byron

William R. Green, 52, of Batavia-Elba Townline Road, Elba, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Green was reportedly involved with a dispute at 10:15 p.m., Thursday and during the dispute, Green allegedly grabbed his neighbor by the neck and punched him. Green was jailed on $200 bail.

James R. Tydelski, 55, of 7800 Hewes Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and failure to stop at a stop sign. Tydelski was stopped at 1:06 a.m. at the intersection of Mill and Lake streets in the Village of Le Roy by a Le Roy Police officer.

Joshua Todd Fullmer, 18, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Fullmer is accused of shoplifting $34.98 worth of merchandise from Kmart.

Warren Walter McClure, 40, of Hamilton Road, Buffalo, is charged with burglary, 3rd. McClure is accused of entering a business in the Town of Batavia while it was closed on Feb. 6 and stealing money, checks and surveillance cameras.

Todd F. James, 48, of School Road, Byron, is charged with disorderly conduct. James allegedly refused to turn down his radio creating "unnecessary noise" in his neighborhood for more than three hours.

Kelsey Marie Davis, 19, of unreleased street address, Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Davis was arrested following an investigation into a fight during the Tim McGraw concert at Darien Lake Theme Park on June 25.

Samuel Robert Thompson, 55, of Shady Lane, Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Thompson is accused of stealing a bicycle from a parking lot.

Three suspected drug dealers were taken into custody in Byron on Wednesday after at least one of them was allegedly involved in a drug transaction with an undercover agent.

The undercover operation in Byron was the culmination of a two-month long investigation by the Genesee County Local Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.

Arrested were Richard L. Conte, 19, of 723 S. Main St., Medina, Reynoldo Melendez Jr., 23, of 75 Arnett Blvd., Rochester, and Louis Staples, 17, of 75 Arnett Blvd., Rochester.

All three were transported to the Genesee County Jail and held on $50,000 bail each.

Following those three arrests, a fourth suspect was arrested in Clarendon. 

Investigators executed a search warrant at 4955 Holley-Byron Road, Clarendon, where Kristina A. Brongo, 19, a resident of that address, was taken into custody.

The four alleged dealers are suspected of illegally selling mostly prescription drugs in both Orleans and Genesee counties.

Task force members seized a quantity of drugs, including oxymorphone, also known as opanas, oxycontin and morphine with a street value in excess of $3,000.

Also seized was a quantity of marijuana along with $1,000 in cash, scales, packaging and other drug paraphernalia.

Besides the four suspected drug dealers arrested, two teenage girls, whose names were not released, were apprehended during the investigation and cited for alleged unlawful possession of marijuana.

Conte, Melendez and Staples were all charged with one count each of criminal sale of a controlled substance, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th.

Brongo was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 3rd, and criminal sale of marijuana.

Photos: Conti, top, Melendez and Staples.

Genesee County volunteer firefighters were called to the scene early this morning of a tanker truck fire that claimed the life of the truck's driver in Barre, Orleans County.

The tanker was carrying ethanol and the fire reportedly spread quickly into the wooded area around the accident.

To fight an ethanol fire, fire fighters must use foam, so Genesee County units that have foam cabability were called to the scene.

Units responded from Town of Batavia, Elba, Byron and Oakfield, along with Genesee County Emergency Services Unit and the county's hazmat team.

The fire is now out and clean up work along is in progress.  

One Elba tanker along with the hazmat team and ESU remains on scene at this time. Emergency Coordinator Tim Yaeger said the remaining Genesee County personnel wlll be on scene yet for quite some time.

Byron resident Amber D. Thorman, 23, died early this morning at Strong Memorial Hospital, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office.

Thorman was injured in a rollover accident at 4:05 p.m., Monday, on Freeman Road in Byron.

A 23-year-old Byron resident is in guarded condition at Strong Memorial Hospital after being involved in a rollover accident on Freeman Road at 4:05 p.m.

Speed is believed to be a factor in the accident, the Sheriff's Office reports.

Injured was Amber D. Thorman, who had to be extricated from the vehicle. She was airlifted to Strong by Mercy Flight.

Her 1999 Chevy Tahoe was eastbound on Freeman when the SUV went off the north shoulder and struck a tree. The Tahoe then struck the guide wire of a utility pole, causing the vehicle to over turn three times before coming to rest on its roof.

Thorman was wearing a seat belt. 

Byron and South Byron fire departments responded to the scene and handled the extrication. Mercy EMS also assisted at the scene. 

The accident investigation is being handled by Deputy Joseph Graff, Sgt. Greg Walker and Investigator Kristopher Kautz.

(initial report)

A pickup has rolled over and crashed into a tree at 6478 Freeman Road in South Byron. It landed on its roof.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding along with Mercy EMS.

Bergen fire's rescue equipment is called to the scene.

The location is between Ivison Road and Route 237.

UPDATE 4:22 p.m.: The availability of Mercy Flight is requested.

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.: A landing zone is set up and Mercy Flight out of Batavia is called to the scene. The driver has been extricated. Bergen is told to stand down.

UPDATE 4:36 p.m.: Mercy Flight landed several minutes ago. National Grid is called because a pole with a transformer was hit during the accident, tilting it at a 45-degree angle.

UPDATE 4:56 p.m.: Mercy Flight is airborne with the victim and headed to Strong Memorial Hospital. National Grid is expected at the crash site shortly.

Jose Luis Morales, 17, of 10 Strathmore Circle, Apt. D, Rochester, is charged with burglary, 3rd. Jose is accused of entering the United Methodist Church, 27 South Lake St., Bergen, at 7:16 a.m. on Jan. 11 without permission and damaging property and stealing items. A warrant was issued out of Town of Bergen Court for Jose's arrest and he turned himself in. He was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Christopher Anthony Pilgrim, 35, of Weston Road, Rochester, is charged with criminal possession of controlled substance, 7th, criminal possession of marijuana and speeding. Pilgrim was stopped for allegedly speeding at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday  on Route 490 in Bergen by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Mark Laney, 31, of South Pearl Street, Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Laney is accused of violating an order of protection.

Brian Patrick Ogrady, 46, of Lyman Road, Bergen, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, driving left of pavement markings, failed to yield right of way at stop sign and operating without insurance. Ogrady was stopped at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday on Route 237, Byron, by Sgt. Greg Walker.

Shawn Richard McGiveron, 22, of Back Street, Pembroke, is charged with criminal obstruction of breathing and harassment, 2nd. During a domestic incident, McGiveron allegedly obstructed the breathing of a woman and allegedly pushed the woman to the ground. The incident is alleged to have occurred at 11:46 p.m. Wednesday at a residence on Back Street, Pembroke. McGiveron was jailed on $200 bail.

On my way back from Bergen, I found myself at the intersection of Walkers Corner and Batavia-Byron Townline roads.

About a month ago, I was in this same area and noticed this old one-room schoolhouse. This time, I took the time to stop. It looks like some artist has converted it into a studio. 

I'm a little envious.

Sege D. Kalmbacher, 35, of 6666 Byron Holley Road, Byron, is charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, 2nd. Kalmbacher is accused of stealing two personal checks from the home of a friend and then forging the checks in the amounts of $350 and $300. Kalmbacher allegedly deposited funds, on March 13 and March 16, from the forged checks into his personal account. Kalmbacher was also arrested in late March for allegedly forging prescription drug forms.

Matthew J. Butler, 23, of Clifton Street, Manchester, is charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument. After witnesses reported that a green four-door car was driving erratically and failing to maintain its lane, deputies responded responded to Route 63 in Batavia and initiated a traffic stop on a 1999 Honda Accord at 7:13 p.m., Thursday. Butler was identified as the driver. Butler was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, failure to keep right and driving left of pavement markings. The case was investigated by Sgt. Greg Walker with assistance from Deputy Matthew Butler and Deputy Joseph Graff.

A driver who allegedly fled the scene of an accident Wednesday night has been charged with felony DWI.

Two people were hospitalized as a result of the accident at 9:19 p.m. in the area of 6312 Townline Road, Byron.

Taken into custody after reportedly being located at the Byron Hotel was Chester Llewellyn Sherman, 52, of East Lee Road, Holley.

Injured in the accident were Mark J. Puma, 40, and Carlos M. Chavez, 29. Both were taken by Mercy EMS to UMMC. Puma lives on Creamery Road in Bergen.  Chavez's residence was not contained in the accident report.

Besides the DWI charge, Sherman was charged with a felony count of driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and following too closely.

Sherman was driving a 1998 Chevy pickup eastbound when he reportedly rear-ended a 1999 Chevy sedan driven by Puma. Puma had just backed onto the roadway and was headed east when his car was struck by Sherman's. Puma's car was forced off the roadway into a mailbox and then the car hit the front porch of a residence.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Joseph Graff.

(initial report)

The driver of one vehicle in a two-car crash at on Townline Road near Byron-Holley Road, Byron, has disappeared according to a chief on scene.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are responding. A chief asked to confirm that law enforcement was en route.

No report on injuries.

The arrest today of two South Byron residents for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine has its roots in a Nov. 12, 2009 meth lab raid in Alabama, according to Sgt. Steve Mullen, head of the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force.

"If we're doing our jobs, a search warrant doesn't just end with that search warrant," Mullen said. "It opens doors into other investigations."

In the Alabama case -- the first suspected meth lab found in Genesee County -- Kenneth W. Mosholder and associates, including a woman who lived on Jackson Street, Batavia, were accused of manufacturing meth. Mosholder died while awaiting prosecution, but Mullen said the one-time Texas resident's recipe for making meth apparently spread throughout the county.

A handful of meth lab raids -- though not all of them -- since 2009 were based on threads connected to Mosholder's arrest, Mullen said.

"Once something like that grows in a community, it can take deep roots and take years to get out," Mullen said.

Many task force cases are built on other cases, Mullen said.

"Any single arrest looks like a snippet, but they're really scenes from the same movie," Mullen said.

Arrested in connection with the alleged meth lab in South Byron were Matthew J. Zon, 29, of Byron, and Tricia M. Tundo, 24, of Byron.

Zon and Tundo were apprehended during a traffic stop on Thursday night, but the couple wasn't discovered by accident, Mullen said. They were identified after months of investigation and observation while detectives built a case that would ultimately justify their apprehension.

Following the traffic stop, Zon and Tundo were allegedly found in possession of methamphetamine, meth lab material and drug paraphernalia.

Mullen said it's too soon in the investigation to say for certain whether Zon and Tundo were allegedly producing meth for sale. They have not yet been charged with any drug sales counts.

This morning, a contingent of investigators and crime lab specialists were on scene at 6319 E. Main St., South Byron, to execute a search warrant in an effort to determine whether Zon and Tundo were producing meth at their residence.

During the search, investigators carried out several items that appeared to be chemicals and implements used in the manufacture of meth. Test results on the items have not yet been released.

The search started with State Troopers in chemical-protection suits entering the house and retrieving two pet dogs, one a reportedly aggressive pit bull.

A deputy involved who helped transfer the dogs to the Animal Control vehicle said the dogs had a heavy odor of meth on them.

If Tundo and Zon were manufacturing meth in the house, the smell would permeate the entire residence, "just like burnt popcorn," said an investigator.

The odor of meth manufacturing, depending on the process used, according to sources, smells something like a mixture of burnt plastic and ammonia. 

Investigators were at the South Byron scene for hours, from before 8 a.m. until after 3 p.m. and Mullen was still at the office working on the case after 7 p.m.

And the execution of a search warrant in a drug case, said Mullen, is only a small portion of what goes into an investigation. It can take months to build a case in order to get a warrant, and the investigation doesn't stop with an arrest.

"The research and investigation really takes months," the sargeant said. "Even though we're at the end of a 12- or 13-hour day, the research began months ago."

Zon and Tundo are both charged with unlawful disposal of methamphetamine laboratory material, a felony, and criminal possession of a controlled substance as well as criminally using drug paraphernalia.

The disposal charge is based on evidence gathered during the investigation that Zon and Tundo disposed of waste material along roadways in the area.

Mullen said the production of one ounce of meth produces a significant quanity of waste chemicals. 

One law enforcement official at the scene said that was one of the parts that bugged him the most about a case like this.

He said, potentially, some Boy Scout could be out on a clean-up day and come across some contaminated materials and become gravely ill.

The traffic stop Thursday night was initiated by Deputy Brian Thompson, whose K-9 "Pharaoh" assisted in the search of the vehicle.

Tundo was reportedly driving, though she allegedly did not have a valid NYS driver's license. 

Additional charges may be pending, Mullen said, and the Drug Enforcement Agency, which was involved in the 2009 raid in Alabama, will be consulted.

Besides the Genesee County Sheriff's Office and State Police, assisting at the scene were the South Byron Fire Department, Genesee County Emergency Services, the Health Department,  Animal Control and Mercy EMS.

More pictures after the jump:

The Sheriff's Office and State Police were 6319 E. Main St.,  in South Byron this morning to retrieve and dismantle a suspected methamphetamine lab.

In connection with the operation, two people are reportedly in custody. Their names and the nature of the charges have not yet been released.

South Byron Fire Department and Mercy EMS along with Genesee County Emergency Services were also on scene.

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A caller reports that a controlled burn of a barn at 7521 Mechanic Street may be getting out of hand.

Byron and South Byron fire departments are dispatched.

UPDATE 7:11 p.m.: South Byron's response is cancelled. Byron fire back in service.

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