batavia

Children with shovels are reportedly digging holes in the baseball field at John Kennedy School. City police are responding.

Kids are reportedly "throwing bowling balls down the street" by 22 Tracy Ave. in the city and the caller would like them spoken to, although they are not performing the mischief at this time.

A fight is reported involving several individuals in front of 161 Bank St. Police are on scene. One person is said to have a gun, but a gun has not been displayed.

A convicted child molester told police, according to court documents, that he obtained six child pornography DVDs from a 53-year-old woman from Pembroke.

That accusation is contained in a statement filed in Pembroke Town Court in support of the arrest of Beverly Hensel, 53, of 8921 Alleghany Road, Pembroke. Hensel was charged with one count of possession of a sexual performance of a child following an investigation by Batavia PD.

According to James L. Little Jr., 41, formerly of Batavia, he first met Hansel in November 2007 at the Genesee House in Corfu.

"Bev knew I was having certain feelings," Little wrote in his deposition. "Bev gave me my first child porn DVD around January of 2008."

Earlier this week, Little was sentenced to 15 years in state prison followed by 20 years of release under supervision for sexually abusing a 2-year-old child in Batavia over a three month period.

Det. Kevin Czora said Little's stash of child porn DVDs were uncovered in a search of Little's residence when he was arrested for molesting the toddler. When questioned, Little named Hansel as the source of the DVDs.

"She acquired it for him," Czora said.

As far as Czora knows, he said, he isn't aware of Hensel downloading child porn prior to meeting Little, or providing child porn to any other people, or that Little had ever obtained child porn from any other source before meeting Hansel.

Czora does not believe Hansel received any compensation for the alleged child porn DVDs.

Over a two-year period, Little said he received DVDs with such titles as "X," "Gay Boys 6/3/09," "XXX July 13, 2009" and "Fun 08/27/09."

He said in September 2009 he was at Hansel's house and he saw two desktop computers in her basement.

He wrote, "She said one was hers and the other was her husband's."

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hensel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Press release:

The City of Batavia would like to remind residents that the special yellow bulk item stickers that were in your last water bill will only be valid until Oct. 1.

As part of the city’s Strategic Plan for Environmental Sustainability, the city included two (2) yellow bulk item stickers in the June, July and August water bills.

During the city-wide limited bulk pickup program only ONE sticker is necessary for the disposal of one bulk item regardless of size. Place the bulk item with the sticker securely affixed to it at the curb/parkway on your regularly scheduled garbage day.

Please remember to use your yellow stickers by Oct 1^st.

The special yellow bulk stickers will not be valid or accepted after that date and you must once again purchase orange sticker to have bulk items picked up.

A former Batavia resident who admitted to filing a false social services claim was sentenced in Genesee County Court today to one-and-a-half to three years in state prison.

Michael Schramm, 36, entered a guilty plea July 13 to offering a false instrument for filing.

He was arrested in May along with his wife, Deborah Schramm, and accused of submitting claim forms with DSS for temporary assistance and food stamps.

As part of his sentence, Schramm must repay the county $17,026.39.

Schramm failed to report full-time employment at a farm in Niagara County.

He will be disqualified from receiving temporary assistance and food stamps in the future.

Deborah Schramm is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 10.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department wishes to provide an update in regards to the investigation into the death of Alyce M. Huntoon. An acquaintance reported finding Ms. Huntoon in an unresponsive condition, in her vehicle, in the parking lot of The Manor House Apartments, 427 E. Main St., Batavia, NY, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012 at or about 10:30 p.m.

The findings by the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office indicate an undetermined cause and manner of death.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office indicates finding no physical injuries that would have caused the death of Ms. Huntoon.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office has completed an initial and additional toxicology tests. All toxicology tests indicate no findings that would have attributed to the death of Ms. Huntoon.

The investigation to date indicates nothing to suggest the death of Ms. Huntoon was the result of an intentional or accidental overdose. Nothing in the investigation to date indicates the death of Ms. Huntoon was the result of suicide.

Anyone having any information in regards to this investigation may contact the Batavia Police Department’s Dispatch at (585) 345-6350 or Batavia Police Department directly at (585) 345-6444.

Information can also be left on the Batavia Police Department’s Confidential Tip Line at (585) 345-6370 or via the Suspicious Activity Reporting link found on the Web site of the Batavia Police Department.

UPDATE: We asked Batavia PD about toxicology in this case. There are hundreds of possible chemical compounds used in synthetic drugs and we requested further information on how wide ranging the toxicology screening went, whether it would detect any chemical or just specific chemicals included in a screening panel. Here's the response from Det. Pat Corona: "I have the answer in regards to synthetic cannabinoids and analogs to stimulants and hallucinogens. The Medical Examiner’s Office is very confident in regards to their toxicology findings that rule out those substances as contributing to the death of Alyce Huntoon. They were not found to be present in her system. "

Daniel Roger Sumeriski, 26, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny, criminal tampering, 3rd, and harassment. Sumeriski was arrested in the Family Court lobby on a bench warrant out of Town of Batavia Court for alleged failure to pay a fine.

Sarah Lee Marcello, 20, of South Swan Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Marcello is accused of shoplifting $76.65 in merchandise from Kmart.

Accident with a minor injury reported on Route 98 at Pike Road, Batavia.

One patient complaining of back pain.

Town of Batavia fire and Mercy EMS responding.

A bit of Batavia's history will be up for auction next Wednesday at Bontrager's Auction house on Wortendyke Road, Batavia: A cross that once adorned the old St. Joe's Church.

A fire on Aug. 18, 1970, destroyed the church and the Gilhooly family in Attica acquired the cross. The family has decided it's time to let somebody else care for the historic relic.

Pictured with the cross are Todd Jantzi, right, owner of Bontrager's, and one of his employees, Dave Harms, who was a young volunteer firefighter with East Pembroke in 1970.

Harms said he remembers the fire well. He and Gail Seamans were among the first on scene and manning a hose line.

Flames, he said, were jumping out of the bell tower and church windows. It's one of the most involved structure fires he's ever seen.

Along with East Pembroke, assisting Batavia City Fire Department, were Stafford, Oakfield, Elba and Bethany fire departments.

At the time of the fire, the church, built in 1864, was scheduled for demolition. The cause of the fire was never determined.

A large tree limb is down in the roadway at River and South Main streets in the city. City crews are notified.

UPDATE 3:17 p.m.: Howard drove by and said the limb is about seven feet long, less than a foot in diameter, and it's at the side of the roadway.

A server and bartender at Center Street Smoke House has been arrested and accused of stealing more than $3,000 from his employer.

Charged with grand larceny, 3rd, is Adam J.Hoag, 36, of 162 Ross St., Batavia.

Hoag, who was employed at the restaurant from May 2010 until May of this year, allegedly voided transactions and falsely documented receipt of discount coupons and gift certificates.

Following arraignment in city court, Hoag was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Third-degree grand larceny is a Class D felony.

Burnt food in Room 102 in Spruce Hall at College Village resulted in a fire alarm to which the Town of Batavia Volunteer Fire Department's Engine 24 responded. Upon investigation, burnt food was confirmed to be the cause for alarm and Engine 24 is back in service.

Following a multi-agency, months-long investigation, a 53-year-old woman in Pembroke has been arrested and charged with possession of a sexual performance of a child.

Beverly Hensel, of Allegheny Road, is accused of possessing child pornography from January 2008 until December 2009.

Hensel was arraigned in Town of Pembroke Court today.

Det. Kevin Czora said Batavia PD became the lead agency because the investigation originated with a different suspect in the city, but as the investigation progressed detectives connected the case to Hansel.

The pornography allegedly possessed by Hansel was obtained over the Internet, Czora said, and Hansel did not know any of the subjects in the material.

During the execution of a search warrant at the Hansel residence Aug. 15, weapons were reportedly found and Frederick Hensel Jr. is being charged with four counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Batavia PD detectives led the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, Tonawanda PD, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Chad Zambito, an appointed Town of Batavia board member and candidate for the GOP nomination for that seat, expected the assets of his former laundromat to sell for somewhere close to $30,000.

The actual highest bid on Tuesday, in an auction conducted by the Bank of Castile, was $3,500.

That's enough to cover Zambito's debt to the bank, but he still owes more than $14,000 to the Batavia Development Corporation, which provided Zambito with a low-interest loan in 2010 to finance upgrades to the laundromat.

This morning, Zambito issued the following statement:

I continue to work towards resolving the issues related to the closing of my business and intend to meet with the BDC board to resolve any outstanding issues. I have started the Chapter 13 process which in the short term will provide me 60-90 days to get my finances in order. If I complete the process, the result would be a court ordered and monitored five-year repayment plan. 

Grammy's Laundry closed earlier this year and Zambito said much of the business's difficulties stemmed from a plumbing problem in the mall where Grammy's was located. He said the business never recovered from the set back.

A former laundromat owner who observed Tuesday's auction said just one of the high capacity dryers at Grammy's retails new for about $3,500. There was some 40 or so washers and dryers, some in apparent disrepair, in the facility. The buyer is an out-of-county laundry owner who reportedly plans to remove all the machines and take them to another of his laundromats.

Zambito's GOP primary opponent is John Gerace, who held the office for nearly a decade before resigning in April after a Town of Batavia Fire Department awards and installation dinner where Gerace reportedly had some sort of confrontation with Supervisor Greg Post.

Jason W. Spencer, 26, last known address, 4 Lincoln Ave., Le Roy, is charged with grand larceny, 3rd. Spencer was arrested following an investigation by the Le Roy PD that started in February. He is accused of stealing more than $3,000 from an acquaintance from Nov. 30 to Feb. 29.

Jason Anthony Ostune, 20, of Scott Avenue, Syracuse, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Ostune was arrested by the DeWitt PD on a warrant out of Town of Batavia Court on the listed charges. He was turned over to the Sheriff's Office, arraigned and jailed on $500 bail.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Thursday, Sept. 6, at approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area south of East Main Street and east of Jackson Street. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area. As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.

Larry J. Jones, 35, of Hamlin Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 1st, a Class C felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony. Jones allegedly tried to buy French fries at Darien Lake Amusement Park using a fake $50 bill. An employee suspected the bill of being counterfeit and notified security. Jones allegedly produced a large number of $50 bills also believed to be counterfeit. While being transported to the security trailer, Jones allegedly tried stuffing additional fake $50 bills he possessed in his mouth and eating them. Security officers were able to prevent consumption of the bills and, though damaged, they were also determined to be allegedly counterfeit. Jones was jailed without bail. The case was investigated by Deputy Patrick Reeves and Investigator Kris Kautz.

Shawn Anthony Suarez, 23, of Bernhardt Drive, Snyder, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Suarez is accused of possessing marijuana at a concert at Darien Lake on Aug. 29. Also charged was Samantha Lee Jindra, 18, of Westminster Road, West Seneca.

Antonio Velazquez-Hernandez, 25, of Oak Orchard Road, Albion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, reckless driving, driving left of pavement markings, failure to keep right, no signal, unlicensed operator. Velazquez-Hernandez was stopped at 2:50 a.m., Sunday, on Route 98 in Batavia by Deputy Howard Carlson. Velazquez-Hernandez was also allegedly in the United States illegally and was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Here are the results from today's 5K race sponsored by the Batavia Area Jaycees.

For the men:

• Ty Demmer, age 15, time 17:45
• Kevin Sheehan, age 50, time 18:05
• Dave Bateman, age 29, 18:39

Fore the women:

• Emily Heale, age 22, 23:51
• Kathryn Bellamy, age 31, 24:13
• Andrea Ridings, age 28, 25:01

Top time 55 and over was Larry Pelkey, age 55, 21:22.

Top time age 65 and over was Tom Dutton, age 66, 21:54.

Tom Demmer, at age 15, finished in 19:39 and Emma Eastridge, at age 14, finished in 25:44.

Bill White, age 70, finished at 27:23 and Ed Duncan, age 71, finished at 45:39.