batavia

An Oakfield motorcycle rider who led local law enforcement on a high speed chase early this morning faces multiple charges, including DWI and reckless driving along with four counts of speeding.

The Sheriff's Office says Gregory P. Smith, 20, of Main Street, Oakfield, reached speeds this morning of 120 to 136 mph on what a witness described as a "crotch rocket" style motorcycle, according to dispatchers.

Initially, at 6:22 a.m., deputies were dispatched to the Village of Oakfield for a report of a motorcyclist driving fast and erratically, possibly intoxicated.

The driver reportedly dumped the bike near Wilson Farms, got it back up and headed south on Route 63, which is where he was intercepted by deputies.

When deputies attempted to initiate a traffic stop, Smith allegedly sped up, heading south on Route 63 into Batavia.

The suspect then continued west on West Main Street Road, through the Town of Batavia. When the driver reached Kelsey Road, he reportedly turned north and then headed west on Galloway Road. At Downey Road, he turned north and continued to Maple, where he turned back toward the village.

Smith reportedly lost control of the bike on Route 63 at Hutton Road.

He then allegedly fled on foot.

Law enforcement officers caught up with Smith in a cornfield north of the accident location and deployed a Taser to subdue him.

Smith faces the following charges: DWI; driving with a BAC of .08 or higher; reckless driving; unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle; four counts of speeding (120 in a 40 mph, 130 in a 45 mph, 120 in a 55 mph and 136 in a 30 mph); five counts of failure to stop for a stop sign; driving left of pavement markings; passing on the right; running a red light; unlicensed operation; and leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

The incident was investigated by Deputy Howard Carlson. Assisting in the incident were Deputy Lonnie Nati, Warrant Officer Eric Olson, Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello and the State Police.

In the past hour, calls for trees and utility poles down have subsided, and the wind seems to have died down a bit, but a strong wind warning remains in effect until 4 p.m.

There are about a dozen locations where power outages have been reported, most significantly in Elba, where 871 National Grid customers are without power. The power outage was reported at 8:48 a.m. and no ETA for when power will be restored.

Above, what's left of a tree that blew down on Lewiston Road in Oakfield. Below, a contractor saws off a large broken limb from a tree on Wortendyke Road, Town of Batavia, that was hanging precariously over the roadway.

A tree has fallen onto the road at 22 Porter Ave. in the City of Batavia.

UPDATE (by Howard): A tree branch struck two houses and a minivan.  The lines down appeared to be phone and cable.

A tree and a utility pole have blown over and onto a house at 3 Vine St. in the City of Batavia. The pole has a transformer on it and it's leaning across the roadway. National Grid is on scene. City fire dispatched.

UPDATE 11:05: City fire back in service. National Grid is handling the situation.

UPDATE 11:08 a.m.: A city code enforcement officer is called to the scene regarding the tree fallen onto the house, presumably to address safety concerns.

UPDATE (by Howard): Duane Pruston, a local landlord, said he bought 3 Vine St. just a few weeks ago. He was inside finishing up work for new tenants (he just rented it) when he walked outside, heard a crack and looked over and saw the tree falling into the house. He said wires were flying everywhere and paint crews working in a bucket next door were lucky, Pruston said, that they weren't struck by wires.

UPDATE: Frank Capuano submitted the two photos below:

A pursuit of a motorcycle rider is in progress. It began in Oakfield, came into the city briefly and now appears headed back toward Oakfield.

The original call was for a motorcycle rider on a "crotch rocket" apparently racing through the Village of Oakfield. The original caller suspected the rider was intoxicated.

Law enforcement units responded to Oakfield but didn't get there before he refueled at Wilson Farms.

The rider was spotted southbound on Route 63. When he reached West Main Street, he turned right and headed west. He took Kelsey to Galloway, then Downey, then Maple and is now heading back into the village and then 63.

The rider has allegedly ran multiple stop signs and "almost lost it on Maple."

He just "dumped it" on southbound Route 63.

The rider took off on foot, northbound.

UPDATE 6:34 a.m.: Suspect in custody.

UPDATE 6:37 a.m.: Medics requested to the scene to evaluate the suspect from being Tased and his tumble.

UPDATE 6:42 a.m.: Suspect is denying any injuries. Taser probes need to be removed from his legs.

A scene along South Main Road, at about 6:45 p.m., shortly after our cloudburst.  Recent rains have the Tonawanda Creek running high, from bank-to-bank.

While radar shows the storm seems to have passed, a tornado watch remains in effect until 10 p.m.

There is a flash flood watch in effect from 10 p.m. until tomorrow morning.

Saturday, for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, members of the Batavia Police Department will be in the parking lot of department HQ, 10 W. Main St., Batavia, to collect unwanted prescription drugs and hypodermic needles.

No questions asked.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The drop off is open to all people regardless of where they reside.

Additionally, nursing homes, doctors offices and other organizations wishing to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs and or hypodermic needles may use the service.

As an added bonus, people disposing of unwanted prescription drugs will receive a certificate for a free seat at a Buffalo Bisons home game between May 5 and 12 when one ticket is purchased for the same game.

Photo submitted by Batavia PD. Pictured are Det. Charles F. Dudek, left, and Det. Todd A. Crossett

Yesterday, there were no obvious blossoms on the trees behind the Upton Monument at Ellicott and Main streets. This morning, an explosion of pink.

Surely, spring is here, finally?

The seven-day forecast calls for more rain this week, but supposedly, Saturday will be clear, which is good news for those of us who have gardening to do.

The proposal is in the city budget, it's in the strategic plan, it's on the drawing board, but officially, the Batavia City Council has yet to approve the creation of an economic development director.

The vote will take place at the council's next business meeting, but on Monday council members got a chance to learn more about the proposal, ask questions and state their opinions.

There were no strong objections, and Councilman Bill Cox called on his fellow council members to approve the proposal.

"It’s a great opportunity for the city and it’s the most important thing we’ve done in a long time," Cox said. "I don’ think you’re going to see any results for 18 months, because no matter what you decided, you’re going to have to apply for grants, you’re going to have to wait for replies, you have to be selective, so I think we’ll see the first fruits of our labor in 18 to 24 months."

Under the proposal, the city would chip in $10,000 per year for each of the first two years (funded by cutting $15,000 from the grant writing budget of the city), with the balance of the eventual hire's salary being covered by money from the revolving loan fund and the micro-enterprise fund (both funds filled years ago by state grants).

The Batavia Development Corporation, which in the past has overseen the revolving loan fund, would hire and supervise the economic development position.

Councilman Bob Bialkowski wondered if, within the two years allotted for the new position to start paying off, whether new grants would start funding the position.

Ray Chaya, president of the BDC board of directors, said, "that would be the hope. Even though the state is in dire straits, there is still money out there for economic development. We want to be able to capture whatever is out there as soon as it’s available."

Council members asked questions about benefits -- the new hire will not receive benefits through the city as an employee of the BDC -- and what the person will actually do.

The job description specifies that the economic developer will be required to recruit and retain small businesses in the city and help businesses find ways to expand and grow.

If the council approves the proposal, the BDC can get to work on recruiting the right person and hopefully getting him or her in place on or before Aug. 1.

"We really need three-to-four months to get that person in here and really have benchmarks set up," Chaya said. "Two years is really a short amount of time, so this person needs to have strong communications skills, small business sense and a really good understanding of economic development."

At about 7 p.m., Batavia City Fire Department responded to a call of smoke coming from a train car at Mill and Evans streets.

It turns out, the white vapor is nothing more than steam.

Metal shavings in the train car from the scrap metal operation heat up, and then when rain falls on the hot metal, it generates steam.

A thermal imaging camera showed the internal temperature was 111 degrees.

Raymond Allard, 27, of Fall River, Mass., is charged with rape, 2nd. Allard is accused of having sexual relations with a person under 15 years of age on April 15 in Oakfield.

Duffy L. Starks, 18, of 1 Dawson Place, Batavia, is charged with violation of probation. Starks was arrested on a warrant issued out of Batavia City Court and jailed on $2,500 bail.

Nicholas A. Antonucci, 23, of 4192 Broadway Road, Alexander, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and failure to stop for stop sign. Following a report of an erratic driver, in which the caller provided a license plate and direction of travel, Antonucci was observed by Officer Matt Fleming allegedly running a stop sign. Antonucci allegedly failed a field sobriety test. He was arrested and later released to a family member.

Jonathan James Langenfeld, 29, of Canandagua Street, Leicester, is charged with burglary, 1st. Langenfeld is accused of entering a residence illegally and remaining there and then allegedly assaulting the new boyfriend of his estranged girlfriend.

Jon J. Reynolds, 35, of Wood Road, Bergen, is charged with stalking, 4th, and endangering the welfare of a child. Reynolds was taken into custody by State Police for an alleged incident reported at 3:41 p.m., Sunday. No further details released.

Patrick J. Donahue is indicted on a charge of rape in the first degree. Donahue is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion on Jan. 10, 2010.

Frank J. Bieniek is indicted on charges of grand larceny, 3rd, and criminal possesion of stolen property, 3rd. Bieniek is accused of stealing a .45-caliber flintlock rifle from the Holland Land Office Museum on Dec. 10, 2010.

Jorge Portugal-Pineda is indicted on charges of felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and a felony of aggravated unlicensed operation. Portugal-Pineda is accused of driving drunk on Dec. 28, 2010 on Transit Road in the Town of Byron.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia has been notified by the New York State Department that it has been awarded a $266,508 New York State Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program Grant. Please see http://www.dos.state.ny.us/press/2011/BOA_Grants.html

The city applied to the Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) Program for $266,508 to develop a Nomination Study for a 250-acre area downtown that has the potential for redevelopment. 

The primary community revitalization objectives to be achieved by this project include the redevelopment of underutilized, vacant and Brownfield properties, cleanup of contaminated properties, continued revitalization of the downtown business district and neighborhood stabilization.

Anticipated community benefits resulting from this project include the creation of jobs, private and public reinvestment, increased tax revenue and increased property values. The expected time frame for completion of this project is 24 months.

A young C.M. Barons -- regular contributor to The Batavian and former State Assembly candidate -- was a journalism student at GCC when the north side of Main Street, Batavia, was demolished to make way for the Genesee Country Mall.

Over the weekend, Barons found his old photos for a story he did in college.

The bottom photo is of David J. Gordon, who was the urban renewal planner in charge of the project. Barons sent it along in case anybody needed new dart board material.

All proceeds from a chicken BBQ on Saturday planned by the Batavia Area Jaycees will go to help the Colby family.

The group's board of directors decided to use the money to help the family of Jonathan Matthew Colby, 37, of Batavia, who died earlier this month in a car accident on West Main Street.

The BBQ is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 30.

Cost for the dinner is $8 pre-sale or $8.50 the day of the event and includes half a chicken, cole slaw, salt potatoes, roll & butter.

Pre-sale tickets are available from 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Jaycee Office located at 31 Batavia City Centre. Or they can be bought at Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, (210 E. Main St.), T-Shirts, Etc., (438 E. Main St.) or by calling 585-343-5775; or by asking any Jaycee for more details.

Dinners can be picked up at Clor’s Meat Market at 4169 W. Main St., Batavia. If you have any questions about the chicken BBQ, contact the Jaycees at 585-343-5775.

Isaac Emmaneul Simmons, 24, of Ellsworth Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Simmons is accused of leaving a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old in a car outside Walmart with the motor running while he went into the store.

Michael J. Raphael, 22, 4 Noonan Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 3rd. At about 1 a.m., Sunday, Batavia Police were notified that a person was in the area of Center Street attempting to fight with others. When police arrived, they were told the person had walked toward the Mancuso Bowling Center. When officers checked the area, they were advised by a witness that Raphael struck a parked car causing damage to the vehicle.

Brad Hilchey, 29, 43 Oak St., Oakfield, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI and moving from lane unsafely. Hilchey was stopped at 1:06 a.m., Saturday, on West Main Street, Batavia, by Officer Frank Klimjack.

Ryan James Sundown, 30, Meadville Road, Basom, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing. Sundown is accused of trying to choke a woman during an altercation at an address on Meadville Road.

Virginia Louise Miller, 46, Colony Run, Attica, is charged with assault 3rd and menacing 2nd. Miller is accused of threatening another person with a knife and of biting that person in the arm.

Robert Paul Leiser, 42, of Lockport Road, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Leiser was arrested following an investigation into an alleged incident at 3 a.m., April 20.

Ryan S. Richards, 21, of Medina, is charged with petit larceny. Richards is accused of shoplifting $25.05 worth of merchandise from Kmart. Richards was also cited for alleged fictitious inspection sticker, aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd, operating without a license, switched plates and unregistered motor vehicle.

Thomas J. Torres, 48, of Albion, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Torres was taken into custody in the Town of Stafford at 10:35 p.m., Saturday, by State Police.

Christopher J. Nacca, 22, of Webster, and Taylor M. Shoemaker, 18, of Williamson, are charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Nacca and Shoemaker were stopped by State Police at 4:10 p.m., Friday, on Route 5 in Pembroke.