batavia

Here are a few photos I took while at the scene. I'll post more later. We've also received numerous reader-submitted photos and we will post those later. I'm heading back to the scene as soon as this post is up.

A firefighter said it looked like this fire broke out only feet from where this afternoon's fire was apparently set.

The back of the building is a total loss. There is a chance the front half will be saved.

A number of firefighters I spoke with said they were thankful it's a cold and damp night.  With the direction of the wind and embers in the air, Harvester Center could have been ignited as well, if not for cold and damp weather.

More later.

There is a structure fire at the Wiard Plow Co. building at 33 Swan St. in the City of Batavia. Firefighters are on scene, opening up the building to vent the smoke. The roof is afire with 20-foot flames. A second ladder is requested. A crew from Alexander is requested to fill in for the City of Batavia as standby. Looky-loos are posing an impediment to the firefighting efforts.

The fire is engulfing the rear of the structure. There was an apparent arson there earlier this afternoon.

"From everything I can see the main sturcture is OK but there's a lot of embers flying around. A good chunk of the rear of the building fell down," reports a firefighter.

All firefighting manpower from the city and town of Batavia are called to the scene.

The report of this tree falling into a house at 2 Manhatten Ave., Batavia, came in around 5:30 p.m.

The initial report said the residents were trapped in the house, but they managed to get out before city firefighters arrived.

This is the scene at 6:51 p.m.

A tree fell into a home on Kibbe Avenue. Witnesses said a limb pierced straight through the roof into the closet of a bedroom. One person was home, but nobody was hurt.

A tree down and blocking Jackson Street near Wood Street.

A man walking down Ellicott Street, trying to keep control of his umbrella in the wind.

More pictures after the jump:

The fence in front of the old Christina's Restaurant location on Ellicott Street was blown down. Genesee Dispatch reached owner Chuck Brumstead, who reportedly said nothing could be done about it until Sunday.

A tree came down on this car on Vine Street.

Firefighters Joseph Schlossel and Robert Fix remove a tree limb from Tracy Avenue.

City crews had a lane of traffic closed throughout most of the morning and into mid-day for unknown repairs at Ellicott and Jackson streets.

The flag outside the Genesee County Economic Development Center on Mill Street whipping in the wind.

A pair of teenagers walking behind the Wiard Plow Co. building on Swan Street spotted smoke coming from a window in the back of the old factory building, so they went to a nearby business and called 9-1-1.

When city firefighters arrived, there was just a little smoke showing and after they made their way into the building, they found smoldering office papers. They were files left behind from a previous business that had been set on fire, according to Lt. James Steinbrenner.

While the fire appears to be intentional, or at least set by the action of some person, there was no accelerant, which would be used in a typical arson.

The fire may have just be a result of people who were hanging out in the building and lighting matches. Four partially burned birthday candles were found in a room adjoining the interior office where the fire was found. The fire did not extend beyond that office.

The burning paper was extinguished quickly by the City of Batavia Fire Department.

The way the paper was spread on the floor, it's possible somebody has been using it as bedding.

Access to the building is wide open through a back wall that is completely collapsed.

Tree branches are down in the area of 166 Summit St., completely blocking it.

At 9 Holland Ave., a tree is down and electrical wires are arcing.

Also, trees down blocking Macomber Road in Oakfield and a street in Bergen.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: A line is down and arcing on Route 77. Also, Batavia Fire is being dispatched to 71 S. Main St. for a tree limb on fire. A Le Roy Fire chief reports a limb down on Myrtle Street.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m.: In Le Roy, there are at least two limbs down on Myrtle, with one causing damage to a vehicle, plus one on Glibert Street. Le Roy is setting up a command post at the Fire Hall and requesting all available manpower.

UPDATE 4:30 p.m.: Fire Dispatch just notifed all fire personnel to go to various operational channels and keep radio transmissions to a minimum: "We have several emergencies to get out."

Update 4:35 p.m.: There is some sort of fire on West Bergen Road. Wires are down on Elm Street in Le Roy, also in Le Roy several tree branches and wires are down and arcing on Lake Street. There is also an incident on Washington Avenue in Batavia that has the street shut down.

UPDATE 4:38 p.m.: A tree has fallen on a house on Kibbe Avenue.

UPDATE 4:40 p.m.: There's a chain reaction of poles down and wires popping on Clipknock Road. There's also another pole down in Le Roy, but we didn't catch the location. Also several poles and wires down on Bethany Center Road.

UPDATE 4:43 p.m.: Somebody just said, "We've lost all power in the village." Not sure which village.

UPDATE 5:09 p.m.: National Grid is on scene on Erie Street in Le Roy for lines down.  Also on Oatka, a large tree is leaning on wires. Wires are intact. In Batavia, Jackson Street is blocked at Wood Street. Darien is being asked to check 9295 Colby Road for unknown wires down.

UPDATE: A tree has fallen into power lines on Vine Street.

Large trees have fallen on Vine Street, one of which struck a car, and on Tracy Avenue in the City of Batavia. This prompted a third batallion to be dispatched to the fire department.

A groundhog spotted on Maple Street this afternoon.

A possible structure fire has been reported at 33 Swan St., Batavia.

Batavia Fire is responding.

UPDATE 2:08 p.m.: There has been a good deal of scanner traffic and any response to this did not come across.  We just drove by the location and no fire is on scene, so they must have cleared.

UPDATE 3:24 p.m.: There was a fire. A small one.  In one of the old Wiard Plow buildings.  The fire trucks were (duh) behind the building.  A separate post on the fire, with pictures, later.

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A large tree has fallen into a garage at 10 Prospect Ave. in the City of Batavia. No wires are believed to be affected. Batavia Fire is responding and will be using a chainsaw to remove the tree.

Electric lines are reportedly down and on fire in the vicinity of 65 South Main St., Batavia.

Batavia Fire is responding.

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BATAVIA , NY -- In a brief conversation this morning, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said he wasn't surprised yesterday when the attorney for Scott Doll, accused of murder, implied that maybe it was Doll's son who killed Joseph Benaquist on Feb. 16, 2009 in Pembroke.

As for whether Josh Doll will be called as a witness in the case, Friedman at first said, "You'll have to ask them," motioning toward the defense table. 

Asked if Josh Doll was already on his witness list, Friedman said Judge Robert Noonan doesn't really like attorneys to specify who is on what list.  He then said, "I just don't know (if he will be called)."

Doll's attorney, Paul Cambria, said he never discusses beforehand who he plans to call as a witness.

Of course, under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, people have the right not to make statements that implicate themselves in crimes. If Josh Doll took the stand, he could refuse to answer any questions that might implicate him in a crime.

Of course, if he wasn't involved in the crime, he would be compelled to testify truthfully to anything he knew.

An attorney we spoke to said that under court rules, neither the prosecution nor defense can call a witness they know in advance will take the 5th.

In yesterday's opening remarks, Cambria said that according to Scott Doll, Benaquist's dying words were, "The boy. The boy."  Some minutes later, Cambria said, Doll began to wonder if those words meant that Josh Doll was the killer.

Cambria used the concern of Scott Doll over the possible involvement of his son to suggest that Doll's state of mind may explain some of his actions and statements to Sheriff's deputies.

The trial restarted this morning shortly after 9:45 a.m.

Because of a prior commitment for Judge Noonan, today's trial session will end at 12:30 and resume Monday morning at 9:30.

A Le Roy resident admitted in Genesee County Court today that in September he broke into a Pavilion business and damaged property there.

Bryan M Hargrave, 23, of 61 Myrtle St., Apt. B2, Le Roy, was charged with three counts each of: burglary; burglary 3rd; criminal mischief; and petit larceny.

As part of a plea bargain this morning, Hargrave agreed to admit to one count of burglary, 3rd, and one count of criminal mischief.

As part of the plea arrangement, he faces a maximum of six months in jail and five years probation.

That sentence cap could be lost if he violates the terms of his release under supervision -- an issue that apparently had him in court for a review of his bail status this morning after he allegedly violated terms of his RUS recently.

“You understand that if you do the same thing tomorrow that you did last week, you could end up going to state prison," Judge Robert Noonan said.

"Yes, your honor," Hargrave replied.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Finnell opened the hearing by noting that Hargrave had allegedly violated his RUS terms and, after consulting with his defense attorney Gary Horton, was now ready to accept a plea offer.

Hargarve admitted to breaking into Pavilion Drainage, 6630 Route 63, Pavilion. He was also accused of breaking into B.W.'s Bar, 11070 Perry Road, Pavilion, and Willow Bend Inn, 3489 W. Main St. Road, Batavia.

As part of his plea, Hargrave agreed to pay whatever restitution is required for all charged break-ins.

James Daniel Pontillo, 43, of Stafford, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Pontillo was arrested for an incident that allegedly occurred Feb. 17 at 5122 Clinton St. Road in Batavia. The Sheriff's Office news release says Pontillo allegedly "subjected a female to physical contact." No further details were released.

Aaron J. Allen, 21, of Batavia, is charged with trespass. Allen was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident on April 7. No further details were provided.

(name redacted upon request), 22, of Rochester, is charged with DWI and with driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Felong was arrested at 3 a.m., Thursday by State Police on the Thruway in Pembroke following a single-car property damage accident.

The students at GCC were all smiles Thursday evening as Care-A-Van Ministries held their annual end of year cookout for the students.  Approximately 200 students came out for the picnic and to enjoy listening to the music of the Care-A-Van Band.

During the school year, the ministry goes once a month and knocks on all 95 dorm rooms to offer treats, prayers and encouragement. The Care-A-Van is their church away from home. Great relationships were built with the students over the year. It was an awesome time tonight celebrating the students success with them.  A special thanks to MJ from security and all the RA Advisors who helped unlock the buildings on our monthly visits. We wish all the students a very blessed summer! See you in the fall!

Elder Ron is the Care-A-Van Pastor and the students just love him!

I think the Men's basketball team was trying to sign Elder Ron up for next year! 

The camouflage overalls Scott Doll wore the night of Feb. 16, 2009 were stained with human blood, not deer blood.

His knees were so saturated that it soaked through his correctional officer work pants and stained his skin. One of the excuses he offered when questioned by a Sheriff's Deputy that night was that he butchered deer.

When first approached by a deputy, he was carrying a jack and lug wrench in his pockets, and offered contradictory statements about what he was doing walking on North Lake Road in Pembroke.

Late morning and afternoon testimony on the first day of Doll's trial -- over the killing of Joseph Benaquist in an alleged business-partnership deal gone bad -- put the accused in the vicinity of the murder scene covered with blood and unable to fully explain the situation to deputies.

Deputy James Diehl was dispatched to Pembroke after a report of a suspicious person. Doll was northbound on the east shoulder of the roadway, wearing overalls and a white firefighter's hood sock, which covered his face and head except his eyes.

Diehl testified that Doll had bulges in both pants pockets. The officer pulled up within 20 feet behind him and an object fell out of Doll's left front pocket, onto the ground in front of a mailbox.

It was a tire jack, but he made no attempt to pick it up and continued walking toward the deputy's vehicle as he was motioned to do. Doll pulled a tire lug wrench out of his right front pocket to show the officer, too.

Diehl asked the Corfu resident why he was out walking in Pembroke. Doll replied that he had parked his car at a nearby repair garage and was taking tools to a friend's house. He was walking there in order to get a cardio workout, because he had a doctor's appointment the very next day and needed to lower his cholesterol and heart rate. He wore overalls because it was cold.

The deputy noticed "what appeared to be wet blood marks" on Doll's clothing. When asked about the bloody overalls and white sneakers, Doll said "I butcher deer."

Doll retrieved the tire jack, emptied his pockets -- a wallet, a lone car key, some Seneca cigarettes, a green Bic lighter and a screwdriver. Doll asked to be taken back to his van.

Things weren't adding up, Diehl said, and he told Doll he was taking him into custody until there were some answers. The deputy cuffed Doll, put him in the back seat, and the tools on the front seat, so they wouldn't scratch up the upholstery.

They drove to where the van was parked. (It was actually his mother Audrey's vehicle, which Scott was driving because his daughter had borrowed his truck.)

Pulling into the repair shop, the deputy saw a red Ford Windstar mini-van, a blue van and a white van. He noticed bloody work gloves, palms up, on the hood of the blue van, blood spatters on the door on the Windstar and its driver's seat.

On cross-examination, attorney Paul Cambria asked if Doll tried to flee after the object fell out of his pocket on North Lake Road. Diehl answered no. Cambria asked if Doll retrieved the object when asked to -- "he didn't try to throw it in a field." Diehl said no, he retrieved it. When Doll was asked for identification, he provided it, correct? Cambria asked. Yes, Diehl replied.

Cambria asked if Diehl had noticed bloody footprints in the snow, blood on the front headlight of the Windstar, along the driver's side, to the back lights. Yes, the deputy said.

Cambria asked if Diehl heard Doll ask for an attorney. Diehl said no, but he was told that Doll had indeed asked for one. Cambria asked if, when cuffing Doll and putting him into the patrol car, he had read him his Miranda warnings? No, was the answer.

(The Miranda warnings are a recitation of a person's Constitutional rights once taken into custody.)

Next on the witness stand was Deputy Patrick Reeves, a 13-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department and a Pembroke native. He knows Doll, used to work for the Doll family at the Super Duper and later the Jubilee Market. Reeves was shift commander the night in question and met up with the two men at the car repair shop.

Reeves said there were no lights on in the parking lot. Doll's coveralls were unzipped and his hair was disheveled. He asked Doll were he was headed and Doll said to see friends, but couldn't say where they lived. He told him about doing cardio, but Reeves noticed his shoes, which were so worn out they were practically soleless, were not appropriate for that activity in that kind of weather.

Reeves shined his flashlight on Doll and saw flecks of blood on his cheek, nose and on his knees, which Doll said was "old blood." The officer knows the Pembroke area intimately, knows about hunting. He pressed Doll about butchering deer and Doll said "It's not deer blood."

At that point, Reeves said his heart was pounding.

"I was getting scared," Reeves said.

He asked Doll if there was someone out there who was injured and needed an ambulance.

"Pat, you know me better than that," Doll replied.

Reeves then noticed various "dings and dents" around the bloodied vehicle and a single set of footprints and called an investigator to the scene.

"Things weren't adding up in my mind," Reeves said. "I thought maybe he was afraid of killing a deer out of season and losing his hunting license. I told him not to worry about that. Who cares?"

Doll replied, "Listen, I got three months to retire, Pat, I don't want to talk about it."

Reeves observed blood marks on the bottoms of Doll's shoes.

"It was clear to me that there was more to this, so I walked him back to the patrol car," Reeves testified.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman asked if Doll said he wanted an attorney.

"I don't want to talk about the blood anymore," Reeves recalled Doll told him. "... Do what you gotta do."

So Reeves asked if there was anyone he wanted to speak to and Doll said an attorney. But because Reeves remained concerned there might be a person needing immediate medical attention, he continued his line of questioning without getting Doll an attorney, and felt legally justified in doing so.

Cambria asked if Reeves and Diehl later searched the roadways looking for any evidence. They had, Reeves said, noting they looked off the shoulders, in the ditches, in nearby brush and, in some places, up to the trees.

Cambria asked if Reeves was aware, that the few houses that were in the rural area had their garbage cans out. Yes, said the deputy. Did you look in any of the garbage cans for evidence? Cambria asked. No, only in front of one house, Reeves replied, and nothing was found.

Did Reeves recall being asked if Doll said "I didn't do it"? Reeves, said no, he couldn't recall that.

But Cambria produced testimony from Reeves on a pre-trial transcript, page 100, where Reeves states "He told me he didn't do it."

Under questioning, Reeves acknowledged that he concluded the bloody footprints were Doll's.

When Doll asked for an attorney, Cambria asked, "did you give him a phone?"

No, said the deputy.

"Did you give him any opportunity to get an attorney?"

No, said the deputy.

"The request was ignored, was it not?" Cambria asked.

"At that time," Reeves replied.

Doll, who turns 48 on May 16, was flanked by his attorneys during the testimony and appeared calm and attentive, wearing a charcoal-gray, pinstriped suit. The jury of five men and 12 women were equally attentive.

Courtroom sketch from today's proceedings depicts D.A. Lawrence Friedman questioning Investigator Kris Kautz about blood evidence. The sketch was drawn by Colin Dentino exclusively for The Batavian. To view a larger version of the sketch, click here.

I was at the Bontrager auction house today talking with Todd Jantzi and looking at all the farm and other equipment being set out for this Saturday's auction when he said, "Come here. I want to show you something."  He said, "I'm really proud of this." and he opened a storage shed and said, "We have a Wiard Plow."

Todd said an Amish gentleman brought it in to be sold at auction, but he doesn't know where the Amish farmer got it from.

As you can see from the picture above, it's in pretty good shape.

Wiard Plows were manufactured in Batavia from the 1800s some time until well into the 20th Century.  You can still find a "Wiard Plow" sign painted on a red building off of Swan Street, behind the Harvester complex.

George Wiard was one of the leading citizens of Batavia in the 19th Century.  This biography says:

Mr. Wiard is one of the progressive men of this town. He has always been foremost in promoting enterprises that tended to the advancement of the educational, moral and religious interests of Batavia. He was for many years a member of the board of education and served five years as its president. He was chairman of the building committee that erected the Baptist church and was one of the committee having in charge the construction of the city water-works. He has been a director of the Genesee County Permanent Loan and Building Association since its organization in 1878 and for the last eighteen years has been the president. Politically he has always been a Republican.

NOTE: This case was dimissed in July or August of 2010.

A Bergen woman is under investigation by State Police for allegedly fraudulently gaining access to an elderly woman's bank accounts and stealing thousands of dollars.

Michele Case, 45, of 7100 N. Bergen Road, has already been indicted on two counts of grand larceny by a Genesee County grand jury and faces a grand jury hearing in Orleans County.

Investigator Leo Hunter of the New York State Police said Case allegedly stole more than $35,000 from Alfreda May, a former Rochester resident who moved to Holley before her death.

Hunter said the case started when the mother of Case's boyfriend was found late one night wandering a residential street in Rochester in nothing but her nightgown looking through trash cans.

May was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with dementia, a diagnosis later confirmed by her personal physician.

Case then took May to her attorney -- "not Alfreda May's attorney, not the family's attorney," Hunter said -- and had herself made power of attorney for Alfreda May.

After becoming power of attorney, Hunter said, Case broke up with her boyfriend and began allegedly accessing May's bank accounts for her personal use.

On Dec. 6, in Genesee County, Case was indicted on two counts of grand larceny, 3rd.

The indictment alleged that between July 2004 and September 2005, Case wrote checks and made e-check withdrawals from the woman's account for a total of $10,799.

The second count alleges that while in the City of Batavia, on the same dates, Case made ATM withdrawals from May's account for $3,697.20.

Hunter is unsure when the case will be submitted to the Orleans County grand jury.

BATAVIA, NY -- Joseph Benaquist's dying words, according to Scott Doll's attorney, were, "The boy. The boy."

Doll is accused of murdering Benaquist -- beating him to death and leaving his body in a pool of blood in his own driveway in Pembroke on Feb. 16, 2009.

But Paul Cambria, Doll's attorney, said this morning in opening arguments of Doll's murder trial that it wasn't Doll who killed Benaquist.

But if not Doll, then, who? 

Cambria said it crossed the mind of Scott Doll within minutes of hearing Benaquist utter, "The Boy. The Boy" just before he died in Doll's arms, that it was his own son, Joshua Doll.

Joshua Doll was the one who was supposed to meet Benaquist earlier that night and drive with him to the car auction in Adesa, and Joshua Doll who regularly dealt with Benaquist on auto transactions.

Scott Doll only went to Benaquist's home after the former corrections officer failed to show for an appointment at the Adesa auction. He arrived while his longtime business partner and friend was struggling for his life, Cambria said.

There was blood everywhere -- on the ground and splattered and smeared on nearby cars, and Doll was shocked at what he found and what he heard, Cambria said.

"Mr. Benaquist weighed 220 pounds," Cambria said. "The evidence will show he struggled and fought for his life. Yet, there's not one injury on my client, because he did not have a fight with Mr. Benaquist."

Equally adamant on the other side that Scott Doll is the murderer is District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.

"When this trial is over," Friedman said, "when you connect the dots you will find beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is responsible for the murder of Joseph Benaquist and is guilty as charged of murder in the second degree."

Friedman opened his statement by outlining the facts of the case -- that Benaquist was found dead in a pool of his own blood, the victim of multiple blows to the head, outside his Pembroke home on a cold Monday night. That Doll was found returning to the scene with his clothes and face covered in the victim's blood, and that the van Doll was driving had blood on the outside and the interior.

Friedman also said that during the course of the trial he will present evidence related to auto transactions that went wrong and that Doll was having increasing financial trouble.

While the prosecution is not required to provide proof of a motive for the murder of Benaquist, Friedman said the evidence will show that Doll and Benaquist were in conflict over some auto deals.

Doll and Benaquist cooperated in a used car business that was licensed to Doll. Benaquist also apparently used Doll's registration at the Adesa auto auction house to purchase vehicles for his own use.

Besides suggesting that Josh Doll may have killed Benaquist, Cambria also noted that despite extensive efforts by local law enforcement to find a murder weapon, none was ever located.

He suggested that if juror's apply common sense, they will conclude that Doll had no opportunity to dispose of the murder weapon.

He also said that any statements Doll made where intended to just buy him time, while he tried to figure out where his son was and whether he was involved. Doll's repeated requests to consult with an attorney were "ignored," according to Cambria, and also intended to buy time to find out if his son was involved.

He called the Sheriff's Office arrest of Doll a "rush to judgment."

The first witness called was James Waff, a second assistant chief in the Pembroke Fire Department. Waff first called emergency dispatch after spotting a suspicious person at the gas station on the corner of Main Road and Lake Road in Pembroke. Waff was returning from the Fire Hall at the time.

He described seeing Doll in a winter camouflage jumpsuit with his face covered with a firefighter's hood -- Doll was also a volunteer firefighter -- and then going to a friend's house nearby to see if he had also seen the person at the gas station.

When they returned, Doll was walking on Lake Road and they observed him until deputies arrived to question him.

The Batavian will have additional coverage of today's proceedings late in the afternoon.