Police: Single Digit Temps Most Likely To Blame In Death Of Man On LI

GREENPORT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police on the East End of Long Island say a homeless man has been found dead.

German Mendoza had a history of breaking into places to get out of the cold, according to authorities.

Southold Town police said the 44-year-old had been living in the detached garage of a seasonal property in Greenport.

Bedding and food wrappers were found inside the garage where Mendoza died on Thursday, Newsday reported.

Mendoza's cause of death is still being investigated by the Suffolk County medical examiner, but police said it appears he died due to the freezing cold temperatures that dropped into the single digits Thursday and Friday.

Authorities said friends who knew he was staying in the garage checked on him and found him dead. They said Mendoza had worked as a landscape laborer.

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