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Police Beat: Couple accused of shoplifting from Tops

By Howard B. Owens

Erika L. Brumsted, 24, of 5079 Batavia-Bethany Townline Road, East Bethany, and Steven C. Shaw, 24, of 2692 Dunham Road, Varysburg, are charged with petit larceny. Brumsted and Shaw are accused of shoplifting from Tops Market.

Terry David Czworka, 48, of Black St. Road, Pavilion, is charged with DWI, aggravated driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right, moved from lane unsafely, possession/consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Czworka was stopped at 1:19 a.m., Saturday, on Asbury Road, Pavilion, by Sgt. Brian Frieday.

Timothy John Hagen, 27, of Walden Creek, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Hagen is accused of violating and order of protection.

Brian P. O'Grady, 46, of Lymon Road, Bergen, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. O'Grady is accused of violating an order of protection. O'Grady allegedly made several phone calls to his estranged wife that did not pertain to their child.

Robert K. Geandreau, 38, of 404 Ellicott St., Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. Geandreau was stopped at 7:54 p.m., Saturday, on Ellicott Street by Officer Kevin DeFelice.

Brenden M. Mullen, 26, of 11 Holmes Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI, no inspection and refusal to take a breath test. Mullen was stopped at 2:38 a.m., Saturday, by Officer Eric Dibble.

Doug Yeomans

I've never understood how it can be held against a person to refuse a breath test. I always thought the 5th amendment gave one the right not to self-incriminate. I know a person can refuse the breathalyzer so how is it that it's another charge if it's your right to refuse?

If we have any lawyers available to explain DUI/DWAI laws, could you possibly take the time to put it into plain English for me so that I can understand it?

If I've been out and had a few glasses of wine with dinner, which I'm sure many people have done, if I'm pulled over and think there may be a possibility of failing a breathalyzer, am I better off in the long run to refuse the breath test and not incriminate myself?

It just seems that if the prosecutor doesn't have concrete proof of blood alcohol content, they can't find guilt beyond DWAI based on an arresting officers direct observations and testimony to such. If a person isn't slurring and isn't acting impaired, but may be "legally" intoxicated, can they still be found guilty of DUI just because an officer testifies that he/she smelled alcohol on the defendants breath and maybe crossed a center line or a fog line?

Heck, I've drifted over the center line and fog line too many times to count and I've been behind officers and watched them do the same thing.

So many questions, I know, but questions that lay persons think they know the answers to and really don't.

May 25, 2011, 10:38am Permalink
Doug Yeomans

Hmmm...I wonder if this trooper was DUI and made the educated decision that leaving the scene of an accident was far less severe than topping it off with a DUI charge.

A New York state trooper has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident after running over a man lying on a rural upstate road.

Fulton County authorities say Brian Beardsley was off duty and driving with his girlfriend early Sunday morning when his pickup ran over Chad Finch. They say the couple drove off after turning around, confirming a pedestrian was down in the road and calling 911.

District Attorney Louise Sira says an autopsy showed Finch had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, but investigators may never know how he ended up lying in the road while walking home from a nearby restaurant.

Finch's blood and tissue were found on Beardsley's truck after it was located by investigators who traced the 911 call.

Local media report Beardsley pleaded not guilty at his arraignment yesterday on the felony charge.

May 25, 2011, 11:00am Permalink
Gabor Deutsch

Since they don't have to prove you were swerving or crossed any lines it is a free pass to pull you over. Once they do all they have to do is say they smelled alcohol weather they did or not. If you admit you were drinking then you are guaranteed to fail the sobriety test. (Most sober people fail that test for many reasons). If they have you blow and you pass but you admitted to drinking or they really did smell it then they will say something went wrong and they will have you blow again. Bottom line if you get pulled over you are already suspected guilty of something.

May 25, 2011, 12:32pm Permalink

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