crime

A lone armed robber gave every appearance of knowing what he was doing and of having planned his crime when he robbed Sally Beauty Supply this morning.

Wearing a black ski mask and carrying a knife and duct tape, he entered the Batavia business right after the doors opened when only one female employee was inside.

He ordered her to turn over all the cash in the drawer and then made her go into a back room, where he took all the money from her purse and then bound her hands and feet with duct tape.

The robber told her to wait five minutes before calling police and not to watch him leave. 

"He told her he wasn't going to hurt her," said Sgt. Greg Walker, Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Footprints in the snow showed he entered and left the store from the west, going around the back of the building and along the western edge of the Target parking lot.

A K-9 tracked his scent to somewhere between the Sally building and the Clarion Hotel, where he may have gotten into a waiting car. 

The path may have taken him out of range of the Target security cameras.

There are no cameras, apparently, in Sally's or any of the neighboring businesses that could help identify the suspect or his vehicle.

The woman was pretty emotional following the robbery, Walker said.

"She was obviously very upset," Walker said. "You can tell she was crying quite a bit. Her make up was running. She’s still upset about the whole incident."

The robber got away with an undetermined about of cash, probably just what was necessary to open the store in the morning, plus whatever was in the woman's purse.

He is described as white, about 5'5" tall, about 130 to 140 pounds, and wearing black. He didn't take any store product or any personal items from the woman.

The woman managed to get out of the duct tape using scissors she had available.

Anybody with information that may assist investigators can contact the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000.

UPDATE: Below are photos of a possible suspect vehicle.

A victim was tied up by a robber at Sally Beauty Supply, 4662 Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia, this morning.

The suspect is described as a white male 5'5" and weighing 140 to 150 pounds, dressed in black.

The victim did not see which direction the suspect went upon leaving the store or if he left on foot or by car.

A deputy who responded reported seeing footprints in the snow exiting the store and followed the footprints to a possible waiting vehicle.

Deputies and State Police are responding. The call came in at 9:25 a.m.

Penny Sue Sprague, 42, of Oakfield, is charged with burglary, 2nd. Sprague is accused of entering a residence without permission on Father's Day weekend and stealing several items, including electronics, jewelry, money and other property.  Following arraignment, Sprague was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Scott D. Fairfield, 19, of 131 S. Swan St., Batavia, is charged with resisting arrest. Fairfield is accused of interfering with the arrest of another person at his residence. No further information was released.

Timothy James Walsh, 44, of Redfield Parkway, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. Walsh is accused of using a motor vehicle to recklessly damaging the property of another person on Hunn Road, Alexander, on Feb. 3.

Sheriff's investigators are actively pursuing leads on a string of burglaries that started in January in Elba, Oakfield, Byron and Bergen.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said investigators believe two different crews are involved in the burglaries.

"The crew in Elba and Oakfield enters with door kick-ins," Brewster said. "The other crew is more sophisticated about getting into a house."

The Elba/Oakfield crew may be associated with a white van. The Byron/Bergen crew (which may be responsible for a burglary in Stafford) may use stolen vehicles.

One vehicle from Bergen is still missing, another has been recovered and a car that was stolen in Henrietta was located in Bergen.

The Elba and Oakfield burglaries have occurred during daylight hours.

There are suspects in the Elba/Oakfield burglaries, Brewster said, and they don't live in the area.

Brewster said residents who see anything suspicious could contact the Sheriff's Office at (585) 343-5000.

"Give us a call," Brewster said. "We love to look into those things."

Residents should be on the lookout for a suspicious vehicle in a neighbor's driveway, a car slowing and apparently trying to check out homes in a neighborhood, and somebody knocking on your door with no apparent need to knock on your door  -- all the sort of things that should be phoned in as suspicious, Brewster said.

A Batavia resident accused of committing crimes while reportedly under the influence of bath salts over the summer avoided a felony conviction Wednesday after a Genesee County jury found him not guilty of the higher charges.

Bradley C. Broadbent was found guilty on five misdemeanor counts, but by avoiding the felony convictions he is no longer looking at up to 15 years in prison as a second felony offender.

The jury found Broadbent guilty of two counts of criminal mischief, 4th, two counts of criminal trespass, 2nd, and petit larceny.

He was acquitted on the charges of criminal trespass, 3rd, and second-degree burglary.

Last month Broadbent turned down a plea deal and elected to take his chances with a jury.

Because the 32-year-old Broadbent has a prior violent felony conviction, the best deal District Attorney Lawrence Friedman could offer Broadbent was a minimum of five years in prison with a guilty plea to attempted burglary, 2nd, a Class D felony.

Broadbent was accused of breaking into bathrooms of a building on Liberty Street one day in July and later that day he reportedly climbed atop a roof on Hutchins Street and needed emergency responder assistance to be talked off it. That night, he reportedly escaped from UMMC's emergency room and was accused of breaking into a home on Tracy Avenue.

Broadbent's family spoke with the media at the time about his arrest because they were concerned that bath salts had derailed his attempt to get his life back in order after getting out of jail on a previous charge.

Brian P. Griffen is indicted on counts of burglary, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th, and four times since October he's appeared before Judge Robert C. Noonan to answer to those charges.

Four times Griffen's attorney has been missing in action, according to Noonan.

Today, the judge told Griffen it's time for him to find a new attorney.

According to documents, Griffen is represented by David S. Widenor, a Buffalo-based defense attorney.

Griffen told Noonan he's paid Widenor $800 to represent him.

According to court staff, Widenor has never denied representing Griffen and Assistant District Attorney Will Zickl said he's received written correspondence from Widenor about the Griffen case.

Noonan said he's written to Widenor and told him he better make his next court appearance (which was today) or there could be financial consequences.

On at least one occasion, Widenor reportedly told Noonan that he forgot to record Griffen's court appearance on his calendar.

"I can't just leave this case on the calendar until someday he decides to grace me with his presence," Noonan said.

Zickl told Noonan, "(Griffen) has been here every time he's been directed to be here. We certainly support his realization that perhaps he needs another attorney."

Griffen was indicted in October and accused of breaking into a building on Fisher Road, Oakfield, sometime between June 12 and June 26 and stealing a dune buggy, Yamaha Kodiak 4-wheeler and a Honda dirt bike.

Under questioning from Noonan, Griffen said he has a job. He didn't ask for a court-appointed attorney. He said he has missed work to make his court appearances, which brought a sad shake from Noonan.

Noonan said that if Griffen files a grievance with the bar association that might be the best way for Griffen to get his $800 back. Noonan said he couldn't wait, however, for Griffen to get reimbursed before he retains another attorney.

Noonan ordered Griffen back in court March 6.

Whether Griffen files a grievance (about his attorney's absenteeism), Noonan said, is entirely up to him.

Five Star Bank has reimbursed $6,600 to Austin's Army -- a fundraising effort to assist a Pembroke teen struck with a rare form of cancer -- after a local woman allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals from the charitable account.

The alleged theft was discovered by Jason Heineman on Nov. 27.

Jodi M. Coe, 37, of Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, Oakfield, was arrested in connection with the alleged theft and charged with 41 counts of possessing a forged instrument.

According to court documents, Coe allegedly acquired blank checks, drafted the checks in her name and forged Jason Heineman's signature on the checks.

Heineman wrote in an affidavit that he never wrote checks to Coe out of the Austin Army's account and that she was never authorized to write checks to herself.

The checks were all allegedly cashed between Oct. 7 and Nov. 5, while Heineman was in New York City with his son, Austin, who was in NYC for surgery and treatment.

The bank balance discrepancy was discovered by Heineman when he visited a Five Star branch in Dansville and needed to transfer funds to another account.

Upon requesting an account summary, Heineman noticed checks being cashed out of sequence. 

When confronted with an accusation by Heineman, Coe allegedly said she had a problem and was in over her head.

Later she allegedly told Heineman that she had a gambling problem.

According to documents, Heineman gave Coe an opportunity to reimburse the account and when that allegedly did not happen by Dec. 5 he contacted the Sheriff's Office.

Coe faces 36 counts in Batavia City Court of possession of a forged instrument and another five counts in the Town of Le Roy.

She is jailed without bail.

If convicted, Coe would likely be required to pay restitution and that restitution would be paid to Five Star Bank.

Austin Heineman still has ongoing medical expenses and anybody wishing to make a donation can contact Five Star Bank.

While the case will remain open, State Police investigators have been unable to obtain sufficient evidence so far to make an arrest in the case of a shot fired in the Walmart parking lot Jan. 21.

Investigator Kenneth Dubrinski said that even though there is a video of the incident, the one person possibly involved whom investigators could identify is uncooperative.

The video is not of good enough quality to release pictures in the hopes of identifying other individuals, Dubrinski said.

"You can barely make out the make and model of the car," he said.

Last week, police learned that a car that was parked in the area at the time was struck by a bullet.

The bullet could not be recovered.

Dubrinski said even though there isn't much new to report on the case, the case will remain open for some time in case somebody comes forward with new information.

"This is a little more serious than a run-of-the-mill case and we don't want to close it until we know we have everything covered," Dubrinski said.

As for the possibility of one or more people involved having ties to a criminal gang, Dubrinski said, "that would be speculation."

Jodi M. Coe, 37, of Batavia Oakfield Townline Road, is charged with 36 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd, in the City of Batavia and five counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd, in the Town of Le Roy. Coe was allegedly in possession of numerous checks containing forged signatures. Coe allegedly possessed the checks while at various locations within the City of Batavia and Town of Le Roy. Following arraignment in city court, Coe was ordered jailed without bail. Town of Batavia Court set her bail at $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.

Cassi Ann Schutt, 25, of West Crest Drive, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Schutt is accused of stealing $328.23 in merchandise from Kmart. When confronted by Kmart security, Schutt allegedly fled on foot. She was apprehended in the Tops parking lot after a brief foot chase. State Police assisted in the arrest. Investigation by Deputy Tim Wescott.

Rodney Lowee McKenzie, 48, of Buffalo, is charged with inhalation of hazardous inhalants. McKenzie was allegedly observed snorting inhalants while seated in a car in the Flying J parking lot. McKenzie was arrested by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Jonathan Enrique Garcia, 20, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with possessing a sexual performance of a child. A probation search allegedly turned up images of a nude, juvenile female on Garcia's mobile phone.

Nathan P. Crawford, 17, of 114 Hutchins St., Batavia, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Crawford was arrested following an investigation into a report of jewelry and electronics missing from a residence on Jackson Street, Batavia. The items were allegedly taken from the home between September and December. The value of the items exceeds $3,000. Crawford was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Faith Brenda Obeirne, 45, of Mount Read Boulevard, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Obeirne was turned over to Sheriff's Office custody upon release from the City of Rochester Jail on a warrant out of Town of Batavia Court. Obeirne was jailed on $500 bail.

Shawn Michael Twardowski, 30, of Dodd Run Road, Marietta, Ohio, was arrested on warrants for alleged criminal contempt, 1st, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Twardowski was taken into custody in Caldwell, Ohio, and transported back to New York. He was jailed on $100,000 bail.

Kristianna Lynn Thornton, 29, of Pierce Avenue, Niagara Falls, Thornton was arrested on a bench warrant out of Town of Batavia Court for alleged failure to appear. She was jailed on $250 bail.

Tonya Marie Weber, 28, West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Weber is accused of leaving her children with a person unfit to care for them. When contacted by law enforcement and instructed to return home and care for her children, Weber allegedly did not return. The children were allegedly neglected. The investigation was conducted by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, Deputy Chad Minuto, Trooper Holly Hansel and Trooper Bryman and DSS.

Police in the Town of Amherst have arrested three people who are suspected in a series of commercial burglaries in the region.

Among the items recovered were two air compressors that the suspects allegedly said may have come from a location or locations in the Batavia area.

If you have any information related to these possibly stolen air compressors, contact Investigator Kris Kautz in the Genesee County Sheriff's Office at (585) 345-3000, ext. 3571.

Shawn Robert Klineline, 30, of Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance not in original container. Klineline was stopped for alleged traffic violations at 12:59 a.m. Saturday by Deputy Patrick Reeves, and found allegedly in possession of a non-prescribed controlled substance not in its original container.

Jeffrey Russell Hamill, 34, of Attica, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and speeding (76 in a 55 mph zone). Hamill was stopped at 1:43 a.m. Saturday on Route 77, Pembroke, for allegedly speeding by Deputy Patrick Reeves.

Justin Michael Beverly, 23, of Creamery Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and driving left of pavement markings in a no-passing zone. Beverly was stopped at 1:37 a.m. Saturday on Warboys Road, Byron, by Deputy Jason Saile.

Gary Wayne Wornowski, 30, of East Aurora, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right, possession/consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and inadequate muffler. Wornowski was stopped at 11:30 p.m., Jan. 1, on Route 5 in Pembroke, by Deputy Patrick Reeves.  Wornowski was recently issued a summons to appear in Town of Pembroke Court at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 28.

Kathleen R. Cramer, 49, of 4 South Lyon St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Cramer is accused of shoplifting from Dollar General.

Kenneth W. Cook III, 19, of 108 Oak St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Cook was allegedly observed with a person he is ordered not to contact. Cook was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Melissa G. Betances, 31, of 180 1/2 Pearl St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Betances is accused of sending text messages to a person protected from contact by court order.

Booker T. Ricks III, 41, of 7 Chestnut St., Apt. 1, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Ricks is accused of violating a stay away order of protection.

Deputy Brian Thompson said it felt a little like Hansel and Gretel on Route 63 this morning, but it wasn't bread crumbs he was following -- it was bits and pieces of a mangled car.

Orleans County Sheriff's deputies had arrested a man for allegedly driving drunk and his car was badly damaged from an apparent accident.

Thompson got the call about 8 a.m. to try to find the accident location, which authorities believed was somewhere between the Walmart in Batavia and Orleans County.

"That's a big area to search," Thompson said.

He started at the Orleans County line and headed south on Route 63. 

Besides car parts, Thompson said there was a long, large gouge in the roadway from the wheel assembly of the car, which had lost a front tire and rim in the accident.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office was first alerted to a possible intoxicated driver just before 5 a.m. when dispatchers received a report of a badly damaged red car heading north on Route 77.

The car was never located in Genesee County.

At 5:28 a.m., the Orleans County Sheriff's Office received a report of a red car heading north on Route 63 with sparks flying from under the car.

A short time later, an Orleans County deputy located a man walking in the Sanderson/Water Works area. Deputies later found the car, which was missing both front fenders, the front license plate and a tire and rim.

Thompson found the first evidence of an accident about a 10th of a mile inside Genesee County, where a car had struck a bridge, which is where the vehicle lost its right front tire.

Dispatchers then received a report from a resident on Judge Road that a mailbox had been knocked over. Thompson proceeded to that location and found more car parts, including what appears to be the missing license plate from the red 2001 Olds Alero located in Orleans County.

According to Thompson's accident report, the Alero was westbound on Judge Road and failed to keep right, crossing into and across the eastbound lane.

The Alero struck a mailbox at 1376 Judge Road.

The vehicle continued westbound, across the lawn of the residence and then struck and destroyed a concrete survey marker.

The car continued on to property at 1378 Judge Road, striking a tree stump and bush.

The driver is identified as 21-year-old Brandon M. Sponaugle, of Ridge Road, Medina.

An Orleans County dispatcher confirmed the driver of the car had been charged with DWI but had no further information available this morning.

Thompson's report indicates Sponaugle was allegedly driving on a suspended license. Additional charges are pending in Genesee County.

"I don't know how he made it as far as he did," Thompson said. "I'm glad no one was killed, that's for sure."

Bullet holes from a single shot were found in the engine compartment today of a car that was parked at Walmart the night of Jan. 22.

State Police investigators have been looking into the incident ever since the report was filed on it that evening.

Today, Investigator Andre Dunlap received a call after a local mechanic spotted a hole in the transmission of a car.

That was an unexpected twist in the case that so far has not led to an arrest.

Multiple law enforcement sources have said there may gang affiliations involved with the shooter and possible target and the shooting may be related to a prior incident months ago in the City of Batavia.

Dunlap said the owner of the car noticed the vehicle was not running right and that when the weather turned cold, the car wouldn't heat up.

The driver took the vehicle to a mechanic who had worked on the car previously and he put antifreeze in the radiator. The radiator immediately began to leak, so he replaced it.

When the owner got the car back, after a few days, it still didn't seem to run right and then it stopped working altogether.

This morning, the mechanic put the car on a lift and that's when he noticed the bullet hole in the transmission. Fortunately, he still had the old radiator and upon closer inspection, he found a bullet hole in the radiator, too.

There was also a hole in the compressor for the air conditioner.

But a thorough search of the engine compartment failed to turn up the actual bullet, and Dunlap suspects it fell to the ground at Walmart after hitting the transmission.

The investigation into the shot fired at Walmart is ongoing and no further information is available at this time.

A 21-year-old Alabama man remains in jail, accused of rape, after he allegedly forced a woman he knew into sexual intercourse as his way to settle an argument.

The man is accused both of forced intercourse and forced sexual contact, according to State Police.

Matthew R. Smith, of Lewiston Road, is charged with rape in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree.

He was jailed on $10,000 bail and is scheduled to reappear in Alabama Town Court at 1 p.m., Feb. 7.

Smith has been ordered to have absolutely no contact with the woman.

A tow-truck driver called to haul a damaged vehicle he was told had been involved in a deer accident helped the Sheriff's Office identify a driver allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident Dec. 30 in Bergen.

The driver had seen a post on The Batavian about the accident and the car he was asked to tow matched the description of the vehicle involved in the accident.

James Kavanagh, 24, of HIlton, was allegedly driving the car at the time of the accident. He was written tickets for misdemeanor leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation, uninspected motor vehicle and failure to yield right of way.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Raymond L. Leach Jr., who in August entered a guilty plea to criminal contempt is facing a new 16-account indictment for his alleged treatment of a local woman and his alleged sexual assault on an inmate at the Genesee County Jail.

Leach, 55, who was the subject of arrest reports in 2012 that listed his home address as both 29 Montclaire Ave., Batavia, and Munson Street in Le Roy, is accused of committing crimes in August (just five days after his conviction in county court) and November, 2012.

The Grand Jury of Genesee County indicted him on five counts of criminal contempt, 1st, a Class E felony, four counts of aggravated criminal contempt, a Class D felony, two counts of harassment, 2nd, a violation, and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse, 1st, a Class B felony.

On Aug. 14, Leach allegedly called a woman and told her, "I will kill you if I find out otherwise." An order of protection had reportedly been issued prior to the call.

The alleged incident accounts for the first four charges in the indictment.

On Aug. 15, Leach allegedly had contact with the same woman, in violation of the order of protection.

On that same day, Leach allegedly either struck, shoved and kicked the woman, or threatened to physically attack her.

The alleged incidents of Aug. 15 account for seven counts of the indictment.

On Nov. 21, Leach allegedly forced a toothbrush up the anus of another inmate, causing physical injury to the person. The inmate was allegedly asleep at the time.

The alleged incident in the jail accounts for five charges on the indictment.

Our first arrest report on Leach was in 2008, when Leach was accused of making a threatening phone call.

Steven Edward Rheinheimer, 18, of Beachwood Place, Cheektowaga, is charged with burglary, 3rd, and petit larceny. Rheinheimer is accused of entering a building in Darien and stealing property some time during the month of December. Rheinheimer allegedly returned to that location at a later date in December and stole property from outside of that building. He was arraigned and released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Elijah J. Dawson, 18, of 20 North Spruce St., Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd, and endangering the welfare of a child. Dawson is accused of punching and knocking down another person while in the presence of a child. Dawson was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Troy D. Hubler, 42, of 7634 Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd, failure to appear and unlicensed operation, 2nd. Hubler turned himself in on two warrants. He allegedly violated an order of protection and failed to appear on the unlicensed operation count. Hubler was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Alex S. Dumbleton, 19, of 121 Liberty St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harassment, 2nd. Dumbleton is accused of punching a person under age 17 several times.

Derek F. McQueen, 25, of Akron, is charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child. McQueen was arrested by State Police in relation to an alleged incident reported at 1:04 p.m., Jan. 12. No further details were released. McQueen was jailed on $5,000 bail.

Bernard L. Evans, 42, Pavilion, is charged with criminal contempt and harassment, 2nd. Evans was arrested by State Police in connection with an alleged incident reported at 1:17 p.m., Sunday. No further details released. Evans was jailed on $2,500 bail.

Police have completed an investigation into a report of a shot being fired near a home on Keeney Road, Le Roy, on Jan. 11 and charged a resident of the street with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Howard Clarence Schultz, 54, was also charged with two counts of illegal discharge of a weapon within 500 feet of a residence.

Deputies and state troopers responded the night of Jan. 11 after a Keeney Road resident reported a shot fired near his home and even thought a person with a gun had been on his porch.

Keeney Road was closed by officers and there were some tense moments as they observed a person in a house who they believed had a gun.

After several minutes the man came out and the situation was resolved without further incident.

Initially, Schultz was arrested on a warrant out of the Town of Greece.

Schultz reportedly has a prior felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The two counts stem from the alleged Jan. 11 incident and from an allegation that Schultz possessed a firearm while hunting Dec. 5.

Schultz was issued an appearance ticket and is ordered to appear in Town of Le Roy Court on Feb. 19 for arraignment.

The incident and investigation were handled by Deputy Frank Bordonaro, Deputy Howard Butler, Deputy Joseph Graff, Deputy Eric Seppala, Sgt. Ron Meides, Trooper Holly Hanssel and Trooper Mark Catanzaro, Trooper Ryan Dulkiewicz and Environmental Conservation Officer Rick Rauscher.

A Fairmont Avenue resident will serve a three-month intermittment jail sentence as a result of welfare fraud in 2011.

Lee Heckman, 35, of 5 Fairmont Ave., Batavia, was sentenced today in Town of Batavia Court by Judge Michael Cleveland.

He admitted in March to obtaining under false pretenses $2,176.13 in temporary assistance and food stamps through DSS from March 2011 through July 2011.

Hackman was working as a self-employed scrap recycler while drawing benefits and didn't disclose the income.

According to DSS officials, Hackman has already paid his restitution.