crime

Dawn M. Piasta, 61, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Piasta was arrested on a sealed indictment. She is accused of selling crack cocaine to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force while in the City of Batavia. She was held on the warrant pending arraignment in Genesee County Court.

Jessica R. Reddy, 24, of McVean Road, Darien, is charged with two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd. Reddy is accused of selling hydrocodone to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force while in the Town of Pembroke and in the Town of Alexander. Reddy was held pending arraignment in Genesee County Court.

Michael A. Saeli, 47, of Scribner Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal possession of marijuana, 3rd, and unlawful growing of cannabis. Saeli is accused of having 87 marijuana plants growing on his property with an aggregate weight of more than eight ounces. He was issued an appearance ticket.

Eric Jon Merritt, 27, of Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding and operating out of class. Merritt was allegedly exceeding the posted speed limit of 55 mph on Route 5 in Batavia at 2:40 a.m. Sunday while operating a motorcycle on a learner's permit when he was stopped by Deputy Ryan Young.

Dashawn Devan Hazel, 22, of Saint Mary Street, Bronx, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Hazel was arrested on a warrant during a traffic stop.

Treshaun David Perry, 21, of Lewis Place, Batavia, is charged with driving while impaired by drugs and speeding. Perry was stopped on Prole Road, Stafford, at 3:29 p.m. Saturday by Deputy Ryan DeLong.

Robert Michael Markek, 39, of Clapsaddle Road, East Bethany, is charged with grand larceny 4th. Markek allegedly stole items from his employer on East Main Street , Batavia, and sold the items as scrap.

Jacklyn M. Ganzhorn, 29, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property 5th.  Ganzhorn was located at 17 Centural Avenue during an investigation into reports of items stolen from unlocked vehicles.

Rodney A. Barber, 41, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, unlawful imprisonmeant 2nd, tampering with physical evidence, assault 2nd, menacing 2nd. Barber was arrested on a warrant.

Brian J. Dorman, 32, of Oak Orcharged Road, Albion, was arrested for alleged failure to answer a summons, Dorman is accused of failure to appear on a charged of haborboring an unlicensed dog in the city.

Joey A. Evans, 26, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen preopty 5th. Evans was allegedly found in possession of a metal detector that had been reported stolen.

Roberts M. Freeman, 24, no permanent address, is charged with failure to appear. Freeman allegedly failed to appear on a an appearance ticket.

Benjamin G. Evans, IV, 28, of Hutchins Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to appear. Evans was arrested on four separate warrants.

Pamela M. Tiberio, 56, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with dog running at large. Tiberio responded to Batavia PD headquarters and was arrested on multiple complaints of her dog running at large.

Chelsea M. Mutter, 23, of Jackson Street, Batavia, is charged with failure to appear. Mutter was arrested on a warrant.

An unidentified 16-year-old is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The tenn was allegedly found in possession of marijuana on the campus of Batavia HS.

Mark Edward Snyder, 54, of School Road, Stafford, is charged with stalking 4th .Snyder alleged displayed odd and threatening behavior toward another person in Stafford over a period of time.

Joey Lee Wells, Jr., 27, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, failed to stop at stop sign and no turn signal. Wells was stopped at 5:32 a.m., Thursday, on Apple Tree Avenue, Bergen, by Deputy Jermey McClellan.

Jacqueline Bettina Jacobs, 33, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, introducing contraband into jail 1st, criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th. Jacobs was charged with DWI and allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance while being booked into jail. Further charges possible pending completion of an investigation.

Timothy Mark Brady, 53, of Jerico Road, Bergen, is charged with resisting arrest. Deputies attempted to arrest Brady on a warrant stemming from charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful growing of cannabis and unlawful possession of marijuana. Brady was confronted outside his residence and allegedly attempted to flee on foot and was taken into custody after a short chase. He was jailed on $5,000 bail or $10,000 bond.

Rosemary R. Jackson, 30, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Jackson is accused of shoplifting from Walmart.

Karl R. Samuelson, 62, of Albion Road, Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Samuelson was arrested at 5:27 p.m. on Oct. 27 on Lewiston Road in Batavia after he allegedly stole a bottle of liquour from Mr. Wine & Liquor in Tops Plaza. He was released with an appearance ticket for City Court on Nov. 22. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen.

A 16-year-old who lives on Liberty Street in Batavia is charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly engaging in a physical altercation with another student at Batavia High School at 3 p.m. on Oct. 28. The defendant was issued an appearance ticket for Nov. 8 in Batavia City Court. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Chad Richards, assisted by Officer Jamie Givens.

Miracle Angel Patterson, 25, no permanent address, of Rochester, was arrested on a warrant out of Batavia City Court on Oct. 30 after being located in Rochester on an unrelated incident. Patterson is charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property stemming from an incident on Jan. 26, 2015 on Park Road Road, Batavia. Patterson was arraigned and held in Genesee County Jail without bail. Patterson was due in City Court on Oct. 31. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Joseph M. Marsceill, 31, of Central Avenue, Batavia, was arrested on Oct. 31 on a bench warrant out of Batavia Town Court. He was advised to appear in Batavia City Court at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 and was subsequently arraigned and put in Genesee County Jail on $350 bail. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk, assisted by Officer Mitchell Cowen.

Richard E. Stafford, 76, of Orange Grove Drive, Batavia, is charged with failure to appear in court regarding an unspecified incident on May 9 on East Main Street, Batavia. Stafford was arrested Oct. 31 on a warrant out of Batavia Town Court after being released from UMMC. He was arraigned in City Court then put in Genesee County Jail on $500 bail. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot.

Ryan R. Hernandez, 19, of Albion Road, Oakfield, is charged with failure to appear on a bench warrant. During an unrelated investigation, Hernandez was located inside a residence on Walnut Street in the City of Batavia. He was subsequently arrested, posted cash bail, and was released from custody. He is scheduled to be in City Court on Nov. 3. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Marc Lawrence, assisted by Officer Jason Davis.

Jeffrey William Scott, 33, of Market Street, Leicester, is charged with: driving while ability impaired by drugs; operating a  motor vehicle while registration is suspended; operating motor vehicle without insurance; unsafe tires; and failure to keep right. Scott was originally involved in a one-vehicle accident on Fargo Road in the Town of Stafford on June 2. As a result, he was flown by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center. On Oct. 26, he turned himself in at the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and was arrested on the charges. Scott was released on appearance tickets for Stafford Town Court on Nov. 17. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Forsyth, assisted by Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Saile.

A Level 3 sex offender facing a possible life sentence on his latest charges alleged sexual conduct with a child won't get a chance to make bail, Interim Judge Micheal Pietruszka ruled in Genesee County Court this morning.

Pietruszka cited the five felony convictions, including two violent felonies, and five prior violations of terms of probation when ordering Marlek E. Holmes, 42, of Batavia, held without bail.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman requested a no-bail status because if convicted of the two Class A felonies in the last indictment -- predatory sexual assault and predatory sexual assault against a child -- Holmes could be sent to prison for the rest of his life.

In all, Holmes is charged with 11 counts related to alleged sex crimes between 2010 and 2015, plus there are also charges still pending stemming from two prior incidents where Holmes allegedly failed to register his correct street address as a registered sex offender.

His attorney will have until Dec 16 to file any motions in the case, and a hearing on any motions was scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Jan. 11.

Linda L. Osowski, 49, of Lancaster, is charged with: felony DWI, refusal of prescreening device -- breath test, and consumption of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle. On Oct. 27, the defendant was found in the parking lot of Pembroke Imtermediate School after police officers responded to a complaint about a sick or intoxicated driver at the location. Upon interviewing the operator and having her exit the vehicle to perform field tests, she was subsequently arrested. Osowski was arraigned in Pembroke Town Court and jailed on $5,000 cash or bond. The case was handled by Village of Corfu Police Officer Peter Scanio, assisted by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Lonnie Nati.

Via our news partner, 13WHAM. (Note: this is an edit from the broadcast version to replace video we can't use on The Batavian with our own photos.)

A resident in the Village of Bergen caught somebody trying to steal his Trump sign from his front yard this morning.

The South Main Street resident confronted the would-be sign thief and the thief returned the sign, then got in his vehicle and drove off.

The incident was reported to the Sheriff's Office at 9:30 a.,m., according to Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

The license plate number provided did not match a valid plate and the suspect was not caught.

Yesterday, the Sheriff's Office received a complaint of political sign thefts in Elba.

UPDATE: A reader reports that he confronted people stealing his Trump sign at his residence on South Lake Street, Bergen. "I ran in front of the car and forced it to stop," he said. He said two women were in the car and he said they had at least one other Trump sign in the car.  "I got my sign back and called the Sheriff, who came out and took info." The women were in a black Jeep. The reader said he's heard of several Trump signs being stolen in the area.

Robert S. Sojda, 52, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. At 10:52 p.m. on Oct. 25 Batavia Police responded to the Speedway convenience store at 204 W. Main St. for the report of a larceny. While police were on scene, Sojda returned to the store and he was taken into custody. He allegedly stole a Mike's Harder Lemonade by placing the can inside his sweatshirt prior to leaving the Speedway. He was issued an appearance ticket for Nov. 1 in City Court. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Erick Perkins.

Dakota O. Irvin, 25, of Ross Street, Batavia, turned himself into Batavia Police headquarters Oct. 24 on a bench warrant after he failed to appear in City Court for a traffic ticket issued Oct. 19 for third-degree aggravated unlicensed operator. He was jailed on $500 bail and was due in City Court this afternoon. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Arick Perkins.

A convicted sexual predator has been arrested and accused of sexual contact with a child.

Marlek E. Holmes, 42, of Batavia, is being held without bail after being arraigned in County Court on an 11-count grand jury indictment.

The assaults allegedly occurred in the City of Batavia and Village of Le Roy from 2010 to 2015.

He is charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, two counts of incest in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, rape in the third degree, criminal sexual abuse in the third degree and two counts of incest in the third degree.

Holmes has previously been arrested locally on charges of failure to register a change of address as a Level 3 sexual offender and of sending indecent texts to a child.

A resident at 21 Main St. in the Village of Elba reports the larceny of political signs from his front lawn. Sheriff's deputies are responding to the complaint.

Heather Ace was hanging out at a friend's house drinking Four Loko* the night of May 20 when her mother tried to call her and tell her that her house on Bank Street Road was on fire, according to a statement Ace gave to investigators.

When Ace didn't answer the phone, her mother sent her a text message, according to a statement by Tracy Ace, that read, "Answer your f---ing phone."

Heather answered on the next ring.

According to Heather's friend, Ashki Zajaczkowski, Heather dropped the phone and started screaming.

Zajaczkowski drove Heather to 8157 State Street Road, Batavia, where she lived with her three boys, including two fraternal twins, Micah and Michael Gard, and before Zajaczkowski would even stop the car, Heather was running from the car hysterically. 

The evening wasn't supposed to go as it did, according to the statements. Heather Ace was planning to go to the movies with Zajaczkowski and other friends, but as afternoon turned to evening, nobody really felt like heading out of town.

Ace put her two children to bed sometime between 8 and 8:30 p.m. and then headed over to a friend's house. She smoked some weed and then went to the Speedway and bought a can of Four Loko and some water before heading over to Zajaczkowski's house.

The two boys were locked in their room, with a lock on the kitchen side of the door put in place after the boys wandered out of the house over to the neighboring house, the residence of their grandparents.

When firefighters arrived that night, they also found the door leading into the apartment kitchen locked. Heather Ace said in her statement, she didn't know how the door became locked. She said she didn't lock it before leaving the house. Tracy Ace said it wasn't Heather's practice to lock the door because her husband needed access to the basement, where he stored his tools.

The cause of the fire has never been determined.

Micah and Michael died in the fire and Heather Ace has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

She appeared in Town of Batavia Court yesterday and entered a not guilty plea.

She is represented by public defender Jerry Ader, who said yesterday he had not yet had a chance to discuss the case with his client.

Photo: Previously unpublished, officers dealing with distraught people at the scene of the fire.

*Four Loko is a flavored, malted alcoholic beverage.

Cassandra Blake was jailed today on $250 bail or $500 bond for her alleged role in taking a labradoodle from the kennel where she worked, posting an ad for it on Craigslist under the alias Amy Fairview and then selling the dog, which was actually a family pet belonging to somebody else.

Sources told our news partner 13WHAM that Blake has been known to sell pets on Craigslist recently.

In 2014, Blake was indicted in Genesee County on a grand larceny charge. Blake was accused of stealing 245 lottery tickets with a face value of $1,028, along with payouts from those tickets and other cash, from the Yellow Goose store in Pavilion.

That charge led to Blake being placed on probation, and that probation was later transferred to Monroe County.

Cynthia May Mack, 49, of Pearl Street Road, Batavia, is charged with harassment and false personation. Following the investigation into a domestic incident at 10:07 a.m. on Oct. 21 on East Main Road, Le Roy, Mack was arrested after allegedly punching an individual in the face while in presence of law enforcment, and she allegedly provided them with a false name. She was put in jail and is due in Le Roy Town Court on Oct. 27. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Rachel Diehl.

Danielle Marie Stewart, 18, of East Main Road, Stafford, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Following the investigation at 12:23 a.m. on Oct. 25 into a suspicious condition in a parking lot on Main Road in the Town of Stafford, Stewart was allegedly found to be in possession of marijuana. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Stafford Court on Nov. 15. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Eric Meyer.

Tyler Penepent, 22, avoided a possible 25-year term by accepting a plea deal.

Co-defendant Justin Smith also entered a plea deal previously and has already been sentenced to three years in prison.

The duo was captured because a clerk in the 7-Eleven recognized Smith and they were taken into custody within hours of the robbery. 

They were charged with robbery in the first degree after entering the store at 2:30 a.m. March 14 wearing ski masks. They confronted the clerk and demanded the code to the cash register. They took off with an undetermined amount of cash.

Via our news partner WBTA.

At 84-years-old, soon to be 85, Laura Viehdeffer is likely the oldest person to ever plead guilty to a drug sales charge.

Viehdeffer, a resident of West Main Street, Batavia, was arrested May 25 for two incidents nearly a year before when she sold hydrocodone, which she had a prescription for, to an agent of the Local Drug Task Force. She entered a guilty plea in August to one count of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

She was sentenced yesterday to five years probation by Interim Judge Michael Pietruzska.

Defense attorney Jamie Welch argued that given his client's lack of criminal record and advanced age, a conditional discharge (meaning the conviction is wiped clean if she stayed out of trouble for six months) was the most appropriate sentence.

 “This is unlike the 20-, 30- or 40-year-old defendants facing these charges,” Welch said.

Pietruzska made no comment on Welch's argument before sentencing Viehdeffer.

Viehdeffer made no statement prior to being sentenced.

Photo and info via our news partner, WBTA.

The former Batavia mother who is accused of leaving her two young children home alone before a fire broke out, killing both little boys, made her first court appearance today on charges of endangering the welfare of a child; she entered a not guilty plea.

Public Defender Jerry Ader told Justice Micheal Cleveland that he had not yet been able to meet with his client and asked that her case be continued to 10:30 a.m., Nov. 21.

Ace made no statement during the short proceeding.

Investigators have not said where they believe Ace went the night of May 20, allegedly leaving her 2-year-old twins, Micah and Michael Gard, unsupervised at 8157 State Street Road, Batavia.

The children were inside their bedroom at the residence at the time. The investigation determined that the fire originated either inside of, or in close proximity to, the children's bedroom. The cause of the fire remains undetermined.

Ace, out of jail on her own recognizance, was given revised release orders. Cleveland ordered her to report for supervision to Genesee Justice.

ADA Melissa Cianfrini asked Cleveland to order Ace undergo alcohol evaluation, but Cleveland's order specified only that she not consume alcohol or non-prescription drugs while the case is pending.

Ace appeared in court accompanied by several friends and family members.

An attempted burglary has been reported -- didn't catch the address -- and there is damage to a door. The suspects were last seen fleeing west on Route 5 -- in a golf cart. Law enforcement is responding.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m.: Law enforcement is out with the golf cart, a Yamaha. No word on arrests.