(Credit: 7 Themes)
The owner of a house in Springs was charged Tuesday with illegally converting a three-bedroom house into a seven-unit residence, according to the East Hampton Town police. But the tip that led the authorities to Angel Otavalo had nothing to do with the bedrooms — it was the deer that was being kept in his backyard. His neighbor called 911 to complain about the deer, which donned a dog collar tied to a stake in the ground. In addition to the hoofed creature, however, the cops were suspicious of the eight cars parked in the driveway. It turned out that Otavalo, who purchased the house in 2006 for $800,000, had unlawfully subdivided the residence to encompass four additional bedrooms, some of which lacked smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. The two-bedrooms in the basement had no safe egress in case of emergency, police said. As for the deer, it was turned over to the State Department of Environmental Conservation. Reportedly, the Bambi incarnate did not appear to be afraid of humans. [EHS]