Crime & Safety

Crossing Guard Arrested In Patchogue Posts $5K Bail

Next court date is Oct. 31.

The Blue Point woman facing DWI charges after being arrested in the parking lot of the Waldbaum's in Patchogue Wednesday morning was arraigned Thursday at First District Court and released on $5,000 cash bail.

Joanne Griffiths is due back in court on Oct. 31.

Joanne Griffiths, who was assigned as a crossing guard to the Bayport-Blue Point School District was arrested for DWI Wednesday and is also facing a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, according to a county crime database.

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Police say Griffiths hit a parked car on Blue Point Avenue about 9 a.m. Tuesday and then left the scene, according to a Newsday report. 

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal Griffiths was seen driving erratically after her Wednesday morning shift by a fellow motorist who made a 911 call and followed her to the Waldbaum’s shopping center on Sunrise Highway in Patchogue.

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The 58-year-old was arrested in the parking lot, according to police.

Griffiths is a Suffolk Police Department employee and works as a crossing guard at the corner of Montauk Highway and Bell Avenue in Blue Point.

A substitute guard is now manning the post, according to Suffolk Police.


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