Joseph Anthony Auricchio, 21, of Route 20, Darien, is charged with petit larceny and promoting prison contraband, 2nd. Auricchio is accused of stealing two candy bars from a Volunteers for Animals donation box at the Genesee County Animal Shelter and then attempting to bring those candy bars into the Genesee County Jail. According to the Sheriff's Office, Auricchio was made a trustee July 6 to replace as trustee an inmate scheduled to be released. On July 6, Auricchio was among three inmates tasked with custodial duties at the animal shelter. When the three inmates were returned to the jail by Deputy Ron Meides, a search allegedly found the candy bars hidden in Auricchio underwear. The candy bars were unapproved merchandise to allegedly bring into the jail.

Bradley J. Broadbent, 32, no permanent address, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th. Broadbent is accused of entering bathrooms of an office complex at 29 Liberty St., Batavia, and damaging fixtures some time before 3:20 p.m., July 6. Broadbent is currently being held in the Genesee County Jail on several other charges stemming from alleged events that same day.

Kenneth Scott Lathrop, 25, of Ruhlmann Road, Lockport, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, and open container with intent to consume. Lathrop was allegedly found in a Monte Carlo parked at the side of the road on Route 262 just east of Fisher Road, Oakfield. Deputy Tim Wescott had responded to the area at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, after the Sheriff's Office received reports of a Monte Carlo speeding and unsafely passing other vehicles.

Patricia Marie Anderson, 27, of Walkers Corners Road, Byron, is charged with petit larceny. Anderson is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.

Katherine L. Urf, 51, and Joseph M. Franchi-Platten, 28, of 218 Elicott St., lower, Batavia, are charged with petit larceny. Urf and Franchi-Platten are accused of shoplifting food items from Tops.

Joanne Jefferson, 53, of 23 Walden Creek Drive, Batavia, is charged with felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, driving left of pavement markings and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Jefferson was arrested after Batavia PD received a report at 10:22 p.m., Saturday, of an erratic driver heading west on Route 5 into the city. Jefferson was stopped by Sgt. Dan Coffey. Jefferson allegedly has a prior DWI conviction within the past 10 years. She was jailed on $500 bail.

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A 4-wheeler accident with injuries is reported a 3808 Pearl St. Road in the Town of Batavia. Mercy EMS and East Pembroke Fire Department are responding.

UPDATE 7:17 p.m.: East Pembroke's fire equipment is being held in quarters. The ambulance is continuing.

UPDATE 7:29 p.m.: No word on injuries. The assignment is back in service.

Early Saturday morning, some Le Roy residents reported seeing a young man going through vehicles and sneaking through yards.

One resident reportedly spotted the man on the rooftop of a residence on Lake Street.

When Le Roy PD first responded, the subject could not be located.

When another resident called in a report of the subject in a back yard, Le Roy PD converged on the location near Lake and Pleasant streets.

The subject allegedly fled on foot and was apprehended after a short chase.

Taken into custody was Tyler F. Longhini, 20, of no permanent address.

At the time of his arrest, Longhini possessed allegedly stolen property, including two GPS units, a Sprint LG phone and prescription medications.

Among the complaints received by police that are being investigated for possible involvement by Longhini is an early morning invasion burglary into an apartment occupied by a resident.

As the morning rolled on, Le Roy PD continued receiving complaints of thefts from numerous unlocked vehicles and an attempted burglary of a locked shed.

Longhini is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, obstructing governmental administration and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Additional charges may be added if warranted following further investigation.

The Le Roy PD is asking that anyone who may have had a vehicle, shed or residence entered Friday night or Saturday morning, or who are missing property, to call the PD office at 345-6350.

In addition to ensuring any suspected crimes are reported, investigators are hoping to identify the owners of recovered property that may have been stolen.

(Initiial Report)

A 20-year-old Le Roy resident who allegedly reported a residential burglary and claimed jewelry and marijuana were stolen has been accused of stealing the jewelry himself and falsely reporting an incident.

John H. O'Shea was already in the Genesee County Jail on unrelated charges when he was arrested by Le Roy PD earlier this week.

O'Shea is charged with grand larceny, 4th, and falsely reporting an incident, 3rd.

According Le Roy PD, O'Shea contacted police April 19 and claimed a safe full of jewelry belonging to a relative along with his personal stash of marijuana were stolen from his home in the morning hours while he was fishing.

A subsequent investigation revealed the report was allegedly false and that O'Shea either allegedly stole or took part in the theft of the jewelry.

O'Shea remains in jail on an unknown amount of bail.

A 22-year-old Le Roy resident is charged with petit larceny for allegedly trying to steal a shopping cart full of Red Bull from Top's Friendly Markets in Le Roy on Thursday.

(Name redacted upon request), who has no permanent address, was reportedly contacted by an out-of-state relative who read The Batavian's real-time news report on the alleged theft and suspected his involvement.

She contacted police with the tip and then was able to contact xxx and convinced him to turn himself in.

xxx walked to the Le Roy PD office in the village shortly before midnight Thursday.

The case began when police received a report that around 1:40 p.m. an unknown white male wearing a white tank top-loaded a shopping cart full of Red Bull and left the store without paying for the merchandise.

The subject allegedly went behind Dollar General and an employee there reported seeing him with the shopping cart of Red Bull.

After abandoning the shopping cart, the subject fled and police attempted to locate the suspect.

The Sheriff's K-9 unit assisted in the search, but the effort was unsuccessful.

As the search was taking place, The Batavian posted details of the unfolding events as broadcast by local law enforcement.

A relative in another state read The Batavian later that evening and began to suspect she knew who was involved and started making phone calls.

xxx was jailed on $500 bail.

A 14-year-old Batavia boy, if not for his age, would be facing four Class D felony charges of sexual abuse in the first degree, according to Le Roy PD.

The case has been referred to Family Court and because of the youth's age, his name was not released.

The youth is accused of subjecting a child under 11 years of age to sexual contact on at least four occasions in the past year.

There was music, food and fashion Saturday at the Genesee County Airport for the first-ever Wheels and Heels fundraiser sponsored by the YWCA.

While models milled through the crowd in gorgeous gowns, attendees could stroll through an event filled with not only jewelry, but also a variety of transportation on wheels, from airplanes to police cruisers to classic automobiles.

The event raised money to help the YWCA expand its services for children who are sometimes the forgotten victims of domestic violence.

The programs will help children deal with the emotional, psychological and relational challenges that come with being in homes where domestic violence takes place.

In Alexander on Saturday, it was time once again for the Alexander Fireman's Parade. 

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

Saturday was a perfect day for a parade in one of the region's best venues for marching bands and floats, the Village of Le Roy.

Here are photos from yesterday's 2012 Oatka Festival Parade.

The festival continues today until 6 p.m.  The annual duck derby race is at 5 p.m.

If you're unable to view the slide show, click here.

Prints of these photos are available for purchase by clicking here.

A subject was reportedly struck by a 4-wheeler at 3999 Ridge Road in Elba. Mercy EMS is responding along with Elba Fire Department.

UPDATE 7:18 p.m.: A responder on scene reports there are two patients.

UPDATE 7:39 p.m.: Turns out, no need for an ambulance. Elba is back in service.

Batavia police are looking for a man who a caller reports is acting suspiciously, peeking in windows and going to houses "presenting himself aggressively." It is not clear whether he is selling something. He was last spotted looking into windows at 5 S. Spruce St. He is black, about 140 pounds, wearing a blue T-shirt, shorts, bright green sneakers and toting a backpack.

A former Batavia resident admitted to welfare fraud in Genesee County Court on Friday, pleading guilty to a single felony count of offering a false instrument for filing.

Michael Schramm, 36, also agreed to pay restitution of $17,026.39.

As a second felony offender, Schramm faces from one-and-a-half to three years in prison and will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m., Sept. 7

The former area resident was originally charged in May with two counts of offering a false instrument for filing and grand larceny, 3rd.

Schramm was accused of failing to report full-time farm employment in Niagara County while drawing assistance from DSS.

Pending sentencing, Schramm is being held on $25,000 bail.

A 41-year-old Batavia man has been charged rape in the second degree after being accused of having sexual intercourse with two 14-year-old girls in West Bloomfield.

Ontario County Sheriff's deputies arrested Micheal Steven Lewis at his residence, 1 Prestige Crossing, Batavia, at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday.

The accusation stems from alleged incidents in October 2011 in West Bloomfield.

Lewis was jailed in Ontario County on bail, but the amount of bail was not released by the Ontario County Sheriff's Office.

Freelance photographer John Spaulding submitted these photos from the tractor pull in Alexander last night.

If you missed the roar, dust and black smoke, there's plenty of opportunity for more tonight with tractor pulls resuming at 7 p.m. The track is behind the fireman's rec hall off Route 98 on the south side of town.

The annual kiddie parade is at noon and the fireman's parade is at 4 p.m.

The band Red Creek performs at 9 p.m. The grand prize drawing is at 10 p.m.

More pictures after the jump (click on the headline):

Le Roy's perhaps biggest annual event opens today and runs through tomorrow.

It's time again for the Oatka Festival.

The festival is celebrating its 24th year. Since its start in 1989, it has become a community event that fuses fun, food, and entertainment with a friendly, family, small-town feel.

The festival site opens 10 a.m. each day, but the true kick-off is at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the highly anticipated annual parade.

Other activities include an arts and craft show, Back Yard Circus, live entertainment, musical talents such as The Good Knights and KnightnGals, fishing and duck derbies, 50/50 raffle, a library book sale, bounce house, rock wall, and more.

In addition to the festival events, the community comes alive with many other activities. A triathlon, 30K bike race, and a 5K walk/run will fill early morning hours both days.

Le Roy Farm Market will be on Saturday at Wolcott Street with a variety of healthy foods available for purchase.

The Le Roy House and Jell-O Gallery will be open for visitors throughout the weekend with free tours and a chance to try a Jell-O Poke Cake made by Scratch Bakery.

Also, the community uses the popularity of the festival as an opportunity to raise awareness for their organizations. Some groups specially design floats for the parade, and others hold various fundraisers to support their cause.

The Le Roy Nursery School, celebrating 50 years, is one such group who has a yearly yard sale to fund the school.

 "Le Roy Nursery School has a long history of educating children in Genesee County, and we depend on our fundraisers like the Oatka Festival Yard Sale to keep the school going throughout the year," said Heidi Dominiak, treasurer for the school year 2012-2013.

Household and children’s items, small furniture, and sports trading cards are some of things found at this year's sale. All funds raised go directly back into the school.

The sale will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday at 5 E. Main St., next to the First Baptist Church. More information can be found at www.leroynurseryschool.com.

Another organization, the Knights of Columbus, is hosting an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 15. All money raised will benefit local charities.

This year is also Le Roy's Bicentennial. The town's quilt will be available for those who want to be one of 200 to take part in painting a square for it.

More information about the festival can be found at oatkafestival.org.

With just about every officer in Le Roy on duty preparing for the Oatka Festival, an individual decided to start going through cars and trying to steal items.

Some time in the six o'clock hour, the activity was reported to emergency dispatch and a suspect was located and identified.

He was taken into custody after a short foot chase.

In the area of Lake Street, officers are locating a string of apparently stolen items, from pill bottles to GPS chords.

One officer noted that the PD will likely start getting more calls once residents start waking up and finding their property was hit.

Some owners get angry when pulled out of a store because somebody complained about their dog being left in a hot car.

"Most do not even recognize it as abuse at all," said Animal Control Officer Agie Jaroszewski. "They get mad because we interrupted their shopping day. They say we don't know what we're talking about. Their dog is OK."

When it's 85 degrees out, the temperature inside a car can reach 102 degrees in 10 minutes and within 30 minutes it can exceed 120 degrees.

A dog can suffer brain damage or die in short order when temperatures exceed 107 degrees.

Leaving a dog in the car on a hot or very cold day violates Article 26, Section 353d of the NYS Agriculture and Markets Law.

A person shall not confine a companion animal in a motor vehicle in extreme heat or cold without proper ventilation or other protection from such extreme temperatures where such confinement places the companion animal in imminent danger of death or serious physical injury due to exposure to such extreme heat or cold.

Fines range from $50 to $100 for a first offense, from $100 to $250 for a second.

Jaroszewski said citations are generally only issued where an order cannot be located and the dog must be removed from the car and taken to an animal hospital, or when the dog is in obvious distress and must be removed from the car.

Since Jaroszewski is not a deputy, she relies on sworn officers to open cars and issue citations as necessary.

The first order of business is the health and safety of the animal, Jaroszewski said. Whether she responds first or a deputy, the first responder tries to locate the owner of the car. Typically, the owner is paged in the store they have most likely entered.

If the owner is found and the dog is not in distress, they are given a stern lecture and the incident is documents in the law enforcement computer system. The temperature at the time of the incident is also recorded.

Jaroszewski is looking into getting a laser temperature gun (example). That would enable her to point the laser at a surface in the car and get a precise reading of the temperature inside.

Not only would it give her evidence to show a dog owner of just how hot it is in the car, but with a second witness, any citation would have a better chance of holding up in court.

Today, The Batavian drove out to two calls involving dogs left in a car at a time when the sun was beating down and the temperature was 92 degrees.

Our initial headline on the first case was "Dog sweltering in gray TrailBlazer in Walmart parking lot."

It turns out, and what the initial caller may not have realized, the owners left their SUV running with the air conditioner on. The dog was fine, but Deputy Tim Westcott still tracked down the owners inside Walmart because it's a violation of NYS law to leave an unattended vehicle running.

The owners are visiting from Florida and vowed not to leave their dog in their car again and not to leave the vehicle running while unattended. No citation was issued.

In the second case, Wescott located the owners shopping in Michael's. The soon-to-be-married couple left the back windows down on their sedan, and the front windows cracked. During the 10 minutes they told Wescott they were in Michael's, the dog did her job, protecting her master's property by barking at every passerby.

But barking dogs, Westcott noted, dissipate energy faster and that makes them more susceptible to the heat.

In a day and age when more people are aware of the dangers to animals left in cars and everyone has a mobile phone, emergency dispatchers get more calls for dogs left in cars, Wescott noted.

And he wasn't complaining.

The Sheriff's Office takes such calls seriously and if an owner can't be located, deputies will use their car-lock kit to open doors and remove animals.

When that happens, Wescott said he leaves his business card in the car with a note about where the dog was taken.

Typically in such situations a citation is issued.

The more frequent, quicker calls these days probably mean there is intervention by a deputy or animal control officer before a dog is overheated to the point of injury or death.

While dog owners often feel put out by a member of law enforcement paging them in a store, and often claim it was just a matter of minutes that the dog was left alone, typically when paged, as with the couple in Michael's today, they're still in the middle of shopping when located.

With the engaged couple today, Wescott waited for Jaroszewski to arrive, which took about five minutes.

When she did, she lectured the couple on the danger they put their pet in, gave them an informational card that explains the danger. While the couple got back into the car (it took a little time because one of them was in a wheelchair due to a leg injury), she took the dog over to a shaded area (top photo) and waited.

The dog was panting heavily, but otherwise seemed in good health.

And a dog who can go home in good health is the whole goal of deputies or animal control officers who respond to the calls from concerned citizens.

A dog is locked in a red Chevy Malibu in the 10th row of the parking lot at Walmart. A Sheriff's deputy is responding.

UPDATE 7:13 p.m.: The deputy reports that all four windows are down and the dog has water to drink. Despite these precautions against overheating, someone called dispatch with concerns.

Rep. Kathy Hochul heard a good suggestion from constituents today during an agriculture roundtable she hosted in council chambers at Batavia City Hall: Young people need to be taught more about farming.

Lorna Klotzbach first raised the issue.

In the Oakfield-Alabama Central School District, Klotzbach noted that "there is no FAA and there wasn't when I was in school that I can remember. There are very few teachers with an agricultural background. There is no training for farm careers. There is very little of that in Genesee County altogether."

Klotzbach noted that she's heard students suggest that farm work is really only for illegal immigrants.

"The smartest, most skilled people I've known are farmers and we hold them in such low esteem," Klotzbach said.

Hochul said she could envision supporting some sort of pilot project to help fund agriculture training in local schools and getting support for an informational campaign to elevate farming as a career choice.

Domestically produced food is a key component of national security, said Hochul, who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee.

"Congress has a roll to play in directing funds (to ag training)," Hochul said. "We need to help people embrace the patriotic sense you get from the American family farm. That's what we're all about, the entrepreneurial spirt that this country is built on."

Farm labor was a big part of the morning discussion, with much of it centered on the difficulty farmers have these days in finding qualified, legal labor.

Hochul noted that with the opening soon of the Alpina and Pepsi yogurt plants, the demand on local milk supplies will increase 15 percent, and that doesn't mean more cows and milking parlors. It means more farm workers will be needed.

"If we don’t get more people in this workforce, we’re not going to be able to capitalize on the opportunities that we have right here in Genesee County," Hochul said.

The congresswoman said she is looking at how to move some of the recent refugees -- who are mostly from agrarian countries -- in Rochester and Buffalo to work on Genesee County farms.

There is apparently a growing Burmese immigrant community in Buffalo, with many people from rural communities.

The problem Hochul said she wanted to tackle is transportation, but Matt Lamb said transportation isn't an issue.

"We can house these people," he said.

If the workers are qualified and willing to work, there's work and shelter available for them now.

Klotzbach said that if Burmese workers were going to be brought to Genesee County to work on farms, it needs to be approached in a comprehensive way, with assistance to school districts for appropriate classes and ensuring Burmese families have a chance to retain their culture while assimulating to a new one.

"It doesn’t do any good to bring one Burmese family to Pavilion," she said. That doesn’t work. They need a community."

Hochul said she will look into available options to help find qualified refugee labor and ensure any move of the labor force to the area is done the right way.

Some farmers complained about overzealous U.S. Border Patrol agents, even conducting raids when there was no apparent probable cause for illegal workers being on a property.

Hochul said she's spoken with the director the border patrol and suggested that the Western New York border with Canada has too many agents for the threat level and perhaps some agents should be transferred to Texas or Arizona.

"Our homeland is not in any danger or threat from our farmers," Hochul said. "We need a different attitude."