pembroke

James Daniel Pontillo, 43, of Stafford, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Pontillo was arrested for an incident that allegedly occurred Feb. 17 at 5122 Clinton St. Road in Batavia. The Sheriff's Office news release says Pontillo allegedly "subjected a female to physical contact." No further details were released.

Aaron J. Allen, 21, of Batavia, is charged with trespass. Allen was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident on April 7. No further details were provided.

(name redacted upon request), 22, of Rochester, is charged with DWI and with driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Felong was arrested at 3 a.m., Thursday by State Police on the Thruway in Pembroke following a single-car property damage accident.

The camouflage overalls Scott Doll wore the night of Feb. 16, 2009 were stained with human blood, not deer blood.

His knees were so saturated that it soaked through his correctional officer work pants and stained his skin. One of the excuses he offered when questioned by a Sheriff's Deputy that night was that he butchered deer.

When first approached by a deputy, he was carrying a jack and lug wrench in his pockets, and offered contradictory statements about what he was doing walking on North Lake Road in Pembroke.

Late morning and afternoon testimony on the first day of Doll's trial -- over the killing of Joseph Benaquist in an alleged business-partnership deal gone bad -- put the accused in the vicinity of the murder scene covered with blood and unable to fully explain the situation to deputies.

Deputy James Diehl was dispatched to Pembroke after a report of a suspicious person. Doll was northbound on the east shoulder of the roadway, wearing overalls and a white firefighter's hood sock, which covered his face and head except his eyes.

Diehl testified that Doll had bulges in both pants pockets. The officer pulled up within 20 feet behind him and an object fell out of Doll's left front pocket, onto the ground in front of a mailbox.

It was a tire jack, but he made no attempt to pick it up and continued walking toward the deputy's vehicle as he was motioned to do. Doll pulled a tire lug wrench out of his right front pocket to show the officer, too.

Diehl asked the Corfu resident why he was out walking in Pembroke. Doll replied that he had parked his car at a nearby repair garage and was taking tools to a friend's house. He was walking there in order to get a cardio workout, because he had a doctor's appointment the very next day and needed to lower his cholesterol and heart rate. He wore overalls because it was cold.

The deputy noticed "what appeared to be wet blood marks" on Doll's clothing. When asked about the bloody overalls and white sneakers, Doll said "I butcher deer."

Doll retrieved the tire jack, emptied his pockets -- a wallet, a lone car key, some Seneca cigarettes, a green Bic lighter and a screwdriver. Doll asked to be taken back to his van.

Things weren't adding up, Diehl said, and he told Doll he was taking him into custody until there were some answers. The deputy cuffed Doll, put him in the back seat, and the tools on the front seat, so they wouldn't scratch up the upholstery.

They drove to where the van was parked. (It was actually his mother Audrey's vehicle, which Scott was driving because his daughter had borrowed his truck.)

Pulling into the repair shop, the deputy saw a red Ford Windstar mini-van, a blue van and a white van. He noticed bloody work gloves, palms up, on the hood of the blue van, blood spatters on the door on the Windstar and its driver's seat.

On cross-examination, attorney Paul Cambria asked if Doll tried to flee after the object fell out of his pocket on North Lake Road. Diehl answered no. Cambria asked if Doll retrieved the object when asked to -- "he didn't try to throw it in a field." Diehl said no, he retrieved it. When Doll was asked for identification, he provided it, correct? Cambria asked. Yes, Diehl replied.

Cambria asked if Diehl had noticed bloody footprints in the snow, blood on the front headlight of the Windstar, along the driver's side, to the back lights. Yes, the deputy said.

Cambria asked if Diehl heard Doll ask for an attorney. Diehl said no, but he was told that Doll had indeed asked for one. Cambria asked if, when cuffing Doll and putting him into the patrol car, he had read him his Miranda warnings? No, was the answer.

(The Miranda warnings are a recitation of a person's Constitutional rights once taken into custody.)

Next on the witness stand was Deputy Patrick Reeves, a 13-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department and a Pembroke native. He knows Doll, used to work for the Doll family at the Super Duper and later the Jubilee Market. Reeves was shift commander the night in question and met up with the two men at the car repair shop.

Reeves said there were no lights on in the parking lot. Doll's coveralls were unzipped and his hair was disheveled. He asked Doll were he was headed and Doll said to see friends, but couldn't say where they lived. He told him about doing cardio, but Reeves noticed his shoes, which were so worn out they were practically soleless, were not appropriate for that activity in that kind of weather.

Reeves shined his flashlight on Doll and saw flecks of blood on his cheek, nose and on his knees, which Doll said was "old blood." The officer knows the Pembroke area intimately, knows about hunting. He pressed Doll about butchering deer and Doll said "It's not deer blood."

At that point, Reeves said his heart was pounding.

"I was getting scared," Reeves said.

He asked Doll if there was someone out there who was injured and needed an ambulance.

"Pat, you know me better than that," Doll replied.

Reeves then noticed various "dings and dents" around the bloodied vehicle and a single set of footprints and called an investigator to the scene.

"Things weren't adding up in my mind," Reeves said. "I thought maybe he was afraid of killing a deer out of season and losing his hunting license. I told him not to worry about that. Who cares?"

Doll replied, "Listen, I got three months to retire, Pat, I don't want to talk about it."

Reeves observed blood marks on the bottoms of Doll's shoes.

"It was clear to me that there was more to this, so I walked him back to the patrol car," Reeves testified.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked if Doll said he wanted an attorney.

"I don't want to talk about the blood anymore," Reeves recalled Doll told him. "... Do what you gotta do."

So Reeves asked if there was anyone he wanted to speak to and Doll said an attorney. But because Reeves remained concerned there might be a person needing immediate medical attention, he continued his line of questioning without getting Doll an attorney, and felt legally justified in doing so.

Cambria asked if Reeves and Diehl later searched the roadways looking for any evidence. They had, Reeves said, noting they looked off the shoulders, in the ditches, in nearby brush and, in some places, up to the trees.

Cambria asked if Reeves was aware, that the few houses that were in the rural area had their garbage cans out. Yes, said the deputy. Did you look in any of the garbage cans for evidence? Cambria asked. No, only in front of one house, Reeves replied, and nothing was found.

Did Reeves recall being asked if Doll said "I didn't do it"? Reeves, said no, he couldn't recall that.

But Cambria produced testimony from Reeves on a pre-trial transcript, page 100, where Reeves states "He told me he didn't do it."

Under questioning, Reeves acknowledged that he concluded the bloody footprints were Doll's.

When Doll asked for an attorney, Cambria asked, "did you give him a phone?"

No, said the deputy.

"Did you give him any opportunity to get an attorney?"

No, said the deputy.

"The request was ignored, was it not?" Cambria asked.

"At that time," Reeves replied.

Doll, who turns 48 on May 16, was flanked by his attorneys during the testimony and appeared calm and attentive, wearing a charcoal-gray, pinstriped suit. The jury of five men and 12 women were equally attentive.

Courtroom sketch from today's proceedings depicts D.A. Lawrence Friedman questioning Investigator Kris Kautz about blood evidence. The sketch was drawn by Colin Dentino exclusively for The Batavian. To view a larger version of the sketch, click here.

BATAVIA, NY -- Joseph Benaquist's dying words, according to Scott Doll's attorney, were, "The boy. The boy."

Doll is accused of murdering Benaquist -- beating him to death and leaving his body in a pool of blood in his own driveway in Pembroke on Feb. 16, 2009.

But Paul Cambria, Doll's attorney, said this morning in opening arguments of Doll's murder trial that it wasn't Doll who killed Benaquist.

But if not Doll, then, who? 

Cambria said it crossed the mind of Scott Doll within minutes of hearing Benaquist utter, "The Boy. The Boy" just before he died in Doll's arms, that it was his own son, Joshua Doll.

Joshua Doll was the one who was supposed to meet Benaquist earlier that night and drive with him to the car auction in Adesa, and Joshua Doll who regularly dealt with Benaquist on auto transactions.

Scott Doll only went to Benaquist's home after the former corrections officer failed to show for an appointment at the Adesa auction. He arrived while his longtime business partner and friend was struggling for his life, Cambria said.

There was blood everywhere -- on the ground and splattered and smeared on nearby cars, and Doll was shocked at what he found and what he heard, Cambria said.

"Mr. Benaquist weighed 220 pounds," Cambria said. "The evidence will show he struggled and fought for his life. Yet, there's not one injury on my client, because he did not have a fight with Mr. Benaquist."

Equally adamant on the other side that Scott Doll is the murderer is District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.

"When this trial is over," Friedman said, "when you connect the dots you will find beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is responsible for the murder of Joseph Benaquist and is guilty as charged of murder in the second degree."

Friedman opened his statement by outlining the facts of the case -- that Benaquist was found dead in a pool of his own blood, the victim of multiple blows to the head, outside his Pembroke home on a cold Monday night. That Doll was found returning to the scene with his clothes and face covered in the victim's blood, and that the van Doll was driving had blood on the outside and the interior.

Friedman also said that during the course of the trial he will present evidence related to auto transactions that went wrong and that Doll was having increasing financial trouble.

While the prosecution is not required to provide proof of a motive for the murder of Benaquist, Friedman said the evidence will show that Doll and Benaquist were in conflict over some auto deals.

Doll and Benaquist cooperated in a used car business that was licensed to Doll. Benaquist also apparently used Doll's registration at the Adesa auto auction house to purchase vehicles for his own use.

Besides suggesting that Josh Doll may have killed Benaquist, Cambria also noted that despite extensive efforts by local law enforcement to find a murder weapon, none was ever located.

He suggested that if juror's apply common sense, they will conclude that Doll had no opportunity to dispose of the murder weapon.

He also said that any statements Doll made where intended to just buy him time, while he tried to figure out where his son was and whether he was involved. Doll's repeated requests to consult with an attorney were "ignored," according to Cambria, and also intended to buy time to find out if his son was involved.

He called the Sheriff's Office arrest of Doll a "rush to judgment."

The first witness called was James Waff, a second assistant chief in the Pembroke Fire Department. Waff first called emergency dispatch after spotting a suspicious person at the gas station on the corner of Main Road and Lake Road in Pembroke. Waff was returning from the Fire Hall at the time.

He described seeing Doll in a winter camouflage jumpsuit with his face covered with a firefighter's hood -- Doll was also a volunteer firefighter -- and then going to a friend's house nearby to see if he had also seen the person at the gas station.

When they returned, Doll was walking on Lake Road and they observed him until deputies arrived to question him.

The Batavian will have additional coverage of today's proceedings late in the afternoon.

A caller reports a house struck by lightning at 7914 North Pembroke Road, but no smoke or flames.

A first responder reports nothing showing but a hint of smoke in the air. He's requesting a thermal camera.

East Pembroke Fire is responding.

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A morning that started off with the hope of  finishing jury selection for the Scott Doll murder trial didn't quite work out that way.

Only one alternate was selected in the morning, with the prospective jury review process to resume at 2 p.m.

Court observers are uncertain whether opening arguments will, in fact, begin today, or more likely now, the trial will begin Thursday.

UPDATE 4:39 p.m.: Jury selection is complete. Opening arguments are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Thursday.

BATAVIA, NY -- With the primary panel of 12 jurors and only the alternatives to pick this morning, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman expects opening arguments in the Scott Doll murder trial to be heard as early as this afternoon.

Friedman said there is even a chance the first testimony could begin before the end of the day.

Doll, of Corfu, is accused of killing his business partner, Pembroke resident Joseph Benaquist.

Today, attorneys and Judge Robert Noonan will interview more prospective jurors in search for the right three to six alternates.

Alternate jurors are required to attend the entire trial and pay attention just as if they were one of the 12 jurors in the case. Alternates are necessary in case one of the regular jurors is unable to complete the trial.

BATAVIA,  NY -- A day and a half into the jury selection process for the Scott Doll murder trial, and only three jurors have been seated.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman noted that at the current rate, it would take four days and eight panels of potential jurors just to get to 12 men and women to decide the case. That doesn't include the four- to six-alternate jurors needed for the anticipated three-week trial.

The prosecution has used 12 of its 20 peremptory challenges, and the defense 14 of 20.

While either side can request more peremptory challenges, it will be up to Judge Robert C. Noonan whether to grant such an extension.

Once the peremptory challenges are gone, the prosecution and defense will be left to accept any juror that can't be dismissed for cause.

A prospective juror dismissed for cause is somebody who has a clear conflict of interest and probably can't judge the case impartially. A peremptory challenge is one in which the prosecution or defense deems a particular juror just isn't suitable for the case, for any reason.

"It's a combination of everything, what they know, what you hear -- it's just a gut reaction in the end," Friedman said, adding that "Both sides are being very careful about who goes on this jury."

Doll, a Corfu resident, is accused of murdering Joseph Benaquist of Pembroke in February, 2009. Doll and Benaquist were apparently in business together selling used cars.

BATAVIA, NY -- Scott Doll's defense attorneys renewed motions today, prior to jury selection in his murder trial, to suppress key evidence and some of the statements he made during the initial investigation into the death of Joseph Benaquist.

Jury selection is expected to take as long as three days, with groups of 40 people being called in today, tomorrow and Wednesday, in the hopes of finding 12 impartial jurors and four to six alternates.

Daniel Killelea, who is assisting defense attorney Paul Cambria, argued this morning that introducing as evidence the disputed ownership of two cars in the case would unfairly prejudice the jury without establishing sufficient value to prove the murder charge.

The cars are a 2006 Chevy Malibu and 2008 Pontiac G6.

There is some question as to how Doll came into possession of the Malibu, which apparently was owned, at least at one time, by Benaquist, and there's also a question about who paid for the G6 and to what purpose.

Benaquist and Doll were apparently partners in a used car business.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said he intends to show that Doll forged the title on the Malibu so he could sell it to a financing company in Buffalo.

Killelea's position is that there can't be any proof that Doll didn't obtain title to the Malibu legitimately.

He argued that presenting the status of the Malibu as evidence would unfairly prejudice the jury that he committed an uncharged crime, fraud.

As for the G6, the prosecution contends that Benaquist bought the car for himself -- though using the dealership license for SF Enterprises -- and gave Doll $10,000 as a down payment on the $13,300 car, but that the money never reached the financing company.

According to Killelea, there is insufficient evidence that the transaction wasn't for the company and the implication otherwise would prejudice the jury.

Friedman said the two cars, and the ownership dispute is key to the case.

"We anticipate that it will be established that it was these very cars that led to the murder of Joseph Benaquist," Friedman said.

On his other motion, Killelea said that statements made by Doll the night of the alleged murder cannot be admitted because he had asked for an attorney.

The prosecution contends that under the "emergency doctrine," police can try to obtain relevant information that needs to be known immediately and can continue questioning or taking statements even after a suspect has asked for an attorney.

Killelea cited at least three cases that say Doll was entitled to an attorney. But Assistant D.A. Will Zickl countered that there are cases allowing "emergency doctrine" statements to remain admissible, just as he'd argued the first time around on the same motion.

Judge Robert Noonan said he will reserve a ruling on the motions until just before opening arguments.

Scott C. Stine, 48, of York, Pa., is charged with DWI, refusal to take a breath test and moving from lane unsafely. Stine is accused driving drunk after being involved in a single-vehicle accident in the area of 8936 Lovers Lane Road, Pembroke, at 2:32 p.m., Saturday. He was jailed on $20,000 bail. Initial Report.

Jonathan D. Chapman, 40, of Le Roy, is charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Chapman was taken into custody by Village of Le Roy Police following an alleged domestic dispute on Myrtle Street on Friday night. Chapman was jailed on $500 bail.

Brandy L. Osmancikli, 36, of Alabama, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Osmancikli was arrested by State Police at 11:32 p.m., Saturday, on Lewiston Road in Alabama. No further details were released.

The Pembroke Lady Dragons JV softball team defeated the visiting Kendall Eagles 8-6 tonight in a fairly close game. Julia Baker went the distance on the mound for the Dragons striking out 9 batters, and allowing 4 hits and 7 walks. Baker also went 2 for 4 at bat. Ashlee Gilchrist went 2 for 3 with a double, and Breanna Johnson went 3 for 4, also getting a double. Kellie Mroz went 2 for 3 with a clutch 2 run single in the 6th inning to help secure the win. Kayla Streit and Randi DellaPenta also had hits. Both teams played a great game!!

More pictures after the jump:

Above: Julia Baker Delivers another great pitch

A Kendall player hits a line drive

A Pembroke player up to bat

Sliding home. She was safe

Sliding into 3rd base. Once again, she was safe

Believe it or not, she was safe!!

Great Job Ladies!!!

An accident has been reported on the eastbound off-ramp, Exit 48, of the Thruway. There are apparently injuries.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire are responding.

UPDATE 5:28 p.m.: Pembroke fire chief reports one victim with a shoulder injury. The patient is trapped in the car, but extrication is not possible until traffic is under control.

Amish construction workers have been on the Cleveland family farm for the past two days re-roofing an old barn. The farm, off Cleveland Road in Pembroke, is now owned by John Cleveland and his wife, Melissa. The farm has been in the family since the 1830s, according to Mike Cleveland, assessor for the Town of Batavia. John and Melissa's daughter, who is 3, is the eigtht consecutive generation of Clevelands to live on the farm.

There may be some sort of fuel spill at the wastewater treatment plant in Corfu.

Corfu Fire is being called in for the possible hazmat situation. East Pembroke is requested to respond, as well.

UPDATE 2:17 p.m.: The plant is located at 100 Crestview Drive. The report is of a smell of fuel coming into the plant.

UPDATE 3:50 p.m.: East Pembroke, Darien and Mercy EMS put back in service. Corfu remaining on scene.

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Emily Rose Wells, 25, of 139 S. Main St, Apt. #1, Albion, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs and moving from lane unsafely. Wells was stopped at the Yellow Goose in Elba after a witness phoned in a complaint about an erratic driver on Route 98 in Barre. The driver allegedly struck a guardrail. The witness followed the car to Elba.

Kate Elizabeth Brozic, 26, of 671 Ogden-Parma Townline Road, Spencerport, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI (driving with a BAC of .18 or greater). Brozic was arrested after Deputy Eric Seppela was dispatched to Route 33 in Stafford to check on a vehicle parked on the roadside.

Accidents reported on the State Police blotter:

8:36 p.m., April 11, Coe Avenue, Oakfield, two vehicles; Driver 1: Christopher M. Ames, 38, of Oakfield; second car was parked. No injuries reported.

8:19 p.m, April 11, Thruway, mile marker 384.5, Stafford, one vehicle; Driver 1: Steven J. Flowers, 19, of Cheektowaga. No injuries reported.

12:23 a.m., April 12, Thruway, mile marker 380, Le Roy, one vehicle; Driver 1: Adam D. Thurman, 29, of Tonawanda. No injuries reported.

Multiple callers are reporting a car fire in the westbound lane of the Thruway at mile marker 400.

Pembroke and Indian Falls Fire is being dispatched.

Dozens of children found treats, prizes and candy today at the Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department Easter Egg Hunt at the department's facility.  The sun was out and everybody seemed to have a good time.

More pictures after the jump:

 

On my way to and from the Pembroke Easter egg hunt, I took a few pictures. Up top are some sheep in a field off Route 5, a mile or so east of Route 77. This looks like it will be a picture worth going out to take again when the trees fill out and maybe again in autumn.

Below, an old one-way sign outside the Pembroke Fire Hall, and below that, an old commercial building in Pembroke.

A possible brush fire has been reported in the area of Route 5 and Lovers Lane Road, near the Thruway overpass, Pembroke.

East Pembroke and Indian Falls fire have been dispatched.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.: Address now given as 717 Route 5, across from Pembroke Bait and Tackle.

UPDATE 4:56 p.m.: Alabama is being dispatched for additional manpower. The Akron brush truck has been requested. The fire is reportedly not near a structure, but moving toward a structure.

When I'm out and about in the county, I usually try to find roads I've never driven down before. In coming back from the two accidents this morning, I came across three photo opportunities.

Above, the Magadore Hillton and Pembroke Hotel, at the intersection of North Pembroke and Beckwith roads. The spelling on the sign is "Hillton." That's not  a typo. The proprietor, according to the sign, is Linda Smith. It's hard to tell if this is an active business. There is a sign next to the building that advertises fish fry and beef on weck, but it also looked like it might be vacant, except for a possible residence on the side.

UPDATE: We just got this e-mail:

"Hi, my name is Linda Smith I have owned the bar for 30 years. It was built in 1850 and has been a working bar for a very long time. I have a little restaurant that serves fish frys every friday. We are open 6 days a week."

Below is what looks like an old hunter's cabin along Stegman Road, across from the Tonawanda Creek. 

The last picture is of a yellow barn -- don't see too many of those. It was on Powers Road.

A man who has not been identified at this time was transported to an area hospital this morning after reportedly being kicked in the head by a horse.

The accident occurred shortly after 8 a.m. at 8170 North Pembroke Road, the location of D.J. Stables.

There is no further information about the accident available at this time.