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An injury accident is reported on the westbound Thruway at mile marker 384.6. Le Roy fire and ambulance are responding.

UPDATE 3:04 p.m.: Two vehicles are involved. This is possibly "an intox" -- a driver allegedly may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. A State Trooper is on scene and they are closing one lane to traffic.

What was initially reported about 10 minutes ago as possible gunshots in the area of Porter and Washington avenues by at least two callers to emergency dispatch, turned out to be fireworks. After searching the area police found the source of the noise: some people firing off so-called bottle rockets on Willow Street. Police spoke with the individuals, then cleared the scene.

A one-vehicle rollover accident was reported about 20 minutes ago at 1050 Route 98 in Alexander. (Due to a computer glitch, we were unable to post it then.) The female driver was reportedly unresponsive. Mercy Flight was called, then cancelled. The location is between Main and Stroh roads. Mercy medics and law enforcement are on scene and no further development have been heard on the scanner.

UPDATE 5:02 a.m.: Mercy medic #2 is transporting the patient to Erie County Medical Center. A tow truck is called for the vehicle.

UPDATE 10:52 a.m. (by Howard): In a news release, the Sheriff's Office identified the driver as Ann L. Cox, 42, of Attica. She was driving a 2006 Pontiac G6 south on Route 98 when the car left the roadway and struck a sign post and continued south until it struck a culvert at 10850 Route 98. Cox suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to ECMC by Mercy EMS. The investigation is continuing and charges are pending. The investigation is being handled by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, Deputy Bradley Mazur and Deputy Frank Bordonaro.

A two-car accident with injuries is reported at Route 77 and Akron Road, Indian Falls. Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments are responding, along with Mercy medics. A female complains of neck, side and back pain.

UPDATE 12:54 p.m.: Firefighters are working to extricate a victim(s).

UPDATE 1:22 p.m.: The firefighters are back in service.

A truck rolled over at 944 Bloomingdale Road at Griffin Road. The driver has minor injuries. Alabama Fire Department is on scene and Mercy medics are responding. The truck is leaking fluids and there is a van blocking the roadway.

UPDATE 12:11 p.m.: Alabama commands puts the medics back in service.

UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: The Alabama assignment is back in service.

The Ghost Walk tonight at the historical Batavia Cemetery on Harvester Avenue is cancelled due to the weather. There will be another walk next Saturday, Oct. 26, weather permitting. People can call 343-0248 for more information.

Law enforcement is on scene with an erratic driver who displayed a weapon in some sort of dispute in the area of 5248 East Main St. in the Town of Batavia. The suspect vehicle is an SUV. An officer is speaking with the complainant.

A caller reports hearing four gunshots in the area of Myrtle Street in Le Roy. Police are responding.

UPDATE 7:33 p.m.: One person at a business told an officer he heard four sounds. Other people officers spoke with in the vicinity said they heard nothing unusual. Police are back in service.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department is investigating a forcible entry burglary at the I.D. Booth, Plumbing, Heating and Electrical Supply at 60 Liberty St.

The crime took place between 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, and 3 a.m. this morning, Friday, Oct. 18.

Suspects made forcible entry into the business and committed the larceny of a large quantity of Milwaukee brand power and hand tools.

Anyone with information is requested to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350. Persons may also provide information via the Batavia Police Department's Confidential Tip Line at 585-345-6370 or by accessing the Suspicious Activity link of the Web site of the Batavia Police Department.

A car accident with minor injuries is reported at Route 33 and Lyman Road in Bergen. Bergen fire and medics are responding. The vehicle is said to be about 20 feet off the roadway into some small trees.

UPDATE 7:35 p.m.: Bergen is back in service.

UPDATE 7:50 p.m.: An 18-year-old male is being taken to UMMC with complaints of left-side pain in his hip, back and ribs.

A car rammed into a power pole at 2510 Broadway Road (Route 20), west of Darien Alexander Townline Road. Live wires are down, a transformer is also down and leaking fluid. "The road is smoldering from arcing wires." Darien fire is responding and Mercy medics.

UPDATE 6:48 p.m.: Alexander Fire Police are called to stop all westbound traffic on Route 20 at Route 98. National Grid has been notified; no ETA given. A responder says a live line is down across the car. The driver is out and denies any injuries.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m.: Attica Fire Police are responding to shut down eastbound traffic on Route 20 at Route 238.

UPDATE 7:54 p.m.: The power for the lines has been shut off.

UPDATE 8:07 p.m.: Route 20 is reopened. Darien, Attica and Alexander are back in service.

A two-car accident is reported at Walkers Corners Road and Byron Road. A 62-year-old subject complains of chest pain. The vehicles are leaking fluid. Byron medics, Byron and South Byron fire personnel are responding.

UPDATE 6:03 p.m.: One of the vehicles is blocking the intersection.

UPDATE 6:42 p.m.: One person was transported to UMMC. Responders are back in service.

Press release:

Last night Congress passed a Continuing Resolution for Fiscal Year 2014, which included funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and various other federal agencies.

With the reopening of the Federal Government, each agency has been working diligently to open offices and start addressing the backlog created by the temporary lapse in service.

Here is the status for the Natural Resources Conservation Field Office, Batavia:

1. Field Office reopened Oct. 17th;  procedures for an orderly start-up have commenced.

2. The Genesee County Soil & Water Conservation District has begun moving its temporary quarters back to the USDA Service Center.

3. Web sites and other Web resources are coming back online for conducting daily tasks/operations.

4. Program deadlines will likely be extended – more guidance will be forthcoming.

5. Priority over the next couple weeks will be to insure USDA eligibility issues are being addressed, conservation practices are installed, certified and paid, and processing of new applications.

6. Designs, conservation planning, and HEL/WC requests are currently on hold.

Thank you for your patience during the government shutdown and if you have any questions about the status of your project, application or contract, please feel free to contact Heath Eisele, District conservationist USDA-NRCS Batavia Field Office.
 
Phone: 585-343-9167, ext. 115
Fax: 585-345-1815
Cell: 585-490-9365

A group of at least 12 people who finished touring a local farm returned to the bus only to find it gone. The full-size passenger bus, all their belongings, and the driver -- gone.

One of them called dispatch about their predicament and Sheriff's deputies are going to their location. We're not sure, but believe it is in the Elba area. The dispatcher said there is a language barrier.

UPDATE 5:31 p.m.: The location is on Watson Road, Elba.

UPDATE 5:51 p.m.: The bus driver left apparently over a dispute about payment. The bus that allegedly left the group stranded is described as a white bus with black trim, not as large as a Trailways bus. It has rear doors that swing open and it bears a New Jersey license plate. The male driver is wearing a tan jacket. People are trying to get another bus to the location, but the passports and other personal items are, of course, still on the bus that disappeared.

UPDATE (by Howard): The driver returned of his own volition. He said he felt bad and came back. His name is Hector and he's an independent operator out of New Jersey. He was hired by a company based in Staten Island. He was given a $1,000 up front, but was supposed to have already been paid another $7,800, he said. He showed me a text message from the person he claimed was the owner of the transportation company promising him $5,000 on Saturday. Of course, the tour is over by then so Hector wasn't impressed with promise. Hector agreed to take the tour members back to their hotel in Geneseo. He isn't, at this point, promising to continue with the tour. The tourists are from the Czech Republic on an agriculture tour of WNY.

Today the New York State Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the murder conviction of Scott Doll.

A jury found him guilty on May 20, 2010 of killing Joseph Benaquist, a fellow former corrections officer and business partner.

The main consideration of the appellate judges was whether the police took appropriate action under what's known as the emergency doctrine in detaining Doll without reading him his Miranda warnings and initially interviewing him without an attorney present. Law enforcement's response "to a serious and ongoing exigent situation under the emergency doctrine" was deemed reasonable.

In the ruling by the seven justices, the circumstances of the case were recapped:

On Feb. 16, 2009, Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Diehl responded to a report of a suspicious person walking on Lake Road in Pembroke and he found a man wearing a camouflage hunting outfit and a white hood. The man dropped a metal object and pulled a lug wrench from his pocket and the officer saw what appeared to be wet blood stains on the man's knees, thighs, hands and shoes.

When asked, the man produced a correction officer identity card with his name on it -- Scott Doll, who proceeded to say he was out walking to lower his blood pressure because he had a doctor's appointment the next day. He asked for a ride to his van at a car lot and the deputy agreed to take him there.

Once inside the patrol car, the firefighter who initially placed the 9-1-1 call came to the scene and told the officer that he'd noticed the defendant at the lot and the guy turned away and crouched between two cars to try and hide. Based on this information, the deputy told the defendant he was being detained until the situation was assessed. Doll was frisked and handcuffed.

When asked about the blood on his clothes, Doll said his was wearing his camouflage outfit because it was cold, but didn't explain why the clothes had wet blood on them. The deputy drove Doll to his van and discovered blood in several places inside and outside the van and bloody gloves nearby.

Soon other police officers arrived and noticed blood on Doll's face and noticed he left bloody footprints in the snow. Around this time Doll asked to speak to his divorce attorney. He was then questioned about whether the blood was from a deer or a human, Doll declined to explain the source of the blood or to take the officers to an alleged butchered deer.

Judge J. Gaffeo wrote: "These unusual circumstances caused the deputies to believe that a person may have been injured in an accident or assault so they continued to question (the) defendant despite his request for legal assistance."

Doll repeatedly told officers he couldn't answer their questions and police tried contacting his family and acquaintances to determine whether anyone needed emergency aid. Officers also searched the area for an injured person. Eventually, they went to the defendant's business partner's house and discovered Benaquist bludgeoned to death in his driveway. In the meantime, police impounded Doll's van and took him to the Sheriff's Office, where he was photographed, DNA tested, and his clothes seized.

Hours later, a friend and former coworker asked to speak with Doll. An investigator, who was aware of the business partner's demise, initially rebuffed the visitor. Then the investigator relented and said he would be staying in the room and taking notes.

Doll told the woman that the case didn't involve an animal; he had been present but didn't do anything; the case was "open and shut"; he would be going to jail and probably get what he deserved.

The investigation, indictment for second-degree murder and prosecution followed.

Doll's attorney, Paul Cambria, moved to suppress statements made to police and to his female friend, as well as all the physical evidence, primarily claiming his client had been arrested without probable cause, interrogated in violation of his right to counsel and without receiving his Miranda warnings.

Genesee County Court conducted an evidentiary hearing and ruled the detention and questioning of the defendant were justified under the emergency doctrine. However, County Court did suppress the defendant's DNA test results because the police could've obtained a warrant.

A jury subsequently convicted Doll of second-degree murder and he was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years to life. That conviction was appealed and in 2012 the Appellate Division majority determined the police actions were reasonable in this emergency situation. Two justices dissented, saying the emergency doctrine was not applicable since the police didn't know whether an actual crime victim existed.

The dissension allowed Doll's attorney to then appeal to the New York Court of Appeals. The justices agreed that police properly relied on the emergency doctrine in light of the "peculiar circumstances" they were confronted with because "...the emergency doctrine is premised on reasonableness, not certitude."

As to the defense seeking to suppress statements Doll made to his friend at the Sheriff's Office, saying it amounted to the police using the woman to conduct the functional equivalent of a custodial interrogation, the Court of Appeals disagreed. Its ruling states the purpose of the Miranda rule is to prevent government officials from "using the coercive nature of confinement to extract confessions that would not be given in an unrestrained environment." As a matter of law, Doll's conversation with his friend did not constitute an interrogation.

Finally, as to Doll's challenge of the legality of his detention by police, the panel ruled it had no merit.

Rape Crisis Service and Genesee Community College will present a free screening of the multiple award-winning documentary "Searching for Angela Shelton" on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the Forum at Genesee Community College. The screening will be followed by a panel presentation by representatives from Rape Crisis Service, the Justice for Children Advocacy Center, and the YWCA Domestic Violence Program. 

In "Searching for Angela Shelton," filmmaker Angela Shelton journeys across the United States meeting other Angela Sheltons in an effort to survey women in America. She discovers that 24 out of the 40 Angela Sheltons she spoke to had been raped, beaten or molested. Then the filmmaker meets an Angela Shelton who tracks sexual predators and lives in the same town as the filmmaker’s father who molested her and her step-siblings for years.

The filmmaker’s survey of women becomes a journey of self-discovery during which she decides to finally confront her own past and her father – on Father’s Day. The Angela Sheltons complete the journey by teaching the filmmaker about forgiveness, faith and the power of the human spirit, no matter what your name is.

The trailer for the documentary can be viewed here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCc0gMc2iZ4&feature=player_embedded

About Rape Crisis Service

This is the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Rape Crisis Service of Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region. It provides crisis intervention and support services to women, children and men who are survivors of sexual assault and to their families. In 2012, RCS provided crisis intervention and counseling services to 1,376 clients and conducted 615 educational programs to more than 8,000 people.

Trained counselors are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week to provide information and support, enabling the client to make informed choices concerning medical, legal and counseling needs, while offering advocacy and information about their rights. Counselors also offer short-term counseling sessions and legal and medical accompaniment. Services are free and confidential.

Rape Crisis Service currently serves five counties: Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming.

24-hour helplines:
Monroe County: (585) 546-2777
Genesee, Livingston, Orleans, Wyoming Counties: 1-800-527-1757

The Batavia Muckdogs, Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, have announced their schedule for the 2014 season. Batavia will open the 2014 season Friday, June 13, when the Auburn Doubledays host the Muckdogs at Falcon Park. Batavia opens its home schedule Saturday, June 14 when they entertain Auburn at 7:05 p.m.

The Muckdogs will host their annual Independence Day celebration on July 3 this year, as they are not home on July 4th. In addition to their Pinckney Division rivals, the Muckdogs will welcome the New York Yankees (Staten Island), Boston Red Sox (Lowell), New York Mets (Brooklyn) and the Detroit Tigers (Connecticut) farm teams to Dwyer Stadium in 2014.

Here is a month-by-month and day-by-day breakdown of Batavia’s 2014 home schedule:

Month    Home Games      Day      Home Games

June       8                         Sunday           7

July        16                       Monday           7

August    14                      Tuesday          4

                                          Wednesday    4

                                         Thursday        4

                                          Friday             6

                                         Saturday         6
    
Ticket packages, coupon books and season tickets for the 2014 season will go on sale beginning Nov. 1. They can be purchased by calling 343-5454 or in person at Dwyer Stadium, Monday thru Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For a complete schedule, visit www.muckdogs.com