Police: Man robbed and assaulted on East Main Street early Sunday morning

A man reported being robbed and beaten by three men on East Main at about 2 a.m. Sunday, Riverhead Police said.

The man was walking on East Main Street near Prospect Place, just east of Town Hall when he was approached by three men who demanded his money, according to a police press release. When he refused, he was physically assaulted, and they stole his cell phone, police said. He then walked to police headquarters and reported the incident, according to the report.

The victim, a Hispanic male, described his assailants as three black males in their late teens, police said. Police with the assistance of the K9 unit searched the area but were unable to locate the suspects.

Riverhead Police are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident is requested to call the Riverhead Police Department at -631-727-4500.

This is the second assault and robbery incident downtown reported by police this month. Both involved Hispanic men walking alone in the early morning hours being accosted by a group of young men.
Last year, Riverhead officials expressed concern about a rash of violent muggings victimizing Hispanic men walking in the Polish Town area. The crimes led Supervisor Sean Walter to reach out to the Guardian Angels to begin patrols of the area, in what he said was an effort to bridge a communications gap with Riverhead’s Latino community. The organization began patrols in Riverhead early last month. Town officials also reconstituted Riverhead’s anti-bias task force, which had been inactive for a number of years, to help address the problem.