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State Police authorities are asking the public to be on the lookout for a person or persons stealing from unlocked cars in Genesee County.

An investigator said there have been recent thefts in Darien, Alexander and Pembroke that may be related.

Members of the public are asked to take two actions: Lock up their valuables and report suspicious activity to police.

The perpetrators may be driving around looking for opportune targets.

For reports of suspicious activity, dispatchers can be reached at (585) 343-5000.

The Batavia woman accused of murdering her own newborn baby and storing it in an ice chest for three months has been released from jail after the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office was unable to determine whether a live birth occurred.

A charge of murder in the second degree is still pending against Christina M. Colantonio, 28, of Liberty Street, Batavia, but in a statement the office of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said without being able to prove live birth, the prosecution is unable to make a presentation to a grand jury within the prescribed amount of time and so Colantonio is being released from custody.

"Circumstances present when the body was discovered are very indicative of the intentional homicide," Friedman's statement says. "However, in order to establish a homicide, we have to prove that a live birth occurred. Yesterday, we learned from the Monroe County Medial Examiner that, based upon their examination of the body, they were unable to conclude that a live birth occurred. This apparently is due in large part to the lengthy passage of time between delivery and discovery of the body."

In the charging document on file with Batavia City Court, some portion of the underlying evidence to sustain the charge of second-degree murder was based on statements made by Colantonio. None of those possible statements have been made public either through court documents or statements by authorities.

The DA's statement today says that Colantonio was arrested and charged after a "thorough investigation by the Batavia Police Department and included interviews with multiple witnesses."

Friedman's statement said neither he nor anyone in his office would answer media questions about the case given the fact that the murder charge is still pending and the investigation is continuing.

Colantonio was arrested Saturday and held without bail until her release today.

No date was provided for any possible future court appearance.

The brother of First Assistant Chief John Durand was shot and killed at the pawn shop he owned in Raleigh. The perpetrator has also shot another person and raped a teenager.

Thomas Melvin Durand, 64, was shot and killed, about 7 p.m., Monday.

The suspect is 21-year-old Kendrick Keyanti Gregory. He is wanted on charges of murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury and first-degree rape.

Police said Gregory, who was released from the Wake County jail on Aug. 25, is still at large and the public in Raleigh is warned that he is armed and dangerous.

Durkee said he and other members of the department are upset that their fellow volunteer and friend has his life end in such a tragedy.

"He's a guy who works so hard doing nothing but trying to help people out," Durkee said. "And then to have something like this happen is just unbelievable."

Court documents in the case of a Le Roy mother accused of assaulting her 2-year-old daughter paint a months-long trail of multiple injuries to the tot, a boyfriend who admits to being a heroin addict, and a young woman who allegedly didn't know how to properly discipline a child.

The documents include a deposition from a man identified only as the boyfriend of Christina Pahura (the court redacted his name), who was arrested on charges of assault in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, and a deposition from a licensed day care provider in Le Roy.

Both documents recount more than two months of these adults observing injuries on the little girl, including broken limbs, bruises on the her butt and vaginal area and welts on her head.

The depositions are tough reading and Det. John Condidorio said it was a hard case to investigate.

"The pictures are really difficult to look at," Condidorio said. "It was a difficult process."

The case took months to get through because investigators wanted to make sure to build a case they were confident in, Condidorio said. As soon as the investigation started in February, the child was removed from the mother's care, Condidorio said.

According to the depositions, Pahura either had explanations for the injuries and, later, couldn't explain the injuries. At one point just before police were called in, Pahura allegedly told her boyfriend that she blacked out while spanking the child and snapped back to reality to find she was punching the child.

The Batavian's news partner, 13WHAM, contacted Pahura outside her apartment in Le Roy yesterday, and Pahura declined an interview request.

"You're not getting any other side," Pahura told a 13WHAM reporter. "Do whatever you want. Goodbye. Tell your camera man to turn around, too."

According to the depositions, documentation of the injuries to the child began in the Fall of 2014. First, there was bruising, then the child showed up to daycare with a cast on her arm, a cast that was removed a month later. Then the child started to limp, and during this time, bruises started appearing on her butt and vaginal area.

Finally, in early February, Pahura took the child to the hospital in Brockport, which is about the time Le Roy PD began its criminal investigation.

The boyfriend states in his deposition that he didn't call police because "it is not in my nature" and that he didn't call CPS anonymously because he didn't know that was an option. He also feared being blamed for the alleged abuse because he already has a criminal record.

The deposition was taken July 15 with his attorney present.

More than once, according to the deposition, the man offered to handle disciplining the children.

"Christina had a history of what I believed to be excessive punishment," the man said.

He describes incidents of Pahura hitting and slapping the victim along with two other children.

He said the alleged broken arm occurred sometime before Nov. 11. He said he and Pahura were in the basement. He was lifting weights and she was doing laundry. They heard a loud thump upstairs and then crying. When they went upstairs, the girl was on the floor and another child was on the couch. 

"The following morning," he states, "(the child) was favoring her arm and Christina had her father take (the child) to the doctor and the arm was splinted."

The cast was removed around Christmas, but the boyfriend doesn't say who removed it.

The first leg injury, the boyfriend believes, occurred New Year's Day. After spending New Year's Eve without any of the children, the couple picked them up that evening and were walking down a hill back to the house when the child stopped on the sidewalk and was hesitant to go down the hill on a dark, snowy night. He said Pahura's hands were full of gifts and he believes she pushed the child with her knee, told her to hurry up, then pushed her with her foot and the child fell forward, striking her head on the sidewalk. 

"This caused a large, good egg about the middle of (the child's) forehead and I believe (she) broke her leg at this time also," the boyfriend reportedly told police. "I say this as directly after (the child) got inside, she started having difficulty walking and this continued for six to seven weeks. When (the child) put too much pressure on her foot she would almost cry."

Pahura allegedly wouldn't take the child to the doctor, saying she was fine, the boyfriend said. 

The boyfriend recalls getting involved with drugs again in October and was spending about half his paycheck on drugs during this time. He recalls more incidents that may have led to bruising and cuts on the child early in the new year.

The daycare provider started documenting injuries to the child on Oct. 1, (The child started care a month earlier.) but it's unclear why the provider did not contact authorities sooner.

Initially, the provider said, Pahura said the child was injured from falls or bumping against objects in the home and when the child appeared to have a leg injury, Pahura reportedly said the child had just slept on it wrong.

Three ambulances are requested to the scene of a motor-vehicle accident at Buffalo Road and Apple Tree Avenue, Bergen.

Extrication is required.

Mercy Flight is grounded due to fog.

Bergen fire and Mercy EMS responding. Le Roy fire requested mutual aid. 

UPDATE 8:35 a.m. From the scene: Three people injured, including a child. None seriously. Two transported to Strong, one to UMMC. An SUV heading toward Batavia on Buffalo Road appears to have crossed center line striking pickup truck head on.Truck veered to west shoulder into apple trees. 

Charles Men's Shop always has interesting and attractive window displays, but the clothing featured are usually the in-season fashions for the sharp-dressed man.  For the past several weeks, the store has been featuring a line of clothing it doesn't even carry -- the uniforms of heroes. One window is dedicated to hometown heroes -- police and fire -- and the other to the U.S. military. Don Brown said he and Dave Howe saw the display as a way to give back to the community by showing appreciation for the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free.

Crews are performing a top-to-bottom renovation on the water tower in Le Roy that's off Main Street behind the American Legion Hall.

A scheduled court appearance for Christina M. Colantonio, the 28-year-old Liberty Street resident accused of murdering her newborn baby sometime in May or June and keeping the body in her apartment, has been adjourned until 11 a.m., Thursday.

Colantonio, who is being held in jail without bail, was originally scheduled to appear this afternoon to answer to the murder in the second degree charge for the first time with a defense attorney present.

She was initially arraigned on the charge Saturday afternoon.

There is little available in the court file on Colantonio, just a document known as an accusatory instrument. It indicates the murder, 2nd, charge is substantiated by verbal statements made by Colantonio. If those statements were written down by investigators, that document has not yet become available.

A spokesman for Batavia PD said he couldn't answer whether such a document exists and said he's been told to direct all questions to the District Attorney's Office. Attempts to reach District Attorney Lawrence Friedman were unsuccessful.

Colantonio reportedly gave birth to a child in May or June. Authorities have not disclosed how soon after giving birth they believe Colantonio killed the female infant.  

The body of the infant was seen being removed from Colantonio's residence at 208 Liberty St., Batavia, in a 48-quart ice chest. The body was taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office and information from any ME's report is not yet available.

Authorities have not disclosed how they believe the baby died.

It's been a few years since the Pembroke Dragons have been a force in Genesee Region football, and nobody is predicting a championship title for the team in green, but coaches in the league are all saying pretty much the same thing: Don't take Pembroke for granted.

Legendary Head Coach Dick Diminuco is heading into his second full season leading the Dragons and that in itself is enough to tell other coaches that Pembroke will come in to each week's game ready to play, but GR coaches have also seen the Dragons in summer seven-on-sevens and combines. The Dragons have some talent, but most impressively, they have some size on the line, a fact Diminuco was eager to show off when a photographer showed up to a recent practice.

"We're not a great team yet," Diminuco said. "We're not going to win the state championship or anything like that, but we're going to be better. We're going to compete. Thank God, hopefully, we don't have any injuries because we're thin. We've got 25 kids."

The Dragons will be a mix of veterans and the inexperienced. There are seven returners starting on offense. There are also five sophomores who will be starting on offense or defense. With exception of tight end, all of the skill positions, including QB, will be staffed by young players.

Even the offensive/defensive line is a mix of veterans and neophytes. The largest player on the squad, Dan Prichett, who is well over 6 foot tall and looks strong enough to flip Toyota Corollas, is inexperienced. The junior transfer never played football before.

"He's a wonderful boy, just raw," Diminuco said.

A year ago in pre-season camp, Diminuco clearly had his hands full. His frustration was palpable. This year, the energy is completely different. Diminuco and the players were loose and having fun and lessons were being learned.

Last season, Diminuco, was plagued by discipline issues. So far, everybody is showing up to every practice this year.

"These kids are good kids," Diminuco said. "They come here every day. They work hard. They're really a pleasure to work with, this group. I think they're getting used to me. Last year, we had some ups and downs, some battles, discipline, but this year, they've bought in. They've been good."

So what's Diminuco's prediction for 2015?

"Predictions? We're going to get better," Diminuco said. "We're going to be better. How's that for a prediction?"

The GLOW Ducks youth football program opens its 2015 season today at Notre Dame's football field, and for the first time, it fielded a team of 5-,6- and 7-year-olds, who needed quite a bit instruction as the game progressed.

A Stafford resident who was charged with the care of a 2-year-old child in the Village of Le Roy has been accused of intentionally breaking that child's bones and then not seeking proper medical treatment for the child.

Le Roy PD began investigating the allegations in February after it was discovered the child had suffered multiple fractures to a leg and arm and had significant, "highly suspicious" bruises on its body.

Arrested was Christina Pahura, 28, of Main Road, Stafford. She's been charged with second-degree assault, a Class D felony, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The assault charge carries an enhancement because Pahura is over 18 years old and allegedly intentionally harmed a child under age 7.

Investigators allege that while a resident on School Street, Le Roy, Pahura intentionally caused physical injury to the child and then allowed the child to remain in a residential situation during a time when several additional bruises developed and a limp developed. Pahura was advised -- by whom is unstated -- to seek medical treatment for the child, but did not, which resulted in further bruising and an untreated leg fracture.

Pahura was released under supervision of Genesee Justice. 

The following people were arrested by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office during the Rascal Flatts concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday.  

Morgan Jensen, 20, of Gleason Circle, East Rochester, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after having been ejected and told not to return.

Emily M. Campbell, 20, of Birch Run, Orchard Park, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd, after allegedly reentering the concert venue after having been ejected and told not to return.

Calin C. Hotelling-Defrance, 22, of Durant Place, Fairport, is charged with harassment, 2nd, after allegedly punching CSC security officer.

Jacob M. Robinson, 18, of Dolores Drive, Greece, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana after allegedly being found in possession of marijuana.

The other night the neighborhood around Ganson and Maple in Batavia was hit by a series of thefts. This sign appeared on a tree on Ganson.

There was a birthday party at the Genesee County Park & Forest today. The park is now 100 years old.

The first series of pictures are of lumberjacks engaging in a competition to start a fire and generate enough heat to boil water. They are Mike Koers, originally from Alexander, John Dailey, Tim Benedict and Connor Slate. The group put on lumberjack competition demonstrations throughout the day.

The daylong event included guided hikes, information booths and crafts and games for children.

Hope Speechley stands among the hundreds of pieces of quality clothing available to anybody who needs it in the Pavilion Clothing Closet at Pavilion First Baptist Church, 10956 Lake Road (Route 19), Pavilion.

The closet, long run by Pavilion High School, moved starting today to the church.

Speechley said the closet will open at least monthly and people should watch local media outlets for announcements about openings, but Pavilion residents are also welcome to visit the closet by appointment. Speechley can be reached at (585) 483-1858.

The clothes are all donated by Pavilion residents and more donations of quality clothing items are welcome.

A 28-year-old Batavia resident has been arrested and charged with murder in the 2nd degree in the death of her newborn infant.

The female infant had apparently been dead for three months when police responded to a call at 11:20 p.m. of a suspicious condition at 208 Liberty St.

A third party reportedly discovered the dead infant's body and called police, and when police arrived they confirmed the discovery of the body.

Being held in jail without bail is Christina M. Colantonio. She is scheduled to appear in court again at 1:30 p.m., Monday.  

Police are not releasing the cause of death because of the ongoing nature the investigation. Investigators believe the infant was killed a short time after birth, which police believe took place at Colantonio's residence, but are not saying if death was immediate, within hours or days.

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said murder in the second degree means the accused is suspected of intentionally causing the death of another person, but he would not disclose what evidence exists to convince his office that Colantonio should be prosecuted on a murder 2nd charge.

"We have enough to come to the conclusion that the death was intentionally caused, but because of the fact that we do not have a final autopsy report and because the investigation is ongoing, we won't be indicating anything further at this time," Friedman said.

After the press conference, we spoke with a neighbor, who didn't want to disclose his name, and he said he was outside two nights ago when police and the coroner were at Colantonio's residence. He saw authorities bring a 48-quart ice chest out to the street, remove a small body and place it in a body bag.

Authorities have not disclosed where the infant's body's was in the house at the time of its discovery.

Another neighbor, David Zanghi, said Contantonio worked at Sport of Kings restaurant and described her as a quiet woman who kept to herself and never was involved in any kind of disturbance.  

"She seemed like a pretty nice girl," he said.

Contontonio lived in the apartment by herself, police said. She has two other children.

Authorities are not disclosing anything about the father of the baby.

Det. Todd Crosett and District Attorney Lawrence Friedman.

The Batavia Police Department has scheduled a press conference for 5:30 p.m. to announce an arrest in the investigation into an infant death.

No further details have been released.

The Batavian will provide updates as soon as information is available.

UPDATE: The time of the press conference has been changed to 6:30 p.m. 

Officials in Elba -- the town, the village and the fire department -- think they've come up with a plan that would save taxpayer money and help all three agencies address some pressing needs, but at a meeting Thursday night at Elba Central School's auditorium, there was a good deal of negative feedback.

A frequent refrain, "this is just to benefit the fire department."

Officials are proposing a plan that would move town offices to the building currently occupied by village government offices and the fire department, creating a shared facility for both the village and town.

The current town hall would be converted into a new fire hall.

The town and village courts would continue with their plans to move to the new facility being built in Oakfield.

The total cost of the project, an estimated $900,000.

An alternative scenario is to leave the town and village governments in their current buildings, renovate those and build a brand-new fire hall. That plan would cost at least $2 million.

"The key point here is something needs to be done with the buildings for the town, the village and the fire department," said Village Mayor Scott Schular after the meeting. "We are trying to address those problems at a reasonable cost instead of getting buried in trying to do one thing at a time and then another and then another so we can keep the tax rate at a reasonable rate."

Jason Foote, an engineer with architectural firm Clark Patterson Lee, went through a slideshow presentation that laid out the needs, the plan and the alternatives.

The biggest deficiencies with the current building arrangement concern the fire hall. It was built at a time when fire trucks were smaller and more compact. Today's engines, which often must be built to meet state guidelines, are taller and longer. The current doorways on the truck bays are too small for a modern, unmodified truck. The bays are not deep enough for these trucks.

As a result, if Elba wants to buy a new truck, it has to be custom built at a cost of close to $200,000 or more per truck.

Also, when the Elba crews are out on a call, mutual aid companies are reluctant to fill in at Elba's hall, especially in winter, because their trucks won't fit in the bays.

The current hall also doesn't meet OSHA safety requirements, isn't compliant with ADA accessibilities rules, lacks adequate storage and has only a small meeting and training room.

The village hall lacks office space, a meeting room and a place for record storage. The bathrooms are not ADA compliant and lack storage for DPW equipment.

The town hall also has ADA issues and only offers access through the town clerk's office.

All of the buildings need basic repair and maintenance.

The plan officials would like to see the public support is not exactly perfect, they admit, but at least it addresses all of the issues in a cost-effective manner.

"Maybe (the proposal) doen't give everybody what they want, but it meets the needs for all three entities for next 30 years at a pretty cost-effective rate," said Town Supervisor A.J. Wormuth.

Building a new fire hall would require financing with a total estimated expense for principal and interest of $2.6 million and would take 30 years to pay off.

The cost of the consolidated plan broken down into its two main components:

• Fire hall, total capital costs of $217,650, with an annual debt of $18,979 for 15 years;
• Town/Village hall renovations, total capital cost of $232,350, with an annual debt payment of $20,090 per year for 15 years

The net cost to the village, $24,620 per year, with a projected increase of the tax rate by 99 cents per thousand of assessed value. A new fire hall would cost village residents at least $3.50 in additional taxes per thousand of assessed value.

The net cost for the town would be $24,308 per year, which would require a property tax rate increase of 23 cents per thousand, or an additional $23 a year on a $100,000 home.

Foote said the consolidation plan translates into costs that are two or three times lower than doing each project separately.

There was a lot of questioning of the plan primarily from two sectors, a couple of town highway employees and a homeowner with property adjacent to the town hall.

None quite came out and said they opposed the plan, but the tone was negative with an oft-repeated, "this sounds like a done deal."

One resident suggested officials should instead do something to build a senior housing complex in Elba. There were concerns raised about seniors on fixed incomes paying for anything, that young people aren't moving to Elba, and really, what officials should be doing is attracting a new big business to town.

One man said, "I'm not saying we shouldn't do it, but I'm concerned about what it's going to cost me."

There appeared to be objections among town highway employees because they would be displaced. While they would get a new cold storage building (where equipment is stored -- "cold storage" because the building is unheated in winter and not cooled in summer), it might be smaller than what they have now.

Foote wasn't surprised by the objections to the proposal.

"We've kind of heard rumors that there was maybe going to be a small contingent who are generally against it, but I think the overall idea was, 'we're looking to try and accomplish these tasks, renovate the village hall, the town hall and the fire department and be sensitive to taxpayer money,' " Foote said, adding, "Some don't want to spend any money and obviously that's a possibility. That can happen, but, again, that's not going to address any of the deficiencies at any of the buildings."

Both Schular and  Wormuth both said the town and village boards will need to consider the feedback so far and look at their options, whether to proceed with the plan, devise an alternative plan or drop the idea. Nothing is cast in stone, they said.

Though Wormuth acknowledged that what he heard at Thursday's meeting doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the wider Elba public, especially once the idea is fully explained.

 "When you talk with people out in the public one-on-one and explain it to them and give them the numbers, a lot of them say it makes a lot of sense because we're trying to be very cognizant in this project of our tax rates," Wormuth said.

Schular said he came away from the meeting feeling like there were a lot of mixed feelings expressed.

"There are a few people who understand and a few who don't understand," Schular said. "I guess we need to do a better job of trying to help those people who don't understand understand."

Schular said he realizes the proposal is a big step away from how business has always been done.

"I realize that the town has always been the town and the village has been the village and the fire department, the fire department, and it's been that way for years," Schular said. "Now the town and the village and the fire department are all talking and we're trying to come to a conclusion that will benefit everybody."

For a long time, I wanted to take a picture of this barn, but for years, there was a yellow delivery truck parked in front of it that kind of didn't fit the ambiance. This summer, it was gone and the setting today seemed pretty nice.