Westhampton man arrested after police say he threatened person with hatchet

A Westhampton man was arrested after police say he menaced a person he knew with a small hatchet in Speonk, turning a late-afternoon call near Montauk Highway and North Phillips Avenue into a weapon case that drew immediate police attention. Southampton Town Police said 37-year-old Elias Tintichitay was taken into custody without incident, and no injuries were reported.

Officers responded around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, 2026, after a call about a male suspect armed with a knife in the Speonk area. Police later determined the allegation involved a small hatchet, not just a knife, and said Tintichitay threatened another person known to him. The arrest was made the same evening, underscoring how quickly a reported weapon threat can move from a neighborhood dispute to a criminal case.

Tintichitay was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. In New York, menacing in the third degree is a class B misdemeanor, while menacing in the second degree can involve intentionally placing another person in fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death by displaying a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. State law also covers possession of a dangerous or deadly instrument with intent to use it unlawfully against another, a provision that helps explain why an alleged hatchet threat can carry more serious weight than a verbal argument alone.

The case landed squarely in a part of Suffolk County where street-level police news is usually sparse. Speonk falls within Southampton Town’s Westhampton/Speonk/Remsenburg/Eastport/Quiogue hamlet area, a South Fork region where residents closely track arrests that involve weapons or threats between people who know each other. Southampton Town Police have also been issuing recent arrest releases throughout late May and early June, reflecting an active enforcement period as the department continues to publicize recent cases.

For Westhampton and nearby hamlets, the essential facts are straightforward: police say a dispute escalated to a hatchet threat, officers responded to the scene near a busy South Fork corridor, and the suspect was arrested without anyone being hurt. The incident now moves into the court process under charges that carry misdemeanor-level consequences under state law.