Center Moriches residents pack community meeting after series of reported crimes
News 12's Thema Ponton reports on a packed meeting at Center Moriches High School over complaints about what neighbors and police say has been happening in their streets.
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Dozens and dozens of Center Moriches residents packed into a community meeting at the high school Tuesday night after a series of reported crimes had them turning to the police for help.
"An act of public lewdness....It happened right in front of the school, the elementary school by the bus stop," said a Suffolk police officer from the 7th Precinct, who addressed residents at the meeting.
Police said a couple is accused of committing a lewd act near an elementary school, twice.
And residents tell News 12 there was a brawl in the middle of the street that brought traffic to a halt.
Suffolk police said in the last two weeks, they've issued four open container alcohol summonses.
Those are just some of the the incidents that Center Moriches residents said brought them to the meeting, which was organized by Suffolk Legislator Jim Mazzarella.
So many people came to the meeting, it was moved to a bigger room.
"What really rang the alarm bells was the series of them (reported crimes) in such a short amount of time." said Leg. Mazzarella.
Residents tell News 12 it was important for them to be at the meeting so they could get an update from police about what's being done to combat the increase in crime.
Suffolk police said they've added foot patrols in the downtown area and are going to "keep up the pressure" and urge residents to report issues directly to them.
