East End raid results in violations, discovery of pet deer

A raid on an East End home rendered 16 housing and zoning code violations and one unusual pet. East Hampton Town Police and public safety officers raided Angel Otavalo's 7 Cedar St. home in Springs

News 12 Staff

Oct 13, 2016, 6:12 AM

Updated 2,921 days ago

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A raid on an East End home rendered 16 housing and zoning code violations and one unusual pet.
East Hampton Town Police and public safety officers raided Angel Otavalo's 7 Cedar St. home in Springs Tuesday. They say he illegally converted the three-bedroom home into a seven-bedroom home with an office.
Violations include the lack of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and the construction of a pool, volleyball court and a shed without permits.
Town officers say Otavalo kept a deer in his backyard as a pet. They say the animal had a dog collar around its neck that was roped to a steel rod in the ground.
Neighbors were surprised to hear about the deer, but say they noticed overcrowding at the house, which resulted in additional traffic and trash in the neighborhood.
East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell issued a statement in which he says, "Overcrowding in a single-family residence and illegal occupancy of basement bedrooms are serious safety violations that place occupants at risk and can jeopardize the safety of emergency volunteers who might respond to a fire or medical emergency."
As for the deer, the Department of Environmental Conservation transported it to the Holtsville Ecology Center.
"Deer are considered wildlife and deer that become habituated are no longer able to survive in the wild and DEC strongly discourages these sort of activities," the DEC says.
The DEC says Otavalo faces a fine of up to $250 or 15 days in jail on the charge of unlawful possession of wildlife. Otavalo is also required to appear in East Hampton Justice Court for the alleged code violations.