Le Roy

On Tuesday morning, somebody apparently fired a shotgun in the Village of Le Roy.

No injuries were reported in the 11 a.m. incident, but a bullet was lodged in the wall of a residence.

Police do not know who fired the12-gauge shotgun slug, which imbedded in the outer wall of 57 W. Main St.

It's also unclear where the person was standing when he fired the gun. It appears to be somewhere east of Craigie Street.

Police are asking any possible witnesses to call the department at 768-2527.

A car has reportedly gone off the road at 6842 Randall Road, Le Roy, traveling through the yard and striking a parked car.

Unknown injuries.

Le Roy Fire and Le Roy Ambulance dispatched.

UPDATE 4:50 p.m.: Units responding can come in non-emergency. No injuries.

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A suspected drug dealer allegedly struggled with members of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, causing minor injuries to two officers, when they attempted to arrest him Thursday evening on Liberty Street, Batavia.

Taken into custody, following an investigation into the sale, transportation and possession of cocaine in and around Le Roy and Batavia, was 21-year-old Craig A. Tiberio-Shepherd, of Lathrop Avenue, Le Roy.

Once Tiberio-Shepherd was taken into custody, members of the task force along with uniformed deputies and officers from Batavia PD and Le Roy PD, executed search warrants on Tiberio-Shepherd himself and his residence.

Investigators allegedly found a quantity of cocaine, a quantity of Suboxone (a controlled substance), numerous pieces of drug paraphernalia, drug packaging, digital scales and $310.

Following arraignment in Batavia City Court, Tiberio-Shepherd was jailed without bail.

Tiberio-Shepherd was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th, assault, 2nd, and obstructing governmental administration, 2nd. In Le Roy Court, Tiberio-Shepherd was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, and criminal using drug paraphernalia, 2nd.

The injured members of the task force suffered twisted fingers and minor cuts and bruises.

Tyrone L. Richardson, 35, of 17 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing / blood circulation and harassment, 2nd. Richardson is accused of grabbing another person by the throat and also placing that person in a headlock and applying pressure. Richardson reportedly left the scene of the alleged incident at 8:20 a.m., Sunday, and turned himself in on Monday.

Jayson Michael Connolly, 37, of Weathersfield Road, Silver Springs, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Connolly is accused of placing a phone call to a woman he is barred by court order from contacting. Connolly was jailed on $2,500 bail. (from Sheriff's Office press release)

Jayson M. Connolly, 37, of 5405 Weathersfield Road, Silver Springs, is charged with criminal contempt ,2nd. Connolly was allegedly found in a car with a person he was barred from contacting by court order. Connolly was jailed on $1,000 bail (City Police press release)

Travis J. Weatherall, 23, of 7216 Griswold Road, Bergen, is charged with petit larceny. Weatherall was arrested by Le Roy Police. He is accused of shoplifting a package of jerky from Tops Market.

Name Redacted Upon Request, 19, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with burglary, 2nd, criminal possession of stolen of stolen property, 5th, petit larceny, growing cannabis without a license and unlawful possession of marijuana. xxxx was arrested following the execution of a search warrant on his residence, which was the result of an investigation that began April 15 after a village resident complained a home had been entered and various items stolen. The investigation pointed to xxxx as the suspect and a search warrant was obtained. During execution of the search warrant, numerous allegedly stolen items were found as well as marijuana plants and marijuana paraphernalia. xxxxx was jailed on $15,000 bail.

Michael B. Pfaff, of Keeney Road, Le Roy, is charged with felony DWI, aggravated DWI and failing to stop at a stop sign. Pfaff was stopped Sunday by a Le Roy police officer. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Jonathan Cornell Robinson, 24, of Buffalo (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, operating on a suspended license and driver's view obstructed. Robinson was stopped at 12:39 a.m., Saturday, on Main Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Keith Patrick Snyder, 30, of Lewiston Road, Alabama, is charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Snyder was stopped at 2:58 a.m, Saturday, on MvVean Road, Darien, by Deputy Jason Saile. Snyder was also charged with refusal to take breath test, failure to signal and failure to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle.

Charles Linwood Muntz, 22, of Crosby Road, Basom, is charged with a felony count of DWI, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and parking on a public highway. Muntz was allegedly found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while it was stopped at an intersection on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at 3:11 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Eric Seppala.

Jeremy John Patterson, 20, of Medina (no street address released), is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, tinted windows and plate obstructed. Patterson was stopped at 1:53 a.m., Sunday, on Alleghany Road, Basom, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Earl Elsworth Sands, 53, of Batavia (no street address released), is charged with harassment, 2nd. Sands was arrested following a disturbance at his residence at 10:30 p.m., Saturday. Sands is accused of striking a visitor to his residence.

Jennifer Rae Champlin, 31, of Bloomfield (no street address released), is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Champlin was stopped for an alleged traffic violation at 5:06 p.m., Sunday, on Ellicott Street, Batavia, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Lt. Tim Hogle, above right, received the Firefighter of the Year award from the Le Roy Fire Department during the its annual awards and installation dinner at Bohn's Restaurant in Batavia.

Safety Officer Joe "Uncle Joe" Orlando, below, received the Chief's Accommodation.

Chief Mike Sheflin presented both awards.

County Emergency Services Coordinator Tim Yaeger, right, presented the department with an award for Le Roy posting the most training hours -- 850 -- of any department in Genesee County. Chief Mike Sheflin accepted the award.

Tom Wood, 1st Assistant Chief, Chief Sheflin and 2nd Assistant Chief Dale Ehrhart.

More pictures after the jump:

Darik Robert Michael Orbaker, 18, of Forest Edge Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Orbaker was taken into custody on East Main Street, Batavia, by State Troopers and Sheriff's Deputies on Thursday afternoon. Orbaker is accused of violating an order of protection. He allegedly hit a female covered by an order of protection.

Brian Michael Fairbanks, 33, of Church Street, Le Roy, is charged with unlawful imprisonment, 2nd, and menacing, 3rd. Fairbanks allegedly committed the crimes during a dispute with a friend in his apartment.

Nicholas M. Lyons, 30, of 17 Central Ave., Batavia, is charged with menacing, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Lyons is accused of punching, kicking and using a knife to threaten another person during an alleged incident at 10 p.m., Thursday.

Donnie Hendrickson is indicted on charges of grand larceny, 4th, 23 counts of timber trespass, grand larceny, 3rd, and scheme to defraud, 1st. Hendrickson is accused of cutting and stealing timber from property in Le Roy between Jan. 9 and Feb. 14, 2010 with an estimated value in excess of $1,600. The timber trespass charges each stem from alleged removal of specific trees, including sugar maple, red oak trees and hickory trees. He is also accused of removing trees from property in Stafford, specifically swamp white oak and soft maple trees. He is also accused of cutting and removing timber from a property in Stafford with a value in excess of $18,000. He is also accused of fraudulently trying to acquire the trees.

David Isabell is indicted on charged of two counts of grand larceny, 4th, three counts of grand larceny, 3rd, issuing a bad check, 22 counts of timber trespass, petit larceny, theft of services and scheme to defraud, 1st. Isabell is accused of stealing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $1,000. He's also accused of stealing $6,250 from a person in Bergen. He's also accused of stealing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $3,000. He's accused of writing a bad check to a person in Le Roy with a value of $5,600. He's a accused of removing timber from a property in Stafford with a value in excess of $450. He's accused of removing timber from a property in Le Roy with a value in excess of $1,000 The alleged timber removed from these properties includes sugar maple, red oak, hickory and swamp white oak. The theft of services charge comes from an allegation that Isabell failed to pay for hotel rooms in Batavia. 

Randall W. McKeown is indicted on a felony charge of DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. McKeown is accused of driving drunk on Nov. 7 while in the Town of Batavia.

The death of a 6-year-old boy from Le Roy over the weekend remains a mystery, according to Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster.

There's no reason to believe the boy was harmed in any way, Brewster said.  

Minutes before he was found unconscious and not breathing, his father had promised to take him down the road to see some horses and had told the boy to wait inside while he finished a chore.

An ambulance was dispatched to the father's house in the area of Route 33 and Old State Road at about 7:30 p.m., Friday. The boy was transported to UMMC while CPR was performed and Mercy Flight was dispatched, stopping along the way to pick up an emergency pediatric team at Women's and Children's Hospital in Buffalo.

An initial autopsy by the Monroe County Medical Examiner found no obvious cause of death, no signs of trauma, no broken bones, no bruises.

"None of the medical personnel suspected anything, and they're trained to spot even the slightest sign of child abuse," Brewster said. "If anyone along the line had seen anything, they would have called us right away"

The Sheriff's Office wasn't notified until after the boy's death at Women's and Children's Hospital at 11:30 a.m., Saturday.

The boy, Casey A. Timothy, is the son of Charlene Maciag Timothy and Kelly E. Timothy.

Brewster said the case reminds him of the death of another 6-year-old boy from Le Roy two years ago. In that case, Brewster said, the medical examiner eventually determined that the boy died of a rare brain condition that is genetic. In that case, too, the boy was outside playing and fine and found a short time later unconscious and not breathing.

Additional tests by the medical examiner's office will take at least two weeks.

There was some swelling to the boy's brain, Brewster said, but it was in no way consistent with shaken baby syndrome. 

(Initial Report)

A 40-year-old Le Roy resident has been arrested, accused of growing marijuana without a license, which is a misdemeanor under York State Public Health Law.

Jose A. Martinez Jr., was also charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 5th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th.

While Title 7, Section 3382 of NYS Health Law makes it a crime to grow cannabis without a license, a Google search finds no provision in New York for obtaining a license.

Martinez was issued appearance tickets for Town of Le Roy Court and released following his arrest.

The bust came following an investigation by the Local Drug Task Force along with Le Roy Police, leading to the execution of a search warrant in the Village of Le Roy at the residence of Martinez on March 11.

Martinez was allegedly found in possession of a quantity of marijuana, a quantity of Darvocet and Ambien along with six marijuana plants.

UPDATE: I did find a reference on the NORML site that notes that the DEA has the ability to license -- though they never do -- farmers to grow hemp.

UPDATE: Article 33, Title 7 is the Controlled Substance Act, and it does contain provisions for licensing the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances. That seems to be the sections that apply here.

This is the first in our series on the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce award winners. Today, we feature Robert Bennett, winner of Wolcott “Jay” Humphrey III Excellence in Community Leadership Award. The awards will be presented at a dinner Saturday at the Clarion Hotel.

It takes a truly selfless man to find ways to go above and beyond to volunteer in his community for more than 20 years but Robert Bennett swears that his countless hours of community service have rewarded him just as much in return.

He has served on a number of boards and organizations in Le Roy and Genesee County just because he likes the feeling of being productive and doing good things for good people.

“I’ve made some great friendships and relationships,” Bennett said.

“The kind where if they need something, they call you and if you need something, you call them.”

When he heard he was to receive the Jay Humphrey III Excellence in Leadership Award at the annual Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet, Bennett said he certainly felt humbled.

“What a great award. I was close friends with Jay – he and I worked on many different boards together. We’re old friends.”

Bennett used to work with Humphrey’s family at Wyoming County Bank. Although he’s remained in the banking industry, Bennett now manages the Le Roy Bank of Castile.

“My job at the Bank of Castile encourages everyone to get involved with the community,” he shrugged.

“Banking promotes getting involved…and there’s a lot of things that need your help but it’s not always the money. Anyone can write a check but sometimes it’s expertise, it’s running the projects or helping to guide these organizations.”

Bennett dedicates his time to the Genesee Community College Foundation and the college’s housing board. He’s been involved with United Way, the American Red Cross and he even helped develop the Le Roy Business Council. He is an active Le Roy Rotarian and a past president. He has coached sports teams, helped with Easter egg hunts, appliance raffles and various fundraisers for a number of different causes.

He plans to continue to make service to his community a priority and is currently looking forward to the annual Easter celebration in Le Roy, helping to choose which deserving graduating seniors will be awarded scholarships through the Le Roy Rotary, and working with the GCC foundation.

“If I get involved, I’m usually trying to just do something,” Bennett said.

“It’s not to be a member or a board director…I’m a people person. I just try to make a difference.”

Photos by Howard Owens

Kathy Hochul, Democratic candidate in the NY-26 special election to replace Chris Lee, stopped at Kati's Place in Le Roy this morning to talk with voters.

The stop is part of a weekend effort by Hochul to visit all seven counties in the NY-26 on Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday, she stopped at Seaman's Hardware in East Pembroke. 

Her Republican opponent, Jane Corwin, also appears to be out on the campaign trail. She was in Genesee County yesterday but didn't notify the local media.

Yesterday, around noon, Corwin posted to Facebook:

Busy day meeting with folks in the community! Just left the Annual SCOPE Membership Meeting in Alabama and now on my way to the Wyoming County Hospital's 100th Anniversary Celebration in Warsaw. More on the schedule for later today.

No status updates from her since.

Walk into Kati’s Place on Main Street in Le Roy and chances are, you’ll see Kati Mancuso ready to seat you or take your order or maybe just shoot the breeze for a while.

The 27-year-old leased the building and fixed up what was formerly Tyler’s Restaurant (closed in 2006) without having to take out any loans or rely on anyone else.

“Nothing worked when I got here,” she shrugged. “The lights didn’t even work when I agreed to take it, but I said yes anyway.”

Mancuso said that although her broker told her the former restaurant was “turnkey ready,” it ended up needing a lot of elbow grease but she was determined.

“Let me tell you about ‘turnkey’ anything,” she joked. “If one more pipe exploded in my face or gas line blew up or anything else had gone wrong, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Odds are, even if she had encountered another disaster, she would have managed to get the restaurant open for business on the designated date – March 14.

“I don’t know why but I set that date...I said, ‘You have one month. Now go.’”

Remarkably, Mancuso and all her supporters did just that. Once she leased the building, she and her family and friends managed to get everything ready so the doors could open for business in four weeks.

“Everybody rallied behind me,” she said. “They got together and, I don’t know, it all fell into place. It was just like people were coming in all the time asking what I needed. I went so long without sleeping and eating to clean this place and get it ready by March 14.”

But at one point, Mancuso had some health issues which put her in the hospital for awhile. When she recovered, she “began making phone calls,” calling up vacant places in Le Roy with her vision in mind. She wanted a place of her own where her regular customers could come to eat and enjoy themselves.

“Truthfully, I did it for them,” she said, gesturing toward a few tables of diners. “These people are family and it’s like I’ve been waiting on them all forever.”

Kati’s Place is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

“Every day we’re open, things just get better and better around here,” Mancuso said. “We’re doing just fine.”

(This story originally contained information referring to another individual of a personal nature that upon reflection should have been removed prior to publication. The information and comments referring to it have been removed.)