crime

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is investigating several residential burglaries in the southwest area of the city. Entries to all residences were made in similar fashion via unsecured doors. Taken from the residences were items such as laptop computers, small electronics, gift cards and jewelry.

All incidents are similar in nature and are occurring during daylight hours.

Police will be increasing patrol activities in this area. The police department is also asking residents to be observant for, and to report, any strange activity or unknown persons in their neighborhood. Police ask that residents not attempt to intervene, but rather obtain a description of the person or persons involved, any vehicles involved as well as any direction of travel. Residents are encouraged to call 9-1-1 immediately and report the incident.

All residents are reminded of the importance of locking the doors to their homes even during the daytime hours. Residents are also reminded of the importance of documenting serial numbers or other identifying numbers of valuable items in the event they become lost or stolen. This documentation will assist the police in tracking the items if necessary.

Anyone with information regarding these burglaries, or any unsolved crime, is encouraged to contact the Batavia Police Department at 345-6350. Residents may also contact the Batavia Police Department’s Confidential Tip Line at 345-6370.

Darryl P. James, 30, of Darien, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, moving from lane unsafely, open container, failure to submit to breath test, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. The Wyoming County Sheriff's Office received a complaint at 4:42 a.m., Christmas Day, of a vehicle operating on a resident's driveway on Church Road, Bennington, and James was arrested following further investigation. James allegedly has two prior DWI convictions. James was jailed on $25,000 bail.

Bryan Michael Wharton, 25, of Clover Crossing, Manchester, is charged with unlawful possession of untaxed cigarettes. Wharton was stopped at 4:16 p.m., Dec. 23, for alleged equipment violations on Gabbey Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy. He was allegedly found in possession of untaxed cigarettes.

Alberto Laboy-Bertran, 74, of North Plymouth Avenue, Rochester, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and unlicensed operator. Laboy-Bertran is accused of driving at 11:40 a.m., Sunday, with 31 active driver's license suspensions and revocations dating back to 2000. Laboy-Bertran was jailed on $25,000 bail.

Aaron David Prusak, 25, of Park Street, Warsaw, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument and aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Prusak was located in a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado at 10:31 p.m., Friday, parked in the roadway of Route 19 in Bergen. Upon investigation by Sgt. Greg Walker and Deputy Joseph Graff, Prusak was allegedly found in possession of a needle and a controlled substance.

Ryan Nicholas DeSantis, 19, of South Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. DeSantis is accused of shoplifting while working at Kmart.

Kyle David Ferguson, 20, of Maltby Road, Oakfield, is charged with petit larceny. Ferguson is accused of shoplifting while working at Kmart.

Timothy L. Taylor, 38, of 219 N. Spruce St., #124, Batavia, is charged with assault, 3rd, criminal obstruction of breathing and reckless endangerment, 2nd. Taylor was picked up by the State Police at a location on West Main Street Road on an unrelated matter Saturday and turned over to the Batavia PD on a warrant for the listed charges. Taylor is also accused of violating the terms of Drug Treatment Court. Taylor was jailed on $5,000 bail for the alleged criminal offenses and $100,000 for the alleged violation of drug court terms. He is schedule to reappear in city court on Dec. 26.

Scott N. Cameron, 30, of 25 Vine St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child. Cameron is accused of hitting a family member who is under age 17.

Benjamin L. Brade, 30, of 12 Denio St., Batavia, is  charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Brade is accused of violating an order of protection by being under the influence of alcohol while with the protected party.

Carl I. Sherman, 33, of 68 Dix St., Rochester, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Sherman was picked up by Rochester PD and turned over to Batavia PD on a warrant related to the listed charges. Sherman posted $500 bail.

Emily V. Salvatore, 30, of Bergen, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Salvatore was stopped by State Police at 11:27 p.m., Friday, on Route 31, Albion.

John Lee Smith, 38, of Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, avoiding intersection, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely. Smith was stopped at 9:49 p.m., Saturday, on West Main Street Road, Batavia, by Deputy Frank Bordonaro. Smith was allegedly observed avoiding the intersection at River Street and Main Street and not maintaining his lane.

Jeffrey J. Cervone, 44, of Skye Road, Basom, is charged with petit larceny. Cervone was taken into custody by the State Police out of Clarence and turned over to the Sheriff's Office on a bench warrant.

Gary Howard Waters, 35, of East Avenue, Gasport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18, speed not reasonable and prudent, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and failure to keep right. Waters was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Jason Saile and Deputy Eric Seppala into a motor vehicle accident at 3:03 a.m., Saturday, on Lewiston Road, Oakfield.

Robert A. Barnhart Jr., of Le Roy, was arrested on a warrant by the Wyoming County Sheriff's Office. Barnhart is accused of owing several thousands of dollars in restitution from a prior case.

State Police are asking the public assistance to help locate the driver and car involved in a hit-and-run car vs. pedestrian accident Friday night in front of Batavia Downs Casino.

The car is described as a red four-door sedan, possibly a Chevrolet Malibu.

The car may have front grill, hood and windshield damage.

The victim was hit by the car, according to Sgt. Ron Lobur, rolled up onto the hood, hit the windshield and then rolled off the front the car and was nearly struck a second time.

"The victim is very, very fortunate to come away with only minor injuries," Lobur said.

Information about the victim is not being released yet, Lobur said, pending following up on leads that have come in, or may come in, as a result of the request for more information.

Anybody with information that may assist in the investigation are asked to call the State Police at 343-2200.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is investigating three reported residential burglaries which occurred during the day to early evening hours on Thursday, Dec. 20.

The burglaries occurred on Pearl Street, Madison Avenue and on South Main Street.

Entry to the residences was gained through unsecured doors.

Taken from the residences was a laptop computer, a Kindle tablet, a telephone, an XBOX game system, jewelry, cash and medication.

Anyone having observed or observing any suspicious activity or having information is asked to contact the Batavia Police Department at 345-6350, or to access the Batavia Police Confidential Tip Line at 345-6370.

Mikel Anthony Anderson, 21, of Eagle Street, Medina, is charged with harassment 2nd. Anderson is accused of pushing a family member several times during a dispute. Anderson was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Alicia Maria Stankwick, 21, of Ellicott Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for allegedly falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement. The alleged false report was filed at 5:18 a.m., Oct. 21. Stankwick was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Tanya Lee Thyret, 34, of Clinton Street, Batavia, was arrested on a warrant for allegedly issuing bad checks in June. She faces two counts.

Holly L. Gambino, 47, of 7273 Morrow Road, Covington, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Gambino was located and arrested on a warrant. She is accused of refusing to return a car to its proper owner, who is an acquaintance of Gambino's. Gambino was held pending a court appearance today.

Leonard Charles Millard, 55, of Highland Park, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for an alleged failure to pay a court-imposed fine. Millard turned himself into the Sheriff's Office. He was arraigned in Genesee County Court and released pending further court proceedings.

Jon Hoyt Bush, 29, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Bush turned himself in on a warrant out of Batavia City Court.

David Allen Draper, 32, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding (84 in a 55 mph zone) and uninspected motor vehicle. Draper was stopped at 10:04 p.m. Monday on Route 5 in Batavia by Deputy Tim Wescott.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office is warning about a computer scam that has apparently hit at least one person locally and prompted a call to law enforcement.

The scam apparently involves a computer virus or Trojan horse of some type that locks up a user's computer while surfing a questionable site on the Web.

A red screen flashes and a verbal message activates informing the user that the FBI has frozen the user's computer due to some supposed violation and demands $300 be paid to the "FBI" via "money pac" before the computer will be unfrozen.

"This appears to be some sort of scam/virus that would probably require a professional to fix as the FBI doesn't not conduct investigations this way," said Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble.

There is information about the scam and how to deal with it that can be found in a Google search.

Dibble questioned whether some of solutions found online might also be a scam and suggested that inexperienced, or non-expert users contact a computer professional for assistance if they suspect such a problem.

Users should have good virus protection installed, Dibble noted, and said users should be careful about their Web travel.

My take: I get a lot of e-mails from people around the community who have added me to their address book with what to me are dangerous attachments or bogus links. This means that people who downloaded such an attachment or opened such a link got their computer infected.

Unless you're on guard against such malware, and especially if you use Windows, it's pretty much inevitiable you will get some sort of virus on your machine.

The best computer security is: never open attachments or click on links that you're not sure about. I never open attachments of any kind that are part of a chain e-mail (forwarded from one person to another) or click on links that look like they will take me to a Web site I'm not confident is legitimate. 

If you're not sure of an e-mail communication ... even from your mother ... don't open it, don't download the attachment, don't click the link. If necessary, call and verify that the person meant to send that e-mail to you.

Press release from Det. Sgt. Patrick J. Corona:

The Batavia Police Department has received, and is investigating, reports of fraudulent individuals posing as legitimate collection agencies, making telephone contact with persons and attempting to acquire cash payments.

Residents should be on guard for this activity and never give out personal information over the telephone.

The individuals involved in this activity are potentially committing offenses of larceny by fraud, identity theft, and criminal impersonation. Individuals involved in this activity could be subject to federal prosecution.

Anyone having questions in regards to the legitimacy of persons making such contact with them over the telephone should contact their local police

Jamie R. Bachorski, 18, of Oakfield, is charged with two counts of burglary, 3rd. Bachorski is accused of stealing two ATVs from a storage shed on Batavia Oakfield Townline Road over the summer. He's also accused of entering a pole barn on Fisher Road and stealing an ATV. Bachorski was jailed on $10,000 bail for alleged violation of probation. The case was investigated by Deputy Tim Wescott, Youth Officer John Dehm and Investigator Roger Stone.

Joseph Thomas Bortie, 41, of Knowlesville Road, Alabama, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, moving from lane unsafely and driving across hazardous marking. Bortie was stopped at 4:28 p.m. Monday on Route 262, Byron, following a report of an erratic driver on westbound Route 262. Deputy Chad Minuto located Bortie's vehicle a short time later near Transit Road. Minuto said he saw Bortie's vehicle cross into the eastbound lane and almost collide with another vehicle. Bortie was taken into custody following field tests. He was released on an appearance ticket.

Jennifer Lynn Sprague, 29, of Pringle Avenue, Batavia, is charged with falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement. Sprague was taken into custody on Central Avenue on a warrant for the charge out of Town of Bergen Court. She was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Another member of an alleged meth distribution ring in Genesee County that was broken up in 2009 has been sentenced in federal court, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today.

Andrew Chapman, 42, of Batavia, will serve two years on probation for his part in the distribution of methamphetamine.

In June, Chapman admitted in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, methamphetamine.

Chapman received the meth he sold from Donald G. Vanelli II, 49, of Le Roy, who is serving more than 17 years for his role in the sale and distribution of meth locally.

Three other people were arrested in the raids in 2009.

All of the cases have been resolved, except that of Donna L. Boon (aka Donna McAuley), who lives at 3658 Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road. Her original charges were dropped but she remains under federal indictment for other alleged offenses.

Roxanne G. Rowe, 25, of Maple Avenue, Oakfield, is charged with animal cruelty and unlawful possession of marijuana. Rowe is accused of trying to harm a neighbor's dog by placing pieces of metal in a meat product and making it available for the dog to eat. At the time of her arrest -- 10:15 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy Brian Thompson -- Rowe also allegedly possessed marijuana.

Lakiesha A. Gibson, 26, of 13 Williams St., Lockport, is charged with disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Gibson is accused of shouting obscenities while outside on Thorpe Street at 10:20 p.m., Saturday. Gibson also allegedly refused to remove two children out of the roadway and away from a dispute.

Timothy J. Wenzel, 19, of 13 Harvester Ave., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Wenzel was allegedly seen with a person who is protected by a "stay away" order of protection.

Makeen K. Ithna-Asheri, 52, of 111 State St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Ithna-Asheri allegedly entered a residence he had previously been advised not to enter.

Danielle M. Stevens, 36, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with three counts of petit larceny. Stevens is accused of stealing $140 and a gold pendant from a relative's house within a six-week period. Stevens was jailed on $500 bail.

Brenden Kirstipher Steck, 23, of Broadway Road, Darien, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Steck was allegedly found to be the operator of a disabled motor vehicle on Route 20 in Darien at 1:15 a.m., Saturday, by Deputy James Diehl.

Joseph E. Marr, 34, of Attica, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Marr was reportedly involved in a motor vehicle accident at 10:13 p.m. Friday on Keeney Road, Le Roy. He was arrested by State Police.

A clerk at the Sugar Creek store on Lake Street in Le Roy has reported the larceny of a cup of coffee, allegedly by a resident of Le Roy Manor. "It's apparently an ongoing problem," says the dispatcher. Le Roy PD is responding.

Two women were reportedly fighting in front of BJ's Wholesale Club and one of them is now "walking toward the Chinese restaurant." One has blond hair and the other has brown curly hair. Law enforcement is responding.

If somebody calls your house claiming to be a DEA agent or from some other agency and threatens to raid your house unless you pay up a sum of money -- it's a scam.

Apparently, this is an ongoing scam and the Batavia PD is warning residents not to fall for it.

"The Batavia Police Department would like remind citizens to not provide personal information or send money to individuals over the phone," states the press release.

New York's VINE service has sent out a notification that Jacquetta Simmons, inmate ID 12G0988, was released from prison today.

Simmons was released under a court order signed by Associate Justice Rose Sconiers, Appellent Division, 4th Department. Sconiers ordered the release, on $50,000 bond, pending an appeal by Simmons that the five-year prison sentenced handed down by Judge Robert C. Noonan is overly harsh.

Representatives of Simmons posted the bond for Simmons yesterday and Noonan signed the release order.

Under the terms of Sconiers' order, attorneys for Simmons have until May 31 to "perfect" the appeal -- meaning produce a brief on all the points of law relative to the items under appeal, which includes both the term of her sentence and whether Simmons received a fair trial.

A three-judge panel of the NYS Supreme Court will conduct a hearing on the points of appeal and render a decision at a later date. What happens next for Simmons will depend on the outcome of the appeal.

Simmons was convicted by a jury following a weeklong trial Aug. 24 of second-degree assault under a section of the law that covers an assault by a much younger person hitting and injuring a person 65 or older.

At the time of the Christmas Eve confrontation last year between Simmons and Grace Suozzi, a Walmart cashier, Simmons was 27 and Suozzi was 70.

A jury convicted a 26-year-old Le Roy man Thursday of a Class B felony that could send him to prison for five to 25 years for getting a teen girl drunk and forcing her into sexual relations.

Alexander J. Kessler, of Myrtle Street, was convicted by unanimous verdict of criminal sexual act, 1st, criminal sexual act, 3rd, sexual abuse, 1st, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful dealing with a child.

The top count carries a mandatory prison sentence of at least five years.

Sentencing is set for March 5.

Kessler was arrested by Le Roy PD in March and accused of supplying alcohol and marijuana to a girl under age 17 and then subjecting her to sexual contact without her consent and while she was unable to consent.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell, who tried the case, said the jury found the testimony of the victim both compelling and credible, which was key to winning a conviction.

The trial started Monday and the jury reached a verdict following two and a quarter hours of deliberations.

Philip Clarke McMahon, 72, of Creamery Road, Bergen, is charged with disorderly conduct. McMahon was stopped at 7:59 a.m. in the area of 8097 Clinton St. Road, Bergen, for an alleged traffic violation by Deputy Jason Saile. McMahon is accused of using obscene language in a public place.

Brian Feurimond, 21, of Saint Raymond Avenue, Bronx, is charged with trespass. Feurimond was allegedly found on College Village property after previously being banned from the housing complex.

David Lavelle Andrews, 25, Wood Street, Batavia, is charged with trespass. Andrews is accused of being at College Village after previously being banned from the property.

Russell Ray Miles, 44, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with a violation of probation. Miles was released from jail on an unrelated matter and taken into custody on a warrant out of Town of Le Roy Court for an alleged violation of probation. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Lemar Jerimain Leach, 27, of Central Avenue, Batavia, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation. Leach was wanted on a bench warrant related to the listed charge. Leach was jailed on $200 bail.

Two former city firefighters and a state employee who entered guilty pleas earlier this week on an illegal gambling charge and agreed to resign their government jobs will still receive partial state pensions when they reach retirement age.

City Manager Jason Molino confirmed today that Brian Bordinaro and Gregory Phillips, who worked for the city 18 and 17 years respectively, are still covered by the New York State Retirement System.

He said that's state law and there's nothing the city can do about it.

"In New York you get credit for time served and they can't take that away from you," Molino said.

According to the state's retirement system site, tier 4 employees who stop working for a state or local entity before reaching the 20th year of service are eligible for 1/60th of their final annual salary for each year he or she worked.

Using the calculations from the site, 43-year-old Bordinaro, based on his 2012 salary of $62,000, if he waited until age 62 to retire, could receive in the neighborhood of $18,000 a year, or $1,500 per month.

The 39-year-old Phillips, with a 2012 salary of $57,000, could receive approximately $16,000 annually or $1,300 per month.

The salary data comes from See Through New York. The state's retirement system uses a specific formula to calculate the final annual salary, and there are other factors that go into the calculation, so readers should use the figures merely as a gauge meant to provide an idea of the retirement eligibility that is possible.

The third man who participated in the gambling activity, Lance Engel, 41, worked for the state as a cook at the veterans home in Batavia. He is also part of the retirement system, and with 17 yeas of service and a 2012 salary of $45,000 could receive approximately $12,000 annually starting at age 62.