batavia

An Ellicott Street resident is facing at least two years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal mischief, 2nd, in Genesee County Court on Monday.

Paul C. Wapniewski, 55, was accused of burglarizing Delavan's Restaurant on Evans Street.

In the course of the crime, Wapniewski allegedly caused more than $2,500 damage to the property.

According to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Wapniewski cut himself on broken glass when entering the building and the blood evidence found there connected Wapniewski to the scene. Friedman said the DNA test demonstrates a mere one in 300 billion chance of the DNA being from the blood of a person other than Wapniewski.

Friedman discussed the evidence prior to Wapniewski's guilty plea because Wapniewski was entering what is known as an "Alford Plea." 

When a defendant enter's an "Alford Plea" he is not admitting to the crime, just pleading guilty to the charge with the knowledge that the evidence against him would likely lead to a jury finding him guilty, and if so, would likely lead to a harsher sentence.

As a second felony offender, prison time is mandatory for Wapniewski, and sentencing guidelines means Wapniewski is facing from two to four years in state prison.

A Stafford resident facing three felony counts of criminal contempt and a misdemeanor count of DWI faces a possible sentence of "shock probation" after pleading guilty Monday to two of the charges against him.

Eric Michael Duda, 50, who has been arrested a few times over the past two years, entered a guilty plea to one count of criminal contempt, 1st, and to DWI.

Duda will be sentenced in April and could receive some jail time followed by a period of probation.

Judge Robert C. Noonan also issued a new order of protection barring him from contact with Summer Ogden, the person Duda has previously had contact with in violation of an order of protection.

Ogden has reportedly also been ordered not to contact Duda and on two occasions when Duda was arrested for violation of the order of protection, Ogden was also arrested.

Duda is out of jail pending sentencing under supervision of Genesee Justice. He is required to be in his apartment from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. under the terms of his release.

A 55-year-old resident of Alden -- accused of stealing a flintlock rifle from the Holland Land Office Museum more than a year ago -- had a hard time pleading guilty to possession of stolen property in the 5th degree today.

Between at first not admitting to elements of the crime and not understanding some of the things he was asked by Judge Robert C. Noonan, Frank J. Bieniek almost didn't complete the guilty plea.

Bieniek blamed both the commission of the crime and his inability to focus today on ammonia created by a liver problem.

On Dec. 10, 2010, a witness reported seeing Bieniek take a long gun from the wall of the museum, put it under a trench coat, walk out and drive away.

In court today, Bieniek said, "I didn't realize I took it. I drove around and I was thinking 'something bad happened here,' so I stopped and went and looked in my trunk and I saw the gun.

"When I was stopped, I was on my way back to return it," Bieniek added.

"I was so sick that day," Bieniek told Noonan earlier. "My body was full of ammonia."

When asked about the source of the ammonia, Bieniek said, "My liver."

Later, when questioned about whether he knew at some point that he possessed the gun, and that it was stolen, and that he possessed it with intent to deprive the rightful owner of the property, Bieniek asked Noonan to repeat the question.

"The doctors still say my head (mumble)," Bieniek said. "What was the question again?"

Eventually, with Noonan patiently going through each detail of the indictment and the elements Bieniek was required to admit to, Bieniek did plead guilty.

His plea is unconditional. Sentencing on the misdemeanor offense can range from community service to a year in jail.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 4.

Earl B. Benson, 23, of 7 Chestnut St., Apt. #4, Batavia; Joshua M. Benson, 21, of 5003 N. Byron Road, Elba; and, Tyler J. Henderson, 23, of 10 Franklin St., Batavia, are charged with menacing, 3rd, and reckless endangerment. The three men are accused of throwing beer bottles at a moving vehicle on Jackson Street at 1:11 a.m. Saturday. The men are also accused of threatening to physically harm the driver.

Eric L. Gahagan, 32, of 25 Edgewood Drive, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. According to Batavia PD, Gahagan was arrested Saturday and charged with harassment for alleged physical contact with a woman. According to police, after his release, Gahagan sent several "unwanted" and "harassing" text messages. Gahagan was re-arrested and jailed on $1,000 bail.

Rodney L. Blackshear, 51, of 131 Swan St., Batavia, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Blackshear was stopped at 2 a.m., Sunday, on Maple Street, Batavia, by Officer Eric Bolles.

Paul C. Ficarella, 34, of 117 Bank St., Apt. #1C, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Ficarella is accused of stealing $69.15 worth of merchandise from Tops Market.

Amanda L. Spring, 28, of 3544 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass. Spring is accused of entering a residence in the city without permission.

Monique L. Brairton, 21, of 18 Pleasant St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, possession of an open container and inadequate tail lamps. Brairton was stopped at 1:30 a.m. Monday on Bacon Street, Village of Le Roy, by Le Roy Police.

Shawn Joseph Scheg, 44, of Warboys Road, Byron, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .18 or greater, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely and misuse of dealer/transport plate. Scheg was arrested following an investigation into a one-car accident at 12:44 a.m. Sunday on West Sweden Road, Bergen, by Deputy James Diehl.

Jason Ray Anderson, 30, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Anderson is accused of using stolen vehicle registration paperwork to operate a vehicle.

Sean R. McMenemy, 26, of 3025 McCorkindale Road, Caledonia, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 greater and making a right turn on a red light where prohibited. McMenemy was stopped at 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the municipal parking lot off Bank Street, Village of Le Roy, by Le Roy Police.

John R. Stella, 50, of 58 Myrtle St., Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, refusal to submit to a breath test, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and following too closely. Stella is accused of being involved in a hit-and-run accident at 8:15 p.m., Friday, at the intersection of East Bethany -- Le Roy Road and West Main Street, Le Roy. A witness reportedly followed Stella to his residence and directed police to the location of his vehicle. Le Roy Police arrested Stella. The accident investigation was conducted by the Sheriff's Office.

John P. Shipley, 36, of 25 Richmond Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI. Shipley was reportedly found sleeping in his car with the motor running at 3:16 a.m., Jan. 5., on Vernon Avenue, by Officer Frank Klimjack.

Marsceill Kubis Wims Hill Mayl Alllen

An investigation into dealing crack cocaine in Batavia has led to the arrest of six people, including two people who were arrested on similar charges in October.

Sgt. Steve Mullen, head of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force, said it didn't take long for Thomas L. "Blaze" Hill, 22, of Exchange Street, Rochester, and Jade Cierra Wims, 19, of Menlo Place, Rochester, to allegedly start dealing again once they were out of police custody (October's story).

"It's the pros and cons of living in a small community," Mullen said. "This is one of the pros, if you get busted once and start doing it again, it doesn't take long for the word to get out."

The six people -- four are accused of dealing crack -- were taken into custody Friday night and early Saturday morning after a search warrant was executed on a vehicle stopped on Manhattan Avenue and at an apartment at 174 Ross St., Upper.

The Ross Street residence appeared to be the base of operation for the alleged crack cocaine sales, Mullen said.

Task Force members stopped a car reportedly driven by Doris L. Mayls, 59, of Ross Street, and Mayls was allegedly found operating the vehicle while under the influence of drugs and driving on a suspended license.

A search of the vehicle allegedly turned up a quantity of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

A passenger in the vehicle, Ricky A. Marsceill, 47, of Ross Street, was allegedly found in possession of crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

There was also a warrant for Marsceill's arrest out of the State of Florida for alleged violation of probation.

Task Force members with the assistance of Sheriff's deputies and Batavia PD entered the Ross Street residence and allegedly found Hill and Wims along with Marcus M. "Bling" Allen, 21, of Ferndale Crescent, Rochester, and Richard J. Kubis, 31, of Ross Street, Batavia, in possession of nearly an ounce of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $1,500.

Investigators also allegedly found a quantity of marijuana.

Charges:

• Hill is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Allen is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Wims is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Kubis is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Mayls is charged with criminal nuisance, 1st, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, aggravated unlicensed operation and criminally using drug paraphernalia, 2nd.
• Marsceill was arrested as an alleged fugitive from justice based on the Florida warrant.

All six were arraigned in Batavia City Court and jailed without bail.

Marsceill was arrested in Batavia twice in 2010, once for alleged DWI, and in December 2010, Marsceill allegedly tried to flee when Det. Pat Corona attempted to arrested him on a warrant out of Florida.

In September 2010, Kubis was charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly giving cigarettes to minors.

The status of the previous cases, including those against Thomas and Wims, are not available at this time.

Engine 14 is out of service.

The 1989 Pierce Pumper was decommissioned last month and needs to be replaced, according to City of Batavia Fire Chief Jim Maxwell.

Maxwell prepared a memo for the city council to consider with options for replacing the pumper and explaining that the 23-year-old engine has proven increasingly unreliable.

"The unit since my arrival has been undependable when placed into service and has broken down during operations at two significant incidents," Maxwell wrote. "As we neared the end of 2011, it became evident that Engine 14 was not going to last until we took delivery of a new engine."

The city has been preparing for the retirement of Engine 14 and over the past four years has been able to set aside fire equipment reserves of $360,000.

The council will be asked Monday to decide whether to buy a new engine, buy a demonstration unit or buy a used piece of equipment.

City staff is recommending the city try to buy a demonstration unit.

Maxwell, in his memo, presented the pros and cons of each option.

For example, a new unit would be much more expensive, but could be outfitted exactly to city specifications and would come with a warranty.

With a used unit, you never know if you're buying somebody else's problems. There's no warranty. It would have a short life expectancy and would be outfitted to another department's specifications, but would be the least expensive option.

The demo unit is the middle ground -- less expensive than new, might need some equipment changes, but would still be under warranty and would likely be in service longer than used equipment.

When Engine 14 was inspected by Churchville Fire Equipment, inspectors found 51 deficiencies with the truck. Most of them could be fixed at a cost of $15,000 but the engine would still not meet National Fire Protection Association standards.

Until a replacement engine is purchase, the city is using a loaner from the City of Rochester Fire Department.

The department has two other trucks -- Ladder 15 and Engine 12, which go out on almost all city calls. Engine 14 was used for multiple-alarm fires, or when one of the other engines was being repaired or going through preventive maintenance, or when the city's Fast Team was called to the scene of a fire elsewhere in Genesee County.

A man accused of violating probation in Taxes and captured in Batavia On Tuesday appeared in Genesee County Court Friday morning and waived his right to extradition proceedings.

Terry W. Strickland, 30, of 110 Lake Park, Waxahachie, Texas, is allegedly wanted in Dallas County for a probation violation stemming from a conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. Strickland could have insisted the governor of Texas produce a warrant for his arrest and challenge any evidence of the charges' validity.

Tuesday, Batavia police officers responded to a report of a domestic incident at a residence on Dewey Avenue and, after identifying Strickland, discovered the warrant.

Press release:

United Memorial Medical Center is pleased to announce that plans are under way to provide Urgent Care Services at the Jerome Center in Batavia.

“This continues United Memorial’s efforts to increase access to necessary health care services to residents of Genesee County,” said Mark Schoell, president and CEO.

United Memorial currently operates an Urgent Care Center on Tountas Avenue in Le Roy which opened in July 2010. Visits to United Memorial’s Urgent Care Center in Le Roy have grown from an estimated 3,500 to more than 6,000 annually. Analyzing patient demographics based on zip codes indicate that a great deal of that growth is from the Batavia area.

Urgent Care services are a cost effective and convenient way for patients to receive quality medical care when their primary care physician is unavailable and they do not want to spend time waiting in an emergency room to be treated for a non-life-threatening injury or illness. Co-payments for urgent care are typically less than emergency room co-pays.

UMMC’s Urgent Care Center in Batavia, like the center in Le Roy, will be well equipped to treat a variety of ailments, including: sprains and fractures; cuts and lacerations; animal and insect bites and stings; cold and influenza symptoms; ear infections; pneumonia; bronchitis; urinary tract infections; asthma; sore throats/strep and mono; and influenza vaccines.

Urgent Care at the Jerome Center will be supported by United Memorial’s state-of-the-art medical imaging services, the most advanced in Genesee County. The Jerome Center is conveniently located in the heart of Downtown Batavia at 16 Bank St. It offers handicap accessibility, convenient parking, a gift shop and refreshment kiosk.

An opening date will be announced soon and is expected to occur in early spring.

Members of the Batavia Kiwanis Club stopped into "My Brother's Garage" after their weekly meeting Thursday. "My Brother's Garage" is a new secondhand store in the YWCA on North Street, where the Kiwanis meet each week. It's patterned after the long-standing and popular "My Sister's Closet" secondhand story at the Y.

Andrei Peter Sliker, 20, of 220 W. Main St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny and criminal impersonation. Sliker is accused of stealing $10.75 in merchandise from Kmart on Tuesday. When approached by Kmart security, Sliker allegedly fled. When Deputy Chad Minuto located Sliker at his apartment, Sliker allegedly claimed to be another person in order to avoid being taken into custody. Sliker was jailed on $500 bail.

Dexter Lee Turner, 20, Start Street, Medina, is charged with petit larceny. Turner was arrested by Medina PD on a warrant out of Town of Batavia after Turner allegedly failed to appear to answer to a petit larceny charge.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries has been reported in the area of 266 East Ave., Batavia.

City fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Traffic is blocked.

UPDATE 9:30 a.m.: Mercy EMS: "There's four patients here. So far, only one being transported." The injury is minor.

UPDATE 9:32 a.m.: Both vehicles will need flatbed tows.

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A 13-year-old Batavia boy who was reported missing earlier this week was located today in Cleveland.

A family member reportedly tipped police that Michael's non-custodial mother might be at a hospital in Cleveland seeking treatment, according to Det. Pat Corona, and the teen was located at the hospital.

The father of the teen is driving to Cleveland to pick up his son.

Corona said the teen, Michael Smith, is safe.

Smith reportedly failed to return from a visit with his non-custodial mother at a local hotel. The pair were spotted Monday morning boarding a bus in Buffalo.

A pedestrian has reportedly been hit by a car on West Saile Drive in the area of the State Police Barracks.

The patient is reportedly up and walking around, complaining of side pain.

Town of Batavia Fire Department and Mercy EMS responding.

Press release:

We are pleased and applaud the governor’s support for a constitutional amendment concerning casino gaming during his State of the State address. This will have a significant positive economic affect on Western New York, specifically the 15 counties and two cities, which include Buffalo and Rochester that own Batavia Downs Casino.

With New York facing ongoing fiscal challenges as the economy continues to sputter, now is the time to permit enhanced gaming at the state’s racetrack casinos so that we can reclaim the billions of dollars in revenue – along with spending on travel, lodging, meals and other related economic activity — that flow out of our state every year.

Many thousands of New Yorkers already visit the state’s racetrack casinos, including Batavia Downs Casino. The tracks, which are licensed by the state, have over the past decade created thousands of jobs and provided billions of dollars to the state and local governments for education, agriculture and horse breeding.

Since 2005, Batavia Downs Casino and Western Regional Off-Track Betting have given more than $107 million to New York State Education through the lottery. More than $71 million has been distributed to Western Regional's member counties and cities, helping lower property taxes and contribute to community improvements.

Batavia Downs Casino and Racetrack employs more than 250 people year round. That number increases to more than 300 when racing is in session from July through December.

But the racetrack casinos lack a vital element to keep gaming enthusiasts in our state: live table games. As a result, many are choosing to travel to venues in other jurisdictions, where they leave behind an estimated $3-5 billion and spend hundreds of millions more on hotels, restaurants, entertainment, shopping and travel expenses.

The racetrack casinos have united to form the New York Gaming Association, which will work in partnership with the governor and the legislature on the multi-year process to approve the state constitutional amendment to permit live table games at our facilities.

By enhancing our existing venues with table games, we will attract clientele that now goes out of state and consequently create thousands of additional jobs and generate more revenues to provide even greater support for education, agriculture and horseracing and breeding.

Enhancing existing racetrack casinos to include table games is a good deal for New York, and not simply because of the increased revenues. Association members have already proven to be outstanding and dependable partners with the state, operating with oversight by both the State Division of Lottery and the Racing and Wagering Board. In fact, some have suggested that ours is one of the most successful public-private partnerships in the state, if not the entire country.

There is another reason why enhancing the racetrack casinos makes so much sense for New York: We are not asking for any taxpayer dollars at all. On the contrary, association members, including Batavia Downs Casino are prepared to invest hundreds of millions to upgrade our venues.

Batavia Downs Casino already had an expansion plan in place that will look to break ground this year. By the time the amendment is passed, the facility will be ready to start on an $85-95 million project beginning in 2014. This will include a convention center and expanded gaming, including table games. That means more visitors to our area, helping retail, hotels and restaurant owners along the way. It also means increased revenue to the state, and most importantly, new jobs. The impact of all these would be seen rapidly.

At a time when budgets are tight and taxpayers are rightfully skeptical about untested ideas that promise economic benefits, allowing the enhancement of existing, successful racetrack casinos to include table games is a good bet for all New Yorkers.

Batavia Downs in owned and operated by Western Regional Off-Track Betting, a public benefit corporation. Municipalities that own Batavia Downs Casino include: City of Buffalo, Cattaraugus County, Cayuga County, Chautauqua County, Erie County, Genesee County, Livingston County, Monroe County, Niagara County, Orleans County, Oswego County, City of Rochester, Schuyler County, Seneca County, Steuben County, Wayne County, and Wyoming County.

The track is also home to Batavia Downs Casino, featuring more than 600 video slot machines. Batavia Downs Casino is located less than one mile from Thruway Exit 48 and is open daily from 9 to 4 a.m.

A reader I know and trust to be truthful on sharing something like this, put together the image above and sent it to me. He said it's a collection of Facebook status updates from people being bullied and their tormentors. All of the teenagers involved, he said, are students at Batavia High School. He said knowledge of an increase of cyberbullying against some students at BHS is common knowledge among the students.

One point I want to add: Cyberbullying is a crime.

It can be charged as harassment in the second degree, which is a Class B misdemeanor. Cyberbullies should be reported either by victims or their parents to police. Witnesses can also report crimes, but in most cases it will take a victim who cooperates with the investigation to proceed with criminal charges.

UPDATE 12:34 p.m.:  I received an e-mail from somebody familiar with the situation and said students from mulitple Genesee County high schools are involved and one of the targets is not a student of BHS.  Any confusion on the school involvement is the result of my own misunderstanding of the original e-mail I received.

He sent along the following op-ed with the image.

In the age of social media and increasing technology, every day people see things on the news about cyberbullying and harrassment and many don't realize the seriousness of what is being done. Sometimes they don't think it's happening to anyone they know. Sometimes they don't think its happening to anyone near them. Sometimes people don't realize how serious it can be until it's too late.

Recently, many students in Genesee County school districts have had their Facebook news feeds, filled with cyberbullying of a few students, and the issue is only getting bigger and more widespread. But only a few are standing up for the victims, while more and more join in to bully, and many of the victims, are sitting back without knowing what to do.

"Like this stuff was bad. Worries me... :/" stated one student's Facebook comment. It "turns your stomache. Doesnt matter what someones done noone deserves that to be said," said another when responding about the nature of the cyberbullying posts.

In the most recent and student popularized bullying case (photo collage), there is one student being bullied, and upwards of 30+ cyberbullies making comments directly or indirectly toward her, while hundreds of students have 'Liked' status updates supporting the bullying acts.

According to the nonprofit website www.stopcyberbullying.com:

'Cyberbullying' is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyberharassment or cyberstalking.

Cyberbullying can be done for many reasons. Many times, it's done by someone with insecurities, hoping to boost their social standing. Other times, the power-hungry do it looking to boost their ego. There is also the bullying done as revenge, out of anger, and sometimes students are cyberbullying without even intentionally trying to.

While many students, usually believe their words are harmless, what they say can many times lead to a higher level of misdemeanor cyberharassment charges.

There are two kinds of cyberbullying, direct attacks (messages sent to your kids directly) and cyberbullying by proxy (using others to help cyberbully the victim, either with or without the accomplice's knowledge).

Not only does cyberbullying, include harassment that could bring upon legal issues, but many times, it also turns into defamation. Defamation, which is also known as slander, is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual a negative image. Many times students often take it to the extent of defamation by making up rumors or doing whatever else it takes to make the bullied look as bad as possible.

Parents need to be the one trusted person kids can go when things go wrong online and offline. Yet they often are the ones kids avoid when things go wrong online. Why? Parents tend to overreact. Most children will avoid telling their parents about a cyberbullying incident fearing they will only make things worse.

Parents also need to understand that a child is just as likely to be a cyberbully as a victim of cyberbullying and often go back and forth between the two roles during one incident. They may not even realize that they are seen as a cyberbully.

The message is simple. Don't write it. Don't send it. For more info on cyberbullying and how to prevent it, visit http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/.

A 2010 Attica graduate, Jesse Kern, that is currently serving in the Army, publicly defended one of the most recent victims on his Facebook page and posted this video and commented: "People just don't get it."