Another criminal charge has been filed against a Western New York man who was released from custody Dec. 5 after admitting to stolen property charges in Genesee County Court.
Daniel Jon Lewis, 24, who has variously been listed as a resident of Lima, Chili, and with no permanent address, went on -- if the allegations against him are true -- a crime spree in Genesee County starting Jan. 1.
The latest charge against Lewis is petit larceny for an alleged theft at a residence on Stringham Drive, Batavia, just after midnight, Jan. 3.
Lewis is being held without bail in the Genesee County Jail on a felony robbery charge. He is accused of forcibly taking property from a person on Bank Street, Batavia, on Jan. 1. He was named as the suspect in that case and taken into custody late in January. By that time, he had allegedly committed a number of thefts and fled from police when allegedly caught in the act in the Haven Lane area.
When Lewis pled guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree as a second felony offender on Dec. 6, his attorney, Fred Rarick told Judge Charles Zambito that his client should be released from custody since, under terms of bail reform legislation taking effect at the start of the year, Lewis would be eligible for release while awaiting sentencing.
Neither Zambito nor District Attorney Lawrence Friedman contradicted Rarick's mistaken interpretation of the new law, but it appears that Lewis would not have been eligible for release under bail reform. CLARIFICATION: Lewis was eligible for release; however, his release was not mandatory.
Public Defender Jerry Ader brought the discrepancy to the attention of The Batavian after previous articles noted that Lewis was released from custody because of bail reform. While that may be factually correct, to the degree that was the understanding in County Court on Dec. 5, the truth is, Ader said, bail reform only applies to pretrial/preconviction defendants.
"The pretrial bail reforms were no longer applicable to his case after he entered a plea of guilty," Ader said in an email to The Batavian. "The judge exercised his discretion when he decided to release Mr. Lewis to the supervision of Genesee Justice. He did not have to do so.
"He also had the authority at any time after Mr. Lewis was released to revoke that securing order and issue a new one, which could have included setting bail if he was not compliant with his release conditions."
Over the course of our discussion of the case, which included Ader reviewing the minutes of the Dec. 6 hearing, Ader asked that in reporting this clarification, we include his view: "I do not know whether the Court would have still released Mr. Lewis under supervision of Genesee Justice if Mr. Rarick had made the request after the plea was entered without any reference to the upcoming changes in the bail statutes. He may have been inclined to do it either way. You can’t tell from the record of the proceedings."
Lewis remains a person of interest, according to criminal justice sources, in the theft and police pursuit involving a Spectrum work truck Jan. 25. Lewis has reportedly been cooperating with investigators on several pending cases.
Previously:
- Two people charged with possession of lots of stolen items in Memorial Day bust in Pavilion
- Man found with stolen property pleads guilty, released from jail pending sentencing
- Police looking for white male with long hair involved in stolen truck incident and chase
- Law and Order: Lima man accused of stealing vehicle on Clinton Street Road, Batavia
- Since being released from jail due to bail reform, man charged with two more crimes, person of interest in Spectrum truck theft
- New charges for man who allegedly went on crime spree after release from jail because of bail reform
- Criminal released because of bail reform faces another set of stolen property charges
