batavia

A truck fire just before 7:30 a.m. tied up traffic on the Thruway going through Pembroke.

Traffic was reduced to one lane during the incident and it took more than an hour to get traffic flow back to normal.

Reader Kevin Switzer submitted this picture.

Dispatch has received several calls of a fight on West Main Street near Kingsbury Avenue.

UPDATE 9:51 p.m.: Police on scene. Fight apparently dispersed before police arrived on scene. Officers talking with neighbors.

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For the second time tonight, a Batavia Police officer has been asked to respond to an address on State Street because somebody is ringing a door bell.

Officer: "Well, if she would just let her in since she lives there ... "

Dispatcher: "That was explained to her, but with a negative response."

Officer: "Roger. I'll head over there."

A car vs. pole accident, without injuries, is reported at North and Vine streets. Also, Bank Street into the City of Batavia is shut down due to the same accident.

Utility poles are down, blocking the roadway. Law enforcement is requested at Law and Bank Street.

Barracades to control traffic are requested.

Photo submitted by Jeremiah Pedro.

This is a replacement barn. The original barn on Partridge Farms burned down some time in the 1950s and current owner Pat Partridge said the current structure was built.

Like many barns in Genesee County, the barn needs some repairs, and Partridge said there are some problems with the roof that are way too expensive to fix, but they do try to keep the barn in good shape.

Partridge Farms is located on Ellicott Street Road, Batavia (right across from Johnny's).

The picture below is from another building on the farm.

Johnny's on Ellicott Street Road sure stands out these days.

Bartender Linda -- who wouldn't stand in our picture because she doesn't want any publicity for this -- said she doesn't really like drab colors.

For who knows how many years, the outside walls of Johnny's have been white.

Linda said she suggested to the owners that they paint it red and blue. That idea was rejected, so the "compromise" was lime green.

Linda doesn't know how long Johnny's has been around -- the current owners have operated it since 1955, and it was a bar before that, she said.

But I bet it's never been lime green before.

New York has awarded a $400,000 grant to the City of Batavia to help low-income homeowners rehabilitate their residences.

The city applied for the grant from the New York State Office of Community Renewal after receiving more than 60 applications for rehabilitation help. The show of interest from low-income homeowners was essential to the grant process.

With the funds, the city will be able to help 15 to 20 property owners rehabilitate their homes.

Very-low income homeowners (under $24,500 annual income) will be able to receive up to $24,500 to pay for repairs, and moderate-low income households can receive 75-percent reimbursement on rehabilitation, up to $18,375.

The homes must be owner-occupied.

As soon as the final paperwork is received from the state, the city will notify all applicants on how to proceed with their request for assistance.

Margarita's Mexican Restaurant, 15 Jackson St., Batavia, shut down nine days ago over an alleged failure to pay state taxes, will reopen at noon, Saturday.

Owner Carlos Hernandez received the keys back to his restaurant today and was busy late this afternoon, working with his staff, getting the restaurant ready to reopen.

He said he's very happy to get the issue resolved.

Through an interpreter, Hernandez said the tax issue was an oversight.

"It was a misunderstanding with the accountants."

Tax officials claimed he owned more than $32,000 in unpaid sales and corporate taxes.

Hernandez hired an attorney to help him straighten the matter out and reached an agreement with New York so he could start serving fajitas and burritos again.

Hernandez also made a point of noting all the positive comments about Margarita's on The Batavian. He appreciates the support.

William J. Butler, 40, of 3 Vine St., Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and promoting prison contraband, 1st. Butler was taken into custody by members of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force as part of an investigation into trafficking in crack cocaine in Batavia. Members of the task force, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the Batavia Police Department executed a search warrant on Butler's residence. Butler was located in a vehicle on Route 33, Town of Batavia. As a result of the searches, Butler was allegedly found in possession of more than one-half ounce of crack cocaine. While being processed into Genesee County Jail, Butler was also allegedly found to have crack cocaine on his person. The total street value of the crack cocaine is estimated at $1,000. Additional charges may be pending. Butler was jailed with no bail.

Christopher Paul Rutherford, 26, of Cowan Road, Piffard, is charged with petit larceny. Rutherford is accused of giving away an oil change and tire rotation to a friend and fellow employee at 4133 Veterans Memorial Drive, Batavia.

Earl Shateek Anthony Lockhart, 18, of East Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Lockhart is accused of shoplifting from Walmart.

Diane Mary Kotarski, 37, of Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. At 3:35 a.m., Kotarski allegedly grabbed a male victim by the neck and slammed him into a car window. Kotarski was arraigned and released and an order of protection was filed barring her from contact with the alleged victim.

Steven Michael Hauser, 41, of Stanridge Court, Rochester, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Hauser is accused of punching another person while inside the concert venue at Darien Lake. The alleged incident occurred at 10:45 p.m., Aug. 20.

Gerilynn Georgette Joannis, 43, of Stanridge Court, Rochester, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Joannis is accused of punching another person while inside the concert venue at Darien Lake. The alleged incident occurred at 10:45 p.m., Aug. 20.

A car was stolen a short time ago from in front of a business on Liberty Street.

A customer went into the business and found when she came back out that her 2009 Chevy Malibu was gone.

The color of the car is gray.

Batavia Police are responding.

The following indictments were filed last week by the Genesee County Grand Jury.

Nicholas S. Dellarocco is indicted on charges of burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief, 4th, and petit larceny. Dellarocco is accused of entering a business at 3 West Ave., Le Roy, on May 3 with the intention to commit a crime. He allegedly damaged doors and a cash register in the building. He also allegedly stole cash from the business.

Alan J. Delano is indicted on charges of burglary, 2nd, petit larceny, and three counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th. Delano is accused of entering a residence at 61 Myrtle St., Le Roy, with the intent to commit a crime. He is accused of stealing a flat-screen TV and a vase along with $30 cash on March 13. He is accused of possessing a credit card, a debit card and a public benefits card belonging to another person.

Crystal L. Goodrich indicted on charges of felony DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Goodrich is accused of driving a 2003 GMC on a public road in Pavilion on May 3 while intoxicated.

For the three youths being hauled into family court on arson charges stemming from the Wiard Plow fire on May 8, justice -- such as it is -- will be swift.

Family court operates much faster than adult court, according to Assistant County Attorney Durin Rogers.

Rogers spoke on the condition that his comments not be construed as speaking specifically about the arson case, but in general about how family court operates and what a youth facing felony charges might expect. He is prohibited by law from talking about specific cases in family court, where all matters are kept confidential.

The outcome of a case such as this could range from conditional discharge, to two years probation, to placement in a limited-security facility for up to 18 months. 

That's as close as a youth charged with a felony might come to prison, unless the young offender committed one of a series of offenses eligible for juvenile offender status.

As a JO, a youth could be tried as an adult.

The charges in this case do not fall within that statutory definition, Rogers said.

Some cases, he said, are just seen as acts of juvenile delinquency.

Asked if the public will ever know the outcome of the case, Rogers said he couldn't comment.

Det. Todd Crossett told WBTA this morning that the arrest of the three 14-year-olds is the last the public will ever hear of the case.

As for the parents of youths in such cases, they face no charges tied directly to their children's actions, and are not technically financially liable for the damage caused by a minor to private property, Rogers said. 

In family court, there are hearings and respondents (called defendants in adult court) who receive legal respresentation. A convicted youth can be ordered to pay restitution, but not the parents, Rogers said.

That doesn't mean the property owner victimized by an act of vandalism can't sue the parents. But in order to sue them, the property owner would have to know who the youth was who committed the crime. Asked if there was a procedure for a property owner to find out the name of defendant in family court, Rogers said he couldn't comment on that.

Crossett told WBTA this morning that detectives don't believe the three youths meant to burn down a building.

"I don't think there was the thought when they went in there to say, 'Let's burn the whole thing down,'" Crossett said.

With the old wood and chemicals in the building, Crossett said the youths' fascination with fire became something too big too fast.

"I think the fire just got really out of hand really fast," Crossett said.

The foundations of the old factory buildings have been cleared of debris, as the pictures with this post show. Owner Tom Mancuso was not available to comment today on the future of the space.

As the chapter on the May 8 fire comes to a close, Mancuso's company is also pushing ahead with the Masse Gateway Project.

After a few years of being unemployed, Mary Holmes decided it was time to open her own store.

"I just finally got tired of working for other people," Holmes said.

The Batavia resident and Attica native owned a crafts store in Albany during her 25 years living there, but with her family's background in flea markets, it was natural that the store would carry a variety of used merchandise.

The primary focus, however, as the name of the store says, is books. The business name is Anything Goes Books and More. It is located in the Harvester Center right on Harvester Avenue.

Holmes has amazing, impressive array of items to sell, but as she expected, most of her customers to this point have been buying books.

She opened the store the first week of August.

And the outlet is a family affair. Some of the merchandise comes from her father's estate and her two bothers and sister help by going to garage sales and flea markets looking for more used items to sell in the store.

"I need the help," Holmes said. "I can't be out there picking stuff and be in here, too."

Right now, the store occupies three office-sized spaces in the Harvester Center. Holmes said it's her dream to see the store expand and carry even more items, or even when its doing well enough to move to Main Street.

She acknowledged that the Harvest Center is a little out of the way for some people, but with the recent addition of some other new businesses in the complex, it's helped her business a lot, she said.

Construction -- or rather, destruction -- has begun on the Masse Gateway Project.

The project is intended to turn the old factory buildings of Masse-Harris/Harvester into modern office and light industrial space. The first phase involves knocking down the buildings at the end of Masse Place to create an entryway into the facility.

The project is expected to cost $3.1 million and is being partially funded by a $1.5 million RestoreNY grant. Mancuso Development Group, the property owner, will cover the balance of expenses.

The project is expected to lead to productive use of all the old factory buildings in the complex, as can be seen in the artist rendering below. Included in the concept was a portion of the old Wiard Plow factory building, which was destroyed in an alleged arson fire in May. A representation of the destroyed structure can be seen in the lower right of the rendering.

Sandra L. Chilano, 50, of Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Chilano is accused of writing out cash refunds to herself while employed at Petco. The total amount of cash refunds allegedly exceeded $1,000. The 11 separate alleged incidents occurred between June and August.

Debra J. Overton, 47, of Hague Street, Rochester, is charged with DWAI (drugs), aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and failure to keep right. Overton was stopped at 9 p.m., Monday, by Deputy Tim Wescott.

Dedra Ann Berg, 35, of Lasaille Avenue, Kenmore, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Berg is accused of going to the house of her boyfriend's victim on Overlook Drive, Batavia, in violation of an order of protection out of the Village of Kenmore. Berg reportedly has similar charges pending in the Village of Kenmore Court.

John Robert Douglas, 30, of Lasaille Avenue, Kenmore, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Douglas allegedly went to the house of a person on Overlook Drive, Batavia, whom he was ordered not to contact by the Town of Grand Island and Village of Kenmore courts.

UPDATE: On Monday, we reported the arrest of Brenda Lea Freida, 43, of Munger Road, Holley, on a DWI charge. Yesterday, the Democrat and Chronicle reported that Freida is a director of instruction in Holley Central Schools. The D&C reported that she is currently on a voluntary leave of absence. At the time of her arrest, Frieda had a pending case in Genesee County for a prior alleged DWI.

An inmate at the federal detention facility in Batavia, who was already in trouble for reportedly using illegal tactics in debt collection, has been accused by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of operating a collection agency from inside the prison.

News report:

Lamont Cooper, 38, formerly of Lancaster, operated CMC Recovery Services, Inc., d/b/a Legal Action Recovery in Buffalo, from prison in violation of a May 2009 court order barring him from the collection industry, according to the felony complaint. He was barred after an earlier investigation determined his business regularly used threats and intimidation against consumers.

The complaint alleges that Cooper’s collectors routinely pose as law enforcement and threaten to arrest consumers unless they make arrangements to pay the company immediately. The complaint further alleges Cooper’s involvement in the scheme continued after he was taken into federal custody in October 2009 for being found in violation of the terms of his release from a 1997 drug conviction.

Three 14-year-old boys have been charged with setting the Wiard Plow factory fire, which destroyed a good portion of the historic structure May 8.

Because the boys are juveniles, their names are not being released by law enforcement. Two of the boys face two counts each of arson, 3rd, and the third member of the trio faces one count of arson, 3rd.

The first two boys are accused of starting an early afternoon fire in an abandoned office in the old factory. The 1:40 p.m. fire was quickly extinguished by the Batavia Fire Department after a passerby reported seeing smoke coming from the building before the fire had much chance to spread. 

All three were allegedly involved in starting a second fire in the evening -- reported at 7:40 p.m. --  which quickly engulfed a good portion the structure causing an estimated $288,000 damage.

Lead investigator Det. Kevin Czora along with other members of the Batavia Police Department, the fire department, New York State Fire and the Genesee County District Attorney's Office spent three months building the case against the suspects. Detectives conducted numerous interviews and gathered physical evidence.

The three juveniles, because of their ages, have been referred to Genesee County Family Court to answer the charges.

Besides the arson charges, all three were also charged with burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief, 2nd, and conspiracy, 4th.

For previous coverage, click here.