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A Rochester man is going to prison for two to four years for his part in a baseball-bat attack on three State Street residents on May 20.

Reginald Charles Sampson, 44, of 335 Flanders St., Rochester, entered a guilty plea to burglary, 3rd, and menacing, 2nd, charge July 21. He was originally charged with burglary, 2nd.

Attorney Fred Rarick told Judge Robert C. Noonan that Sampson was a candidate for a supervised probation release that would include substance abuse counseling, but Noonan said Sampson was already getting a good deal with the reduction in the burglary charge.

Sampson told Noonan, "I wish I could do everything different."

Sampson was part of a group of five individuals who busted into an apartment at 112 State St., Batavia, on May 20, swinging baseball bats. One person suffered serious, but  not life-threatening, injuries.

Batavia Police say no further arrests have been made, but the case is not closed.

A victim's statement included in Sampson's court file describes the May 20 attack.

The woman was sitting in her apartment with two men when they heard a commotion downstairs. Soon, somebody was banging at their front door. When one of her male companions opened the door, he was immediately hit by an individual swinging some object.

She described the attackers as five black males.

She recognized Sampson as someone who had punched her the night before.

"I know Reginald had a bat for sure," she said. "Reginald came over to me. I was laying on the couch. He was pointing his bat at me and he said, 'I told you, Shorty, we don't play.'"

When the other male got up and tried to leave, saying "I wasn't part of this," all five individuals started hitting him, according to the witness. She said one person picked up her crutch and hit him with it.

A former Batavia resident already in state prison on eight sex-crime-related charges entered a not-guilty plea in Genesee County Court to a 10-count indictment alleging rape in the 2nd degree.

Philip E. Kroft Jr., is accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a girl 15 years old or younger.

Because Kroft is already serving a lengthy prison term, Judge Robert C. Noonan wondered what sort of bail status Kroft should be granted on the new charges -- Noonan has to set something in the way of bail status -- and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman didn't really have a recommendation.

"I don't think it's going to matter, your honor," Friedman said finally, kind of shrugging his shoulders, then adding, "$10,000."

"That's reasonable," Noonan said.

Kroft won't get his first parole hearing on his prior conviction until 2015.

Police say the alleged rapes in Batavia occurred in 2008.

Some of our readers had questions about the Bell Tower Restoration project at St. James Episcopal Church.

After the Aug. 25 article, church officials and committee members were kind enough to answer some additional questions about the nature of the tower's condition, the cost of the project, and other issues addressed by our readers.

They submitted the following information via e-mail:

The deterioration that we’re trying to address is structural in nature. This stems from water infiltration and the use of an overly hard mortar when the Church was re-pointed in the 1950s-1960s. As you can see if you look at the Bell Tower façade, some sections of the stonework have actually fallen off and we have had to rope off the front of the building.

We believe that the first phase of the Bell Tower reconstruction project, which includes rebuilding the top 10 feet of the tower and the roof, will cost no more than $500,000.

After completion of this first phase, we will attempt to address the additional issues relating to the stonework façade of the Bell Tower and the remainder of the Church in a multi-phase process. While the additional costs relating to the façade repair may run twice the cost of the original phase, the additional phases will no doubt take many years to complete.

The reason the cost is so high is that the project is very labor intensive, involves heavy materials and the work involving the first phase must be done at a height of 70 to 80 feet above the ground.

Neither the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, nor the Episcopal Church of the United States are directly involved in the project. Nor under our form of church governance would we expect them to be directly involved.

Even though the building is a source of concern, it does not diminish our desire to reach out to the community to fulfill our missions. St. James’ outreach to the community comes in many forms:

- George Rupprecht Fund: This summer, over 150 girls from 84 families have received school clothing, footwear and school supplies. At Christmas, we will again help the same number of girls with Christmas gifts. Year round, we help pay for extra-curricular activities and work to assure that each girl has a comfortable bed in which to sleep at night. This year, our budget is $72,000.

- Thrift Shop: St. James expanded its shop hours in 2010 to serve the community. Apart from clothing, we sell household items, books, toys, small furniture and lots of bric-a-brac. Persons coming to the George Rupprecht Fund are often given bags of clothing and household items for free. Four times a year, we host clothing giveaways.

- Episcopal Community Services: Serves the underprivileged in the Diocese of WNY.

- Bishop Masereka Christian Foundation: Sponsors children in Uganda to assist with schooling and medical needs.

- Comfort Food Dinners: Two dinners were held at St. James this past winter. All proceeds went to local charities.

- St. James is the local meeting place for other churches in the Deanery.

- St. James donates to the local food pantry, collects school supplies for children and, each Christmas, selects a local charity to support.

- We host many programs in the church so that the community can enjoy the ambience and the musical acoustics of the building, such as the Genesee Symphony, Genesee Chorale, Go-Art! and Crossroads House.

We have made the hard decision to stay at this location because of its viability to the community. St. James would exist and function without the building, but the building needs a caretaker and we have chosen to take on that role.

The alternative would be to leave a large untended building on Main Street. If we did not try to take care of the building, we would not be very good stewards of the building or good members of the community.

For more information, please call the church at 343-6802 or visit its website.

A non-injury accident on West Main Street in front of Oliver's is apparently blocking traffic.

Batavia PD is responding.

Jessie J. Jones, 19, of 118 1/2 State St., Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 3rd, and menacing, 2nd. Jones is accused of being involved in a fight on State Street at 10:08 a.m., Wednesday, where two men reportedly brandished knives. Police say that the other subject is known but has not been located. The police are seeking a warrant for his arrest.

Michael J. Piasta, 30, 415 E. Main St., Batavia, is charged with burglary and petit larceny. Piasta was arrested on a warrant upon his release from Niagara County Jail on an unrelated charge. Piasta is accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms on Aug. 1. (See this report, also this alleged incident.)

Rebecca J. Fili (pictured), 32, of 103 W. Main St., Building 9, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. Fili allegedly entered a business on West Main Street, Le Roy, and filled a purse she was carrying with items from the store. The purse was reportedly hollowed out in order to better conceal multiple items. A total of 15 items worth $53.70 were allegedly found in the purse. An employee reportedly spotted Fili allegedly filling her purse with store items.

Darik R.M. Orbaker, 18, of 6 Forest Edge Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 1st, and harassment, 2nd. Orbaker is accused of grabbing another person who had previously been granted an order of protection.

A 16-year-old, of Ivison Road, Byron, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The youth is accused of letting another person under age 16 drive his family's car. The car was allegedly occupied at the time by the driver, the defendant and two females under 17 years of age.

A 16-year-old, of South Main Street, Medina, is charged with petit larceny and unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. The youth is accused of stealing a 24-ounce can of Labatt Blue Light from a vendor's cooler during the Brooks & Dunn concert at Darien Lake.

Saul Doynasday Standsblack, 32, of Parker Road, Basom, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and criminal trespass, 2nd. Standsback is accused of breaking a window and gaining entry to a trailer at 587 Council House Road on Aug. 25 at 5:15 a.m.

Lindsay Catherine Miller, 19, of 236 E. Bennington Drive, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Miller is accused of stealing cartons of cigarettes from the Totem Pole store.

Batavia Police are responding to a report of four or five people at the end of Hall Street fighting.

UPDATE  12:27 a.m.: Police officer on scene: "Things appear more calm at this point."

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Three Monroe County businessmen who bought the former Pontillo's location on East Main Street, Batavia, and reopened the legendary location as "Pontillo's" have drawn the ire of the Rochester wing of the Pontillo's family.

Pontillo's Family Pizza, Inc., led by David Pontillo, nephew and son of the Pontillo's founders, has filed a trademark infringement suit against Batavia Pizza, LLC, owned by Thomas Masaschi, Jeffrey Reddish and Jason Teller.

The trio bought the 500 E. Main Street building and land late in 2009 from a firm that had acquired it in foreclosure. Then they reopened it as Pontillo's Pizzeria in April, hiring one of Salvatore Pontillo's son's, Sam Pontillo, to manage it.

Pontillo's Family Pizza, which overseas the operations of more than a dozen Pontillo's locations in the Rochester area, is claiming that Batavia Pizza never asked for, nor received, permission to use the Pontillo's name.

David's father, Anthony Pontillo, brother of Salvatore, filed for and received a federally registered trademark for "Pontillo's" in 1984.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for damaged business reputation, as well as all revenue and any profits of the new Batavia Pontillo's, plus any damages that might be awarded at trial, plus attorney's fees.

The suit also seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction against Batavia Pizza prohibiting the use of the Pontillo's name by the ownership group.

The Pontillo brothers founded one of the first post-war pizzerias in the United States in Batavia in 1947, and a few years later, Anthony headed out for Rochester to start a chain of pizzerias under the same name.

According to John and Paul Pontillo, there was an agreement between families not to infringe on each other's territory so long as Pontlllo's remained a family business.

In the lawsuit, Pontillo's Family Pizza contends that contrary to an early presentation by the Monroe County businessmen, Sam Pontillo, is not a partner in Batavia Pizza, and even if he were, Pontillo's Family Pizza would not have given him permission to use the Pontillo's trade name in a re-established Batavia enterprise.

"Because of his tax problems, Pontillo's Family Pizza, Inc., will not give Mr. Sam C. Pontillo the right to use PONTILLO'S to operate a pizzeria," reads a letter dated June 18 and written by attorney Stephan B. Salai to an attorney representing Masaschi and his partners.

It was one of two letters the ownership group received from the Rochester Pontillo's demanding that Masaschi and his partners stop using the Pontillo's name.

Sam and Paul Pontillo were operating the Batavia location when mounting debts and tax bills apparently forced them to close the store in November 2008. John Pontillo had also been involved in the operation at one time, and all three brother's dispute just how the family business fell into failure.

Sam has continued to operate the Le Roy Pontillo's, though John has made attempts to acquire it.

There is a pending lawsuit filed by the estate of Elizabeth Pontillo against Sam and Paul.

Previously:

• Pontillo v. Pontillo opens window on finances of legendary family business
• Dave's Produce has barely survived the alleged bad debt from Pontillo's
• Motions denied in Pontillo's lawsuit
• And for the rest of our previous coverage, going back to November 2008, click here.

Batavia Police are responding to a report of a fight on State Street involving two men with knives.

UPDATE 10:12 a.m.: The fight was not in progress when the first police officer arrived. One subject is still in the area, the other is walking on Willow Street. An officer is with him now near the park.

An investigation into shots fired at a West Main Street Road address led to the arrest Saturday of a Rochester resident on a petit larceny charge.

Antown T. Maddox, 20, was taken into custody after being stopped for alleged traffic violations.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said Maddox couldn't explain what he was doing with three mobile phones. 

Deputies found in his car an iPod Touch and a Blackberry. The Sheriff's Office had recently taken a report of a stolen iPod Touch and Blackberry.

Maddox was jailed on $500 bail.

Three Sheriff's Office patrols responded to 3546 W. Main St. Road at 2:50 a.m. after receiving a report of shots fired. There was a party in progress, according to Brewster, but when questioned, nobody knew anything.

"We are looking into the shots fired a little deeper," Brewster said.

An investigator has been assigned to the case.

Law enforcement is responding to Route 98 near the Thruway to investigate a call of a tour bus without any plates and with a driver who is reportedly yelling obscenities out the window at people.

The bus was on Main Street and turned north onto Route 98.

UPDATE 6:18 p.m.: No report of the bus being located. One trooper drove as far north as Route 262.

A Rochester man accused of starting a fire at 12 Elms St. on Jan. 24, 2009, and attempting to kill the father of an estranged girlfriend, was found guilty today of attempted murder by a Genesee County jury.

The jury also found Andre L. Scott, 30, guilty of burglary and arson.

The tall and lanky Scott, dressed in a sharp tan suit, did not react to the verdict, but at least one person sitting in the gallery behind him rushed from the courtroom in tears as the jury foreman responded "guilty" to the second count.

Scott could face 15 years in prison, or 25-to-life. He will be sentenced Oct. 28.

Defense attorney Thomas Burns, who was assigned to the case, was clearly disappointed in the verdict. He worked hard to punch holes in the prosecution's case, calling into doubt the method in which evidence was gathered and how DNA was handled by investigators and the state's crime lab in Albany.

Burns said there will likely be an appeal, but another attorney will represent Scott through that process. It isn't clear at this time, Burns said, what shape the appeal will take, but he said he will work closely with the appeals' attorney to help prepare the case.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said the jury reached the correct verdict.

"Obviously, we're pleased with the verdict," Friedman said. "We certainly felt the evidence supported the verdict and we're glad the jury was able to sift through the evidence of a complicated case to arrive at these results."

The jury found that on Jan. 24, Scott, reacting to a fight with his estranged girlfriend, carried out threats he made to her, her father and a friend, and went to the father's apartment building on Elm Street and started a fire.

Scott was accused of pouring gasoline from a Clorox bottle onto the stairs, leading to the man's apartment and then lighting a book of matches to start the fire.

The blaze was discovered quickly and the fire department responded before much damage could be done. Nobody was hurt in the fire.

This morning, Burns and Friedman made their closing arguments to the jury. After the jump, a few notes from the summations.

Thomas Burns, Defense:
Burns called into question the process the State Police crime lab used to handle the DNA evidence, saying that Peter Lewis, a technician at the lab, offered testimony that called into doubt the chain of DNA evidence.

"He testified that the laboratory had a protocol, and it's a written protocol," Burns said. "He doesn't have a copy of it. He doesn't know what it says. But he knows he followed it."

As for the parole officer who collected DNA evidence, Burns said he testified about how to use the kit to collect evidence.

"What was the training? To read the instructions. Had he read the instructions? No," Burns said.

The laboratory used a kit to process the DNA. According to Burns, the kit instructions say to use a "nanogram" of sample DNA.

But none of the pieces of evidence -- such as a bottle cap from a Clorox Bleach container, its handle and a book of matches -- contained that much DNA.

"They did not follow the protocols," Burns said. "This is a serious break of this laboratory's ability to produce a scientifically valid report."

Burns also questioned the scientific validity of using only the suspect's sample DNA to test against the DNA gathered at the crime scene.

He compared the process to using a photo line-up. You don't show a witness to a crime a photo of only one suspect. You show him several suspects, and ask him to pick out the suspect.

In the same way, Burns argued, the lab should have been provided control DNA samples and asked to identify the one that matched, instead of looking for a reason to match the one it had.

"Human nature says you can have suggestions placed in your head and that it interferes with the scientific process," Burns said.

Burns also questioned why -- if Scott made calls and sent text messages threatening the alleged victims -- no recordings or copies of text messages containing threats where entered into evidence.

He noted that one of the alleged victims had a lengthy criminal history, including accusations of lying to police. But the only evidence of threats, Burns said, came from the testimony of three people. 

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman
Friedman said the arguments against the DNA evidence could be made in any case.

"It's so easy to throw stones," Friedman said. "It's easy to play Monday-morning quarterback and suggest things could have been done different. If you accept the defense argument, then everybody involved in this case is either incompetent or there is some grand conspiracy against his client."

Friedman compared the idea that Peter Lewis could do his lab work without referring to the written protocols to a typical juror driving his or her car with out reading the owner's manual before each road trip.

"You don't need to be able to know your manual by heart in order to drive your car," Friedman said.

As to the credibility of the DNA evidence, Friedman said, "This isn't just Peter Lewis saying, 'these are my results.' They were peer reviewed. They were reviewed by supervisors and they were reviewed by administrators."

Friedman also called into question the testimony of alibi witnesses.

The witnesses, Friedman said, were able to recall with some detail events of Jan. 24, 2009, even though some of them didn't know for up to a year later that Scott had been charged with a crime. There was nothing, Friedman said, that would have made Jan. 24 particularly memorable.

"So how is it that they are able, after all these months, able to recall such amazing detail," Friedman said. "They have no recall of the day before or the day after. The amount of detail they claim to recall about Jan. 24 is ridiculous. It's not worthy of your consideration.

And why, Friedman wondered, didn't one of these alibi witnesses come forward long before the trial and tell police they had the wrong man because they were with him at the time of the accused crime. Not one of the witnesses contacted police prior to the trial, Friedman said.

Authorities have been notified that there's an injured skunk, "still alive," in the roadway on Vernon Avenue in the City of Batavia.

The driver of a vehicle accidently backed into a natural gas meter at 7964 Lewiston Road, causing the pipe to leak and no means to shut it off.

The meter is completely removed from the gas line. The valve is visible but seems stuck, according to Town of Batavia volunteer firefighters on scene.

Wind is south, southwest at nine mph. National Fuel has been notified.

The location is south of Galloway Road, on the west side of Lewiston.

He wasn't caught until he ran out of gas, but a Batavia man who led several area law enforcement agencies on a pursuit and search will likely serve one to three years in state prison after pleading guilty today to a DWI charge.

Randy S. Rumble, 28, of State Street, Batavia, admitted in court this morning that he was intoxicated at the time he was spotted driving his car on Morganville Road, where he ran out of gas.

The chase started in Livingtson County, but an Avon Police officer had to break off the pursuit as Rumble's car entered Genesee County.

The car was later spotted by Le Roy Police at a gas station in Le Roy, and apparently Rumble left the station before refueling.

Because Rumble had a DWI in Alexander in 2005, and he was driving on a revoked license, he was charged with a felony DWI in this case.

Sentencing is set for Oct. 14. He is being held in Genesee County Jail on $5,000 bail.

Robert Thigpen, III, 35, of 287 Flower City Park, Rochester, is charged with burglary, 2nd, menacing, 2nd, criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. Thigpen is accused of entering the apartment of an acquaintance on State Street at 10:37 p.m, Monday. He allegedly shoved the victim and threatened the person with a knife. Thigpen was located a short time later by officers Eric Hill and Kevin DeFelice and taken into custody without incident. Thigpen was jailed without bail.

Ricardo Velasquez, 21, of Elba, is charged with Aggravated DWI and speeding. Velasquez was stopped by State Police at 3:45 p.m., Sunday, for allegedly driving 96 mph in a 55-mph zone on Route 262 in Elba. Velasquez was taken to the police barracks and tested for alcohol and allegedly found to have a BAC of .28. Upon further investigation, it was determined that Velasquez is allegedly in the country illegally. Velasquez was jailed on $2,500 bail or $5,000 bond. A detainer was filed by the Border Patrol.

A car stolen from outside a business on Liberty Street this past Thursday night was recovered in a cornfield near Geneseo and the alleged thief apprehended after his girlfriend reportedly turned him in.

Taken into custody by the Livingston County Sheriff's Office was Richard P. Brown III, 21, of Honeoye, on charges of possession of stolen property and criminal mischief.

The 2009, gray Chevy Malibu, which was reportedly stolen from an employee of Ficarilla's Pizza from outside the restaurant, was located by Livingston County deputies after a farmer complained Friday about a car being driven into his cornfield, damaging crops.

Brown was already in jail at the time the car was found, having allegedly gotten into a fight Thursday night with his girlfriend. Following an investigation, he was arrested on the additional charges today.

According to Det. Todd Crossett of the Batavia PD, Brown told his girlfriend about the car, who subsequently told investigators in Livingston County about the connection.

Brown is being held on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond in the Livingston County Jail.

Crossett said the Batavia PD is seeking an arrest warrant so additional charges can be filed in Genesee County. Since Brown is reportedly out on parole, Crossett said he isn't too worried about Brown getting out of jail in Livingston County before the warrant is served.

A Batavia man said he swerved to avoid hitting a deer on Friday night leading to a car vs. pole accident on Bank Street between Ross and Vine streets.

Officer Kevin DeFelice said there was no reason to doubt John J. Dwyer, Jr.'s story. He hadn't been drinking and there were no skid marks to use to estimate the speed of his vehicle.

Dwyer told DeFelice that he was driving 30 mph.

No citations were issued.

"It's now up to his insurance company," DeFelice said.

Dwyer's car took out the utility pole.

There were no injuries and no other cars were involved in the accident.

Photo submitted by Jeremiah Pedro.

(initial report)

A Batavia man already facing a prison term for burglarizing a Bethany business in April, 2009, admitted in court today that he sold prescription drugs to an undercover agent.

On the burglary conviction, Michael L. Jackson, 29, of 1 Seneca Ave., is facing a two-and-a-half to seven-year prison term. The drug charge could tack on an additional two years in prison.

Jackson entered a guilty plea to criminal sale of a controlled substance with no guarantee of concurrent sentences on his prior conviction.

On June 10, Jackson pled guilty to burglary, 3rd, two counts of grand larceny, criminal mischief, 4th and witness tampering, 4th.

He admitted to breaking into the offices of Highland High Lift, where he reportedly broke windows to gain entry to offices that were unlocked, stole a truck valued at $19,000 and other items valued at $8,000.

There was reportedly DNA evidence linking him to the scene of the crime.

Jackson's arrest on the drug sale charge was announced Aug. 15. If given consecutive sentences, and the full two years on the drug charge, Jackson would not be eligible for parole until 2016.

Sentencing on both convictions is set for Sept. 8. Meanwhile, Jackson is being held in Genesee County Jail without bail.