elba

For the second time today, the Elba Fire Department is being dispatched to a combine fire.

The fire is described as "fully involved."

The location this time is 7402 Bank St. Road.

UPDATE 3:25 p.m.: The fire is confirmed fully involved. It's about 500 feet from a barn. Byron's grass truck has been requested to the scene.

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UPDATE: A reader sent in the photo below.

A reader sent in this camera phone photo from a combine fire on North Byron Road in Elba this morning. We have no further details on the fire at this time.

Valene May Blackwell, 26, of 22 Tracy Ave. Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Blackwell is accused of shoplifting $35.91 in items from Kmart.

Ryan M. Bobzin, 21, of Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and driving a vehicle with a suspended registration. Bobzin was reportedly stopped by State Police on Route 237 in Byron on Monday at 10:45 a.m.

Jonathan A. Brenkus, 21, of Elba, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation and driving in excess of 55 mph. Brenkus was reportedly stopped by State Police on Route 33 in Stafford Monday at 8:50 a.m.

John A. Bilodeau-Redeye, 57, of 493 Bloomingdale Road, Akron, is charged with assault, 2nd degree and menacing in the second. Bilodeau-Redeye reportedly became involved in an argument with his wife over their dogs. Bilodeau-Redeye allegedly struck his wife with a cane and then grabbed a pistol and a shovel. Bilodeau-Redeye then allegedly struck his wife with the shovel while holding the pistol. The incident was investigated by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Michael J. Lopez, 26, of 7 Chestnut St., Apt. 3, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation and unsafe lane change. Jose Juan Santiago-Burgos, 21, of 8029 Telephone Road, Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th; and, Derrick J. Krager, 19, of 32 N. Lyon St., lower, Batavia, is charged with disorderly conduct. Lopez was stopped by Officer Dan Coffey on Sunday at 9:37 p.m. for an alleged unsafe lane change. Officer Matthew Baldwin assisted. During the stop, the officers reportedly found Santiago-Burgos in possession of brass knuckles. As for Krager, he allegedly became upset with the police during the traffic stop and punched the car.

Sean J. Allen, 21, of Buffalo, is charged with DWI, refusal and assault, 3rd degree. Allen was arrested after Trooper Tim Ferris observed an apparently disabled blue sedan on Route 33 on Thursday. When he approached the vehicle, he reportedly found a man sleeping in the driver's seat. The woman in the passenger seat claimed the driver, Allen, had punched her in the face. Allen was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Jesse Alvin Russell, 20, of 33 Williams St., upper, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and possession/consumption of alcohol, under 21. Russell was stopped on Route 98 in the Town of Alexander by Deputy Patrick Reeves. He reported finding marijuana in Russell's vehicle.

Curtis M. James, 29, of 107 Watson St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, consuming alcohol in a vehicle and failure to dim headlines. James was stopped on Ellicott Street by Officer Thad Mart on Sunday at 2:35 a.m.

Frank R. Oneil, 61, of 3591 Maltby Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and improper tail lights. Oneil was stopped by Officer E.E. Bolles on Sunday at 3 a.m. on W. Main Street.

Jeffrey Allen Hoag, 40, of 2058 Black Street Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and moving from lane unsafely. Hoag was charged after his car reportedly struck a tree at 7550 Route 20 in Pavilion.

David M. Bohn, 34, of 8069 Kelsey Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, failure to keep right, operating with a suspended registration and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. On Thursday, the Sheriff's Office received a report of a two-vehicle accident at 3298 Pratt Road. One pickup truck reportedly sideswiped another and knocked off its side mirror. The suspect vehicle reportedly failed to stop. Shortly after the report of the accident, Deputy Patrick Reeves located the suspect vehicle and arrested Bohn on suspected DWI.

Alexis Anne Czaja, 27, of 60 Drake St., Oakfield, is charged with disorderly conduct. Czaja was taken into custody in Batavia on a bench warrant for failure to appear on the disorderly conduct charge.

Rolando Garcia-Perez, 38, of 15 West Ave., Elba, is charged with illegal entry into the United States. Garcia-Perez was arrested and turned over to the Border Patrol following a one-car accident on Monday at 6:54 a.m.

Derrick W. Jackson, 22, of Oakfield, is charged with menacing in the 3rd degree, criminal mischief, harassment, aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. Jackson was arrested by State Police on Sunday at 1:51 a.m. No further details provided.

He was the last caught, the last to admit guilt, but Michael J. Wells will be first of three Elba bank robbers to go to state prison.

And he's going away for a long time.

Judge Robert Noonan did not impose the maximum sentence available to him under terms of a plea agreement, which was 15 years. But he told Wells this afternoon that under state law, he was required to impose a lengthy sentence and that he had no qualms about doing so.

The sentenced imposed on the 24-year-old was 12.5 years, followed by five years of supervised release. Under determinant sentencing rules, Wells is looking about 10 years in prison. He could serve another five if he got into any trouble after release.

Wells has no prior criminal convictions or offenses that might indicate he would try to rob a bank and, by all accounts, no history of drug use or alcohol abuse. According to his attorney Thomas Burns, Wells comes from a good family.

Even so, Noonan said he didn't understand what led Wells to participate in a viciously violent crime.

"When this case first came before me, I thought, though I didn't say it to court personnel, 'When this case plays out, I'm going to understand what this is all about,' and here we are six months later and this still all puzzles me. ...

"This is like somebody plucked a person from out of nowhere and said, 'why don't you commit some terribly violent crime?' And you, even being an intelligent human being, said, 'Sure, I'll go along with that.' This is just totally perplexing, and as I close your file, I'm just as puzzled by that today as I was on the first day."

And it was a violent crime.

Two of the women who were working in the M&T Bank branch in Elba on June 19 spoke before Noonan sentenced Wells. Both described an event of sheer terror that has left them traumatized -- both are undergoing treatment for PTSD -- and they said, scarred for life.

Patty Hackett, a 19-year employee of M&T Bank who has shown up for every court appearance for all three defendants, spoke first. She began by explaining how she and her husband worked hard to raise two children and send them to collage. When the children were babies, her husband worked three jobs -- including pumping gas at night and working on a farm on weekends -- to help make ends meet. When it came time to pay for college for their children, he again took on a second job.

"Not once did it ever cross his mind or our minds to rob a bank because we needed cash," Hackett said.

She then described in some detail the events inside the bank during the robbery. She was on a conference call when Wells, Dennis Abrams and Demone Dillon entered the bank yelling and waving guns.

"They came running through the doors Rambo-style," Hackett said.

She was going to try and grab the other teller that morning -- Alicia Nichols -- and try to make it to the bathroom where they could lock themselves in, but before she even got out of her chair, Abrams grabbed her, she said, and threw her to the ground.

"He was holding a gun at me," Hackett said. "I was terrified. I was sick. I was thinking, 'God, we’re going to be robbed and I’m going to die.'"

Later she added, "I thought, 'This is it. We're going to die. Please help me dear God,' I remember saying. I remember seeing a picture in my mind of my beautiful daughter and my beautiful son and my husband who is the love of my life."

Theresa Claybourn who was the branch manager that day, also described a scene of terror in which she thought for sure she was going to die.

"I believe that second man was intending to keep me at bay and I thought at any second he was going to come over and see my phone off the hook and think I called the cops and then shoot me dead," Claybourn said.

When it came his turn to speak, Wells, who has largely remained stone-faced every time he appears in court, didn't say much, but he did express regret for his actions.

"I made a terrible, horrible decision that day and I wish I could change it," Wells said. "I know that I can’t. If anything comes out of this, I hope that others will learn from my poor, bad example."

Both Abrams and Dillon will be sentenced at a later date.

WBTA's Dan Fischer was given permission to tape record the hearing and will have audio available online and on air later today and tomorrow. He may air the entire hearing tomorrow morning. We'll update this story with the time when that information becomes available. We'll also link to any audio he posts once they are available.

UPDATE: Audio from WBTA, Patty Hackett describes how the crime has changed her life (mp3).

Elba Fire and Mercy EMS are responding to a report of a car hitting a pole at 5353 Ford Road.

UPDATE 7:28 a.m.: Wires were pulled from the adjacent house. The home owner has turned off his electricity and National Grid is being dispatched.

UPDATE 7:31 a.m.: Border Patrol has also been requested to the scene.  Also, traffic is now clear.

UPDATE 7:33 a.m.: Elba Fire requested to return to scene because of smell of electrical burning in the house.

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There was a rash of car break-ins over night in Elba and Byron and items stolen include long rifles, according to Deputy Brian Thompson.

Thompson is asking that anybody who saw or heard anything suspicious between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. to call the Sheriff's Office at 585-345-3000.

He said any residents who find that their cars were entered over night, no matter what was taken, should call.

"People will say, 'oh, it's just some spare change,' but we need to map where these break-ins took place," Thompson said.

The pattern of break-ins include Barre in Orleans County, Thompson said. He estimates the total number of cars reported so far at about 20.

All of them were left unlocked, including the cars that contained the guns.

"People are just not getting the message," Thompson said. "Every house we go to people say they didn't know we've been having car break-ins for the last year and a half. I just don't get it. You've been reporting it. The Daily's been reporting it. It's been on WBTA and on TV in Buffalo and Rochester. People don't understand that in today's drug-infested situation we're in, it happens everywhere, not just in the city."

Investigators are looking for possibly two suspects, Thompson said. Based on the description from people who heard the timing of car doors slamming and cars driving off, it appears there is a person on foot going into cars and another person driving a getaway car.

Wayne R. Freeman, 33, of 8545 East Ave., Gasport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree. Freeman was also reportedly cited for "multiple" equipment violations ("too many to list," states the Sheriff's Office report). Freeman was reportedly driving on Route 77 in Pembroke when Deputy Kevin McCarthy spotted his vehicle with an alleged broken tail light. Upon stopping Freeman, McCarthy discovered that Freeman's license was previously revoked for a prior DWI conviction and that Freeman was allegedly violating the terms of his conditional release. McCarthy then determined that Freeman was allegedly driving drunk. Freeman was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Peter B. Burton, 51, 360 Seward St., Rochester, was arrested and charged on a warrant for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in connection with an incident on May 22. In its press release, Batavia Police did not specify the nature of the alleged incident. Burton was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Nicole M. DellaPenna, 23, of 3842 Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a controlled substance. DellaPenna was allegedly found in possession of marijuana and cocaine during an investigation of a suspicious vehicle parked on Farwell Drive.

William J. Cassidy, 28, of 107 State St., upper, Batavia, is charged with loitering. Cassidy allegedly refused to leave the area of 20 Center St. after being asked to do so by police.

James Joseph Laudico, 19, of 1055 Sliker Road, Pembroke, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Laudico was reportedly a passenger in a vehicle stopped for an alleged traffic violation by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Reeves reportedly found marijuana in Laudico's left front pants pocket.

Kaitlyn Ann Kelly, 22, of 4079 Connecticut Ave., Island Park, is charged with petit larceny. Kelly allegedly stole $53.49 in merchandise from Target.

Allison Irene Thomas, 19, of 15 Robert Quigley Road, Scottsville, is charged wih petit larceny. Thomas allegedly stole $78.47 in merchandise from Target.

Ramon Cortes-Vasquez, 60, of Elba, was arrested by State Police in Elba on Friday at 2:42 p.m. on an unspecified arrest warrant. The State Police blotter item classifies the case as "immigration." It also says it is not a criminal investigation. The arrest took place at State Route 98 and Mechanic Street. Cortes-Vasquez was held without bail.

These young volunteers were kept busy sorting the jeans

 Recently, the Elba School students helped clothe others with their jeans.

Christine Bucceri and students of the Elba school got together to help and bless others. At a recent school dance instead of the normal admission fee to get in,the students were asked to bring a pair of jeans for admission.

They then delivered the jeans to Care-A-Van Ministsries to bless others that may be in need. I will say it was a huge pile! There had to be over 100 pair of jeans if not more.

A special thanks to Christine and the students at the school for this wonderful donation to the ministry. Those that received the jeans were very appreciative.

What a wonderful creative way to help others!

A minor-injury car accident has been reported outside the Town Hall in Elba.

State police are on scene, and Mercy EMS as well as Elba Volunteer Fire Department are responding.

Units are responding non-emergency.

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Charles Patrick Taylor, 32, of 238 Mason Ave., Greece, was picked up on a warrant for an alleged violation of probation. Taylor was arrested at the Greece Probation Department and arraigned in Stafford Town Court. Taylor was jailed on $200 bail.

A 17-year-old Elba Central School student is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The marijuana was reportedly found in her car.

There were apparently no injuries in a one-car accident reported about 10 minutes ago in Elba, even though the car was run off the road into a ditch and turned on its side.

Law enforcement was called to the scene because the driver claimed another vehicle forced him off the roadway.

The accident occurred in the area of 4270 Ridge Road.

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The last suspect captured is the final defendant to plead guilty.

Matthew J. Wells, 24, of Buffalo faces five to 15 years in state prison after admitting this morning to his role in the June 18 stick up of the M&T Bank branch in Elba.

The guilty plea came on a morning when Wells was schedule to appear on a pre-trial hearing to determine if his statement following the robbery could be used against him in a trial.

Attorney Thomas Burns said after the guilty plea that his client took into account the substantial risk of going to trial, in which a conviction could mean 25 years in prison.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said the plea bargain accepted by Wells today was made back in June.

Wells didn't give up easily the morning and afternoon of the robbery, either. He led more than 100 law enforcement personnel on a five-hour manhunt through the woods and fields of Batavia and Oakfield before finally surrendering. His co-defendants, Dennis M. Abrams, Jr., 26, and Demone D. Dillon, 25, were captured within an hour of the robbery.

Both previously pled guilty to charges stemming from the hold up. Abrams, the apparent mastermind of the scheme, was looking at up to 25 years in prison, and Dillon, who apparently served as a somewhat reluctant look out, facing three-and-a-half to 10 years.

Wells was the only one of the three to make any real attempt to challenge the state's case, with his attorney filing motions to suppress his statements and for a change of venue. The latter motion was eventually denied.

The case has left many in the criminal justice community shaking their heads. None of the three suspects had any prior adult criminal record, and only Dillon had a youthful offender conviction. All three had jobs and wives or girlfriends. All three men are fathers.

Abrams reportedly sent a text message to his wife before he was captured that read simply, "I messed up."

Friedman's job, of course, isn't to get wrapped up in sympathy for three men who made a bad decision. He's spoken to the victims.

"I spent hours talking with the victims of this crime," Friedman said. "I feel the impact that it has had on these women. With almost 28 years in this office, I've been surprised by the depth of emotion expressed by these women over what they went through in the bank. It was very traumatic. I had one of these women tell me she thought she was about to die. I have no idea what that must feel like."

As for the defendant's lack of prior criminal history, Friedman said, "that's what the pre-sentencing investigation is about."

"My job is to either secure a conviction or get an appropriate plea," Friedman said. "I  think in this case, I've given the court sufficient latitude in light of these crimes and in light of the defendants."

Brian M. Raphael, 21, of 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and criminal possession of a weapon. Police Officer E.E. Bolles reports that he found Raphael sleeping in his car with the engine running Saturday at 3:10 a.m. at 419 E. Main St., Batavia. Upon his arrest, Raphael was allegedly found in possession of a collapsible billy club.

Michael D. Snyder, 37, of 679 E. Main St., Apt. 4a, is accused of criminal contempt and harassment. Snyder allegedly violated the terms of an order of protection by shoving his girlfriend. He was jailed without bail.

Timothy P. Tucker, 35, of 12 Ellicott St., is charged with DWI, refusal to take breath test, failure to stop for a stop sign, speed not reasonable and prudent, improper turn and leaving the scene of an injury accident. On Sunday at 1:48 a.m., Tucker allegedly ran a stop sign from northbound Union Street at Oak Street. His vehicle reportedly continued through the intersection until it hit a tree. Officer Dan Coffey reports that Tucker allegedly fled the scene on foot. His female passenger suffered minor injuries in the accident. Tucker was found a short time later at his residence, according to Officer Coffey.

James Frank Webb, 27, of 10215 Colby Road, Darien, is charged with criminal contempt and harassment. Webb is accused of violating an order of protection that barred him from contacting a particular person. He allegedly called that person on the phone.

Shaundalee M. Hill, 20, of 81 Lyncourt Park, Greece, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Hill was arrested by Deputy Tim Wescott after Hill was reportedly involved in a one-car accident Fisher Road in Oakfield at 6:46 p.m. on Friday. Hill was also charged with unlicensed operation of a vehicle and having an open container.

Adam M. Ganzhorn, 25, of Town of Batavia, is charged with obstruction of governmental administration and filing a false report of an incident. He was arrested at 4346 Batavia-Elba Townline Road by State Police and jailed on $2,000 bail. No further details available.

Christopher A. Saddler, 25, of Albion, is charged with petit larceny. Saddler was arrested in the Town of Batavia by State Police. No further details available.

A young Elba/Byron-Bergen team had some lessons to learn tonight, homecoming night, according to Head Coach Michael Cintorino, so he kept his players on the field, fighting until the final second.

Cintorino didn't want the referees to let the clock run down at the change of possession with more than a minute left in the game and the 28-0 score favoring a bigger, more experienced Notre Dame squad.

"What we’re trying to do is get them that experience and really understand what a tough team like Notre Dame, what it takes to get them where they are," Cintorino said. "We want them to understand that they have a little work to do in the coming years to match a team like Notre Dame."

There was a lot of fight in the Lancer's tonight, but critical mistakes and an inability to string together enough consecutive good plays on the offensive side to sustain a drive had Elba/BB fighting uphill through all four quarters.

Trouble started on Elba's first drive when it was stopped short by an interception. On the next play, Mike Pratt had a clear 17-yard path to the end zone. A missed PAT put the score at 6-0.

On its next possession, the Lancers failed to move the ball and a high snap on a fourth-down punt turned into a two-point safety when the punter kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone. That made the score 8-0.

Pratt scored later in the first quarter on a four-yard run, and with another missed PAT, the Irish were up 14-0.

The Irish would score again in the second quarter on a 11-yard run by Mike Aina, and again in the third quarter on a three-yard rush by Pratt, making he score 28-0.

As the game wore on and the Irish showed more preference for the clock-devouring run game, Elba's defense displayed some grit in forcing more than one three-and-outs in the second half.

"(The defense was) very impressive," Cintorino "If you look at what ND has been doing this year, they’re a power running team and they throw quick passes. When they run, both Beau Richter and Mike Pratt are very hard runners. Their offensive line is big and strong and they get a great push and we were able to stand up to them."

Cintorino said he also came away from the game hopeful about his young team's offense, which features a promising junior quarterback in Eric Kowalik and an athletic junior receivers, Tess Schramm and Joe Burr.

"We have some young guys out there and they’re very close to making these big plays," Cintorino said. "We work on it the rest of this season, we work on it during the off season and we come back next a little bit more veteran and we get the job done."

Notre Dame (5-1) Head Coach Rick Mancuso said he's also seen the weekly improvement in Elba, which came into the game with a 2-3 record, and said his team didn't take the Lancers lightly.

"Week in and week out, every team is a test, and they’re very well coached," Mancuso said. "They’ve got a great group of guys in that coaching staff and they’ve got a really nice team. We’ve watched them -- this is the sixth week, we’ve got a lot of film on them, we’ve seen a ton of progress week-to-week. We didn’t come out here and expect to have an easy time, that’s for sure."

Mancuso said he was particularly proud of his offensive line in helping to establish the run game early

"Our linemen did a great job, I thought," Mancuso said. "We’re starting to come around. Those younger kids that started out the season for us, they’re not young kids any more. Everybody is pretty much seniors and four-year players now."

Notre Dame heads into sectionals with a 5-1 record, same as Holley (5-1) and Attica (5-1), who played a nail-biter of a game today, reaching the final nine seconds of game time in a 0-0 tie. Attica pulled it out on a 35-yard field goal by Zack Fleiss, ruining Holley's bid for an undefeated season and giving the three top teams a share of the Genesee Region league title.

Mancuso said he feels good about his team heading into sectional play.

"Our loss last week (to Holley) was very difficult to take," Mancuso said. "I was really interested to see how the kids would challenge themselves this week and get back in the saddle and I thought they did a nice job doing that."

Some of tonigh's stats:

For ND, Pratt had 111 yards on 19 carries.

For Elba/BB, Pete Pryzbl had 9 carries for 52 yards. Schramm, two catches for 37 yards. Joe Burr had two catches for 18 yards. Kowalik completed five passes in 21 attempts for 58 yards. On Defense, Burr had seven tackles and six assists. Brandon Shuknecht had five tackles and a fumble recovery. Tom Fowler had six tackles and three assists.

NOTE: My video camera is broken. I can't get the video out of it that I shot last night (well, I captured some, but only through the first quarter, so it's unlikely I'll be able to post video of this game. I'll have to see if I can get it repaired this week).