Two men were arrested by Southampton Town Police early Thursday morning in Hampton Bays after police said they beat a man with the butt of a knife, robbed him and fled the scene.Police responded to an anonymous complaint at about 4:22 a.m. on Thursday regarding a fight taking place in the parking lot of Chase Bank on Montauk Highway, and arrested Mathew A. Caiaccia, 30, of Port Jefferson and Lester Dejon Pettaway, 21, of Brookhaven, according to a police press release.Both men were charged with first degree robbery and second degree assault, both felonies, as well as fourth degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor. They were arraigned Thursday morning in Southampton Town Justice Court and were each held on $50,000 bail.Police Lieutenant James Kiernan said the bail was set at the discretion of the court, but Mr. Caiaccia’s and Mr. Pettaway’s bails likely were set at such a high level because the court “takes violent crimes very seriously.” The two men are being held at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside, he added.The victim, a 33-year-old Hampton Bays man, met his two alleged assailants at Bub’s Tavern on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays earlier that night and asked them for a ride to the ATM so he could withdraw money.The victim told police that Mr. Caiaccia and Mr. Pettaway gave him a ride to the ATM where he withdrew $60, which the two men took after allegedly beating the victim with a closed folding knife causing multiple lacerations to the man’s face.Police apprehended the pair in their vehicle on Ponquogue Avenue shortly after receiving the call, according to the release.
Kyle Campbell on Jul 12, 2013