Bergen

Mason Dumbleton, 20, of Pavilion, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, unsafe speed, unsafe lane change and unlawful possession of marijuana. Dumbleton was reportedly involved in a motor-vehicle accident on Route 20A in the Town of Perry at 10:30 p.m., Saturday. Dumbleton's vehicle reportedly left the south side of the road, struck a driveway culvert and a utility pole causing it to go airborne. The car landed on its roof. Dumbleton reportedly suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

Daniel Norman Brown, 39, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Brown is accused of placing a phone call to a person he is barred from contacting. Brown was also arrested the day before, on Sunday, and charged with harassment, 2nd. Brown was accused of grabbing a woman and pushing her down.

Enoch Ronald Cole, 61, of Lake Street Road, Le Roy, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Cole allegedly punched another person in the back.

Kevin James Hodge, 28, of Valley View Drive, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Hodge is accused of stealing $66.21 in merchandise from Kmart.

Kathryn Ann Tordy, 45, of Sheriden Drive, Williamsville, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, improper left turn and failure to keep right. Tordy was stopped at 12:34 a.m. Saturday on Remsen Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Daniel Jay Balduf, 20, of Angling Road, Pembroke, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and insufficient tail lamps. Balduf was stopped at 3:35 a.m. Saturday on Angling Road by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Danielle Marie Stevens, 35, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd. Stevens allegedly entered and remained unlawfully in a hotel room.

Jill Ann Fulater, 59, of Shepard Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI, driving left of pavement markings and improper right turn. Fulater as stopped by Deputy Kevin McCarthy at 4:20 a.m. Sunday on Route 63, Batavia, following a complaint of an erratic driver.

Timothy Ryan McJury, 24, of Madison Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant for petit larceny. McJury was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court. McJury was arrested on a city court warrant for parking violations. McJury was jailed on $1,000 bail.

A 17-year-old resident of Warboys Road, Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, speeding (75 mph in a 55 mph zone) and driving on a junior license (state Class DJ) after 9 p.m. and driving on a DJ license with two or more passengers under age 21. The youth was stopped at 1:13 a.m. Sunday on Buffalo Road, Bergen, by Deputy Timothy Weis.

A Genesee County jury today found a home-care nurse from Bergen guilty of filing false reports with her employer, generating compensation she hadn't earned.

Michele Ann Case, 46, of 7100 N. Bergen Road, Bergen, was convicted of grand larceny in the third degree.

To be found guilty, the jury needed to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Case stole at least $3,000 from her former employer.

She was accused of stealing more than $14,000 over a two-and-a-half year period.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, in his closing argument, said Case filed 230 false claims with her employer.

"How could she not be aware of what she was doing?" Friedman said.

Friedman said testimony and documents showed that Case claimed 69 times that she made "call outs" -- totaling more than $5,000 in extra billing to her employer -- that she did not make.

She would make "call out" claims, he said, during hours when she was already working, when she had training or when she stayed in the office late filling out paperwork.

Case was also accused of filing false mileage reports, and Friedman said the false mileage reports were wildly inflated -- one report had her driving 30 miles, he said, when the trip was only 7/10ths of a mile.

Friedman said the evidence showed that in all but her first mileage claim Case filed inflated mileage reports, for a total of 33 times.

"She didn't offer any explanation for the inflated milage claims because there aren't any," Friedman said.

William Tedford from the Public Defender's Office made the closing statement for the defense and said that Case did not receive any compensation she did not believe she was legally entitled to receive.

"What we see here is a wide discrepancy between practice and policy," Tedford said.

The problem, according to Tedford, is that how nurses actually completed their paperwork and computer reports and what they were allowed to claim wasn't necessarily in line with policy.

"The people are trying to convict my client of violating policy," Tedford said.

He used as an example a practice change allowing nurses to claim "call outs" that came after 4 p.m. rather than 4:30 p.m., but Friedman said "there is no massive change in policy."

The district attorney said that was the only item brought up in testimony about any conflict between policy and practice.

Tedford criticized the prosecution for not presenting paper copies of charts and the policy, and for not getting a search warrant for Case's computer. But Friedman said the reason there were no paper charts in evidence was because none exist. And a search warrant wasn't needed for the computer because, first, all of Case's files were downloaded daily to her employer's server and, second, the employer owned the computer, so a search warrant wasn't required.

When Det. Charles Dudek interviewed Case, Friedman said, Case admitted to financial difficulties. She said the father of her children was more than $70,000 behind in child-support payments.

"I can't make ends meet," Case reportedly told Dudek.

She also reportedly told Dudek that she took a big pay cut when she left a job in Monroe County, but as Dudek questioned her further, Friedman said, it turned out she hadn't quit her job. She hadn't successfully completed, according to Friedman, her probationary period on the job.

"She didn't take a pay cut," Friedman said. "She was unemployed when she went to work for (her former employer). It's just another example of her trying to con the detective."

Tedford also argued that if Case was filing obviously false reports, why did it take her employer two-and-a-half years to bring it to anybody's attention?

Friedman said her supervisors simply weren't on the alert for wrongdoing.

"You heard (her supervisor) testify," Friedman said. "She assumed she was honest. She said, 'she's a licensed nurse, a professional, I expected her to be honest.' "

Case remains out of jail pending sentencing at 1:30 p.m., May 22.

Grand larceny in the third degree is a Class D felony and punishable by up to seven years in state prison.

After the verdict, Case walked into the gallery and was embraced by her mother and she sobbed.

When she left, Case's mother approached a reporter and said, "If you put anything in The Batavian that's not true, I'm going to sue you. What those people (pointing to the representatives from Case's former employer) said isn't true."

Previously: RN accused of creating inflated call claims to steal more than $14,000

Saturday afternoon, I drove to SUNY Brockport to speak to a group of college students about online journalism. The drive there was overcast and snowy (windblown snow). The drive back was bright and sunny.

Here's three barn pictures from the drive home -- above, the Welch barn on North Lake Road, Bergen.

This barn is on Peachy Road, Bergen. The shot is from North Lake Road. 

White barn on Griswold Road.

A 45-year-old Bergen resident accused of being a child sex predator is facing a possible sentence of life in prision after pleading guilty this morning to a single Class A-II felony.

The minimum possible term for Stephen Irvine Stone is 10 years to life in prison, and the maximum mandatory sentence is 25 years to life.

Stone entered his guilty plea unconditionally in exchange for prosecutors not pursuing additional charges -- either those he's already been accused of, or others that might come from further investigation.

Stone was arrested on the first group of charges at the end of December, when he was accused of sodomy, 1st, rape, 1st and criminal sexual act, 1st. The charges stemmed from acts going back to 1997.

New charges were added in January when Stone was accused of predatory sexual assault against children, criminal sexual act, 1st, and criminal sexual act, 2nd.

In Genesee County Court today, Stone admitted to a sexual act with a child 13 years or younger.

As part of the plea deal, Stone agreed to provide the mother of his children with a power of attorney to sell his property for the benefit of the household.

Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m., April 19. He remains jailed without bail pending sentencing.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported in the area of 6004 N. Lake Road, Bergen.

The vehicle is well off the road.

Unknown injuries.

A chief on scene is checking to see if extrication is needed.

Bergen Fire Department and ambulance responding.

UPDATE 11:09 a.m.: No specific word, but this doesn't sound like serious injuries, nor does it sound like extrication was required.

View Larger Map

Stephen I. Stone is indicted on a charge of predatory sexual assault against a child, a Class A-II felony. Stone is accused of committing a sexual act against a child of less than 13 during the summer of 2011.

Brett A. Simcick is indicted on a count of felony DWI. Simcick is accused of driving drunk Sept. 4 on Munson Street, Le Roy.

Matthew C. Higgins is indicted on a count of felony DWI. Higgins is accused of driving drunk Oct. 21 in the Town of Le Roy.

Matthew R. Klump is indicted on counts of felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Klump is accused of driving drunk Oct. 8 on Clay Street and Myrtle Street, Le Roy.

Lee Uzarowski, 44, of South Lake Road, Pembroke, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. Uzarowski is accused of punching a woman in the face and taking her mobile phone when she attempted to call 9-1-1. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Sean Allen Kota, 18, of Byron Holley Road, Byron, and a 17-year-old of Warboys Road, Bryon, are charged with petit larceny. Kota and his companion are accused of stealing beer from the Bergen Sugar Creek Store. From a separate incident, Kota is also charged with criminal mischief, 4th. At 2:47 a.m., Jan. 28, Kota allegedly drove his vehicle through a yard on West Bergen Road causing damage.

A car has struck a tree next to a pole at 5979 W. Sweden Road in Bergen. An occupant reportedly has a head injury but is conscious and alert. Bergen Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: The driver is shaken up by the accident, but otherwise OK, according to a responder. There was air-bag deployment. The vehicle is intact and is wedged between the tree and the utility pole. The location is just north of Cook Road.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: A person on scene says the car is snagged 10 feet off the ground.

Barry R. Robinson, 29, of 16 Park Ave., Brockport, is charged with promoting prison contraband, 1st, unlawful possession of marijuana, DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to keep right, unsafe tires and unlawful possession of marijuana. Robinson was arrested at 1:54 a.m. Sunday on Clinton Street by Officers Darryl Streeter and Marc Lawrence following an accident in which Robinson apparently lost control of his vehicle and drove off the roadway. Robinson's driver's license allegedly had 19 prior suspensions. He was jailed on $2,000 bail. At 8:29 p.m., Sunday, while in the Genesee County Jail, Robinson was allegedly found in possession of six bags of marijuana in his sock and underwear. Investigators said the marijuana appeared to be packaged for sale. Robinson is scheduled to reappear in Batavia City Court at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday.

Paul Hipolito Colon, 29, of Marne Street, Rochester, is charged with possession of untaxed cigarettes and failure to stop at stop sign. Colon was stopped at 9:31 a.m. Friday on Akron Road, Pembroke, by Sgt. Brian Frieday for an alleged traffic violation. Colon was allegedly found in possession of 400 untaxed cigarettes.

Delmus M. Holton, 35, of Clinton Street, Rochester; Preston L. Lawrence, 38, of Afton Street Rochester; and, Ray M. Little, 49, of Langham Street, Rochester, are charged with trespass. At 10:56 a.m. Friday, a resident in Bergen reported seeing a suspicious vehicle in the area of 7427 Clinton St. Road, Bergen. The vehicle was located, parked off the road, across the street from Demo's Truck Parts. The three men allegedly entered the Demo's property without permission. (Initial report)

Jason M. Norton, 39, and Michelle T. Norton, 51, of 7198 Pekin Road, Oakfield, are charged with trespass (both), disorderly conduct (Jason only) and resisting arrest (Jason only). The husband and wife duo were arrested following an alleged incident at a West Main Street business.

A 17-year-old resident of Le Roy is charged with petit larceny, criminal possesion of stolen property, 5th, and burglary, 3rd. The youth was arrested Saturday morning after Le Roy PD received a report of a person going through several vehicles in the parking lot at 18 Genesee St., Le Roy. The youth was apprehended following a brief foot chase. Property was found at the scene and Le Roy PD is asking anybody who may have missing property to contact the police department. Le Roy PD did not release the name of the suspect.

Timothy James Ziminski, 19, of Walden Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th, and displaying forged inspection certificate. Ziminski was allegedly found to have a forged and stolen inspection sticker on his vehicle.

Local law enforcement is looking for trespassing suspects in the area of Maple Avenue in Bergen.

The suspects were last seen heading into a wooded area walking toward Route 33.

The suspects allegedly entered a building there they weren't authorized to enter.

One of the suspects is described as a teen wearing a blue jacket and a hoodie.

A utility pole is reportedly on fire on the northeast corner of Route 33 and Maple Avenue. Bergen Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m.: "National Grid has been notified and will be sending someone out."

This afternoon, Billie and I went for a drive -- she drove, stopped the car occasionally, and I took pictures. Here are seven of the photos from today.

Above, a barn and tree on Warboys Road, Bergen.

A falcon on Sackett Road, Bergen.

White horse on Swamp Road, Byron.

Dock on Mill Pond, Mill Pond Road, Byron.

Barn, Batavia Elba Townline Road, Elba.

Steer, Batavia Elba Townline Road, Elba.

Daws Cemetery, Batavia Elba Townline Road, Batavia.