Incident Top This Week's Headlines

A look back at the biggest stories on Three Village Patch this week.

The 20-year-old East Moriches man charged with raping a woman in Stony Brook was arraigned on Sunday, and is being held on $1 million bail, court records show. Patrick O'Sullivan was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree rape, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree criminal use of a firearm after police say he sexually assaulted a woman inside a Stony Brook home on Nov. 20. It was not immediately clear whether the defendant entered a plea.

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Suffolk County Police are defending their decision to delay alerting the Three Village community about a vicious rape for 10 days despite outcry from locals who feared an alleged rapist was on the loose in their neighborhoods after the attack. Det. Lt. William Burke said releasing any info about the Nov. 20 sexual assault and armed robbery may have identified the victim and likely compromised their ability to track down the alleged rapist, 20-year-old East Moriches resident Patrick O'Sullivan, who police arrested on Dec. 1. "We knew a lot more than [the residents] and I didn’t believe there was a threat," he said. "I never learned anything that would make me think this was a random act."

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To make up for days lost due to Hurricane Sandy students in Three Village will now attend school for three days during February break along with the Friday before and Tuesday after Memorial Day, school district officials announced Tuesday. The Board of Education voted 6-0 to accept that plan, explained by Superintendent Cheryl Pedisich at a special BOE meeting Tuesday night. "A lot of thought went into providing our recommendations regarding the make-up of these days," she said. "We wanted to be careful to avoid any religious commitments over the March holiday. We wanted to look at a way that might have the least impact on our community."

Police: 'Chemical Substance' Sparked Sycamore Circle Smoke Scare

What was originally reported as a fire in a rental home on Sycamore Circle early Thursday morning turned out to be a situation involving an undisclosed chemical substance, according to Suffolk County police. According to a detective sergeant who works in the narcotics division of the Suffolk County Police Department, said police are trying to identify the substance but that there is no hazard for nearby residents. The 911 call came in at 1:40 a.m. as a fire, and a police spokesperson said two officers were taken to the Stony Brook University Hospital for smoke inhalation. Suffolk police also said the arson section is investigating.

Police Investigate String of Break-Ins at Movie Theater

Thieves broke into four cars in the parking lot of AMC Loews Stony Brook movie theater Friday night and stole valuable property, Suffolk police said Tuesday. The four incidents, which took place between 7 p.m. and midnight, are being investigated as instances of criminal mischief and petty larceny. According to police reports, in all four instances a car window was broken. The stolen property included two cell phones, a laptop, a Gucci pocket book, a backpack and a duffel bag.

SBU's Priore Tapped as Co-Coach of the Year

Stony Brook head football coach Chuck Priore is one of two coaches to be named America Football Coaches Association Regional Co-Coach of the Year, the University announced Monday. The honor comes on the heels of the Seawolves' best season in program history, during which it went 10-3, defeated a Football Bowl Subdivision team for the first time, and was nationally ranked by the FCS Coaches and Sports Network polls for much of the season.


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