Stories from

Jazzmyne M. Heard, 21, of 965 E. Glide St., Rochester, is charged with disorderly conduct. Heard allegedly shouted obscenities while on the sidewalk on South Main St. The alleged incident occurred Thursday at 11:45 a.m.

Megan J. Dowd, 26, of 16 Church St., Le Roy, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly shouting obscenities in a public place. The alleged incident occurred at 337 Bank St.

James S. Gibbs, 33, of 34 Vernon Ave., Batavia is charged with criminal contempt. Gibbs allegedly made contact with a person he was ordered not to contact.

Jay R. Cummings, 23, of 10565 Harper Road, Darien, is charged with felony DWI. Cummings was stopped on West Main Street by Batavia police following a report of a road rage incident in the Town of Batavia.  Officers Coffey and Klimjack report Cummings was allegedly intoxicated. He is also charged with felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Cummings reportedly has a prior felony DWI conviction. He is held on $5,000 bail.

Ryan P. Sutton, 19, of 8290 Lewiston Road, Batavia, is charged with making graffiti. Batavia Police Officer Matthew Baldwin reportedly observed Sutton carving something into plastic play equipment in Pringle Park with a folding knife on Thursday night.

Stephan A. Lewis II, 29, of 541 E. Main St., is charged with petty larceny. Lewis is accused of stealing beer from Wilson Farms, 506 E. Main St.

John J. Smalley, Sr., 46, of 32 S. Main St., Oakfield, is charged with harassment. Smalley is accused of making harassing phone calls to another person. He was arrested by Batavia police officers.

Timothy Ryan McJury, 22, of 334 W. Main St., #5, is charged with petty larceny. McJury is accused of shoplifting three DVDs and a video game from Target.

Travis W. Zeidler, 29, of 502-2969 Kingsway Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, is charged with DWI and DWI with a BAC of .18 or more. Zeidler was arrested following a Sheriff's Office investigation into a reported car accident inside the parking lot of Darian Lake Theme Park. Zeidler is held on $500 bail. The incident was investigated by Deputy Jason Saile.

David J. Reschke, 18, of 9741 Transit Road, Stafford, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Reschke was reportedly found to possess alcohol following a car accident at Route 19 and Cato Street in Pavilion on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Stephanie L. Hagen, 26, of 3259 Rose Road, Batavia, is charged with DWI. Hagen was reportedly stopped for an alleged traffic violation on Erie Road in Darien on Saturday morning about 1 a.m. She reportedly had a BAC of .08 or greater.

Ronald J. Tombari III, 21, of Pavilion, is charged with felony unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, DWI and driving with a BAC of .18 or greater. Tombari allegedly struck a parked car in Le Roy and then left the scene. Le Roy Patrolman Daryl Robb made the arrest.

Jeanne Stack submitted this photo of a car on fire on the Thruway on Sunday at about 2 p.m. Stack said the fire occurred near Pratt Road in the Town of Batavia. She said she doesn't know what happened, but that a trooper came over to her and asked if the car was hers.  We have no further information at this time.

Yesterday, I was given a chance to learn all about the latest piece of equipment acquired by the Town of Batavia's volunteer fire department:  A rescue truck that will go into service in about three weeks.

It arrived at the station on Tuesday and cost the department about $460,000.

"This is a 25-year purchase," said Dan Coffey, who with Nate Fix served on the truck purchase committee and researched the needs and specifications for a new fire truck. "A lot of thought went into this purchase. We started planning this in 2005."

The truck already has 3,000 miles on it -- the mileage from Minnesota, where it was assembled, to New York, where a contractor put on many of the finishing touches, and that was by design said Deputy Chief Paul Barrett.  All of those miles got the engine broken in and gave the seller a chance to uncover any potential problems before the department took delivery.

The video contains more information on the truck and its capabilities and purpose.

Pictured above with the new Engine 24 are four members of the department who happened to be on hand yesterday, Deputy Chief Paul Barrett, firefighter Ryan Scapano, Asst. Chief Randy McIntire and firefighter Doug Smart, Jr., who is home on leave from Iraq.

The outgoing Engine 24.

The Batavia Area Jaycees hung flags along Main Street this morning. I think it's always a great sight to drive down Main and see the flag-lined street.

Patrick Weissend is leaving his post as director of the Holland Land Office Museum to become a brank manager for the Bank of Castile in Medina. Supporters of  the museum, its staff and board members gathered at the museum last night to give Pat a festive send off and to thank him for his hard work and dedication.

With the ongoing Senate stalemate, I thought it would be useful to have a detailed discussion with our representative, Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer, just to catch up on the issues and get his perspective on the situation.

I'm presenting the entire 26-minute interview unedited in four parts.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

UPDATE: Links now fixed.

WBTA's Geoff Redick posted the final installment of his well-done five-part series on the dairy-price crisis from the perspective of Genesee County dairy farmers.

Here's all five parts:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

Contrary to a report in another media outlet, there are still tickets available for the Batavia Muckdogs game tomorrow, July 4th.

Traditionally, the Muckdogs July 4th game, with fireworks, is the best attended game of the season, but don't let the inaccurate report of no seats being available keep you from the ballpark.

That said, you might want to get to Dwyer ASAP to reserve your seats.

A fire alarm has gone off at Lowe's, 4180 Veterans Memorial Drive.  A manager has reportedly told the fire alarm company there is no visible fire, but their is no clue why the alarm went off. Fire units are responding.

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Larry's Steakhouse, 60 Main St.  The name says it all -- when you want a good steak, Larry's is an excellent choice.  Not only is the food good, but it's a great dining atmosphere and the service is always great.  We have a $50 gift certificate for $25.

Center Street Smoke House, 20 Center St., Batavia, N.Y.: Ribs, brisket, steak, prime rib -- Center Street is a meat lovers paradise. We have a $25 gift card for $12.50.

Delavan's Restaurant and Tavern, 107 Evans St., Batavia, N.Y.: Have you tried the homemade Italian sausage yet? You should. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Batavia Downs Grandstand Bar & Grille, 8315 Park Road, Batavia, N.Y.: One of Genesee County's more popular restaurants. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50 (plus $1 service fee).

Sport of Kings Family Restaurant, 419 W Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A favorite locally owned family restaurant that is open 24 hours per day, seven days a week. We have TWO $15 gift certificates for $7.50 each (two separate winners).

Picasso's Pizza, 419 W. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: A great variety of pizza, subs and salads -- and try the wings, too. We have three $5 booklets of $1 gift certificates ($15 value) for $7.50.  The gift certificates can be used collectively or individually).

A $1 PayPal service fee applies.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

Larry's Steakhouse

SOLD

Center Street

SOLD

Delavan's

SOLD

Sport of Kings

SOLD

Picasso's

SOLD

Batavia Downs

SOLD

Catcher Ivan Castro homered and Xavier Scruggs picked up two-RBI to lead the Muckdogs to a 8-2 victory over Jamestown Thursday night.

In a game in which Batavia notched only six hits while scratching out 8 runs, Ryde Rodriguez also contributed two singles.

The winning pitcher was Michael Blazek (2-0), who tossed 5 2/3 of scoreless ball in relief.

Batavia, now 8-5, is in second place in the Pinckney division, a half game behind Williamsport.

The Muckdogs host the Jammers tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium. Auburn is in tomorrow night for a 7:05 p.m. game.

Both games will be followed by fireworks.

Christopher H. Monfort, 37, of 113 Pine St., Rochester and Timothy M. Stone, 29, of 3735 Chili Ave., Rochester are charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Monfort and Stone were part of the alleged scrap metal heist earlier this week. At the time of their arrest, they were allegedly found to have crystal meth in their possession. This additional charge has now been filed.

Nathan D. Bernard, 20, of 6084 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with attempted criminal trespass. A Sheriff's deputy reported that he was dispatched to 6084 Main Road, Stafford for a possible burglary in progress where a person was trying to gain access to the building through a basement window.  The deputy allegedly found Bernard with something in his hand and he was attempting to gain entry through a backdoor.  Bernard is held on $300 bail.

Steven Edward Ball, 35, of 11 1/2 Meadowcrest Drive, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Ball allegedly tried to contact his ex-girlfriend through her mother. There is reportedly an order of protection against Ball on behalf of the ex-girlfriend.

A vehicle driven by a Darien man reportedly failed to yield the right-of-way while making a left turn on Route 20 yesterday afternoon causing a two-car crash.

Duane D. Leo, 70, who was reportedly driving a 1999 Plymouth SUV, allegedly made the turn and was hit by a 1996 Jeep driven by Justin W. Loomis, 24.

Leo lives at 1331 Herkimer Road, Darian and Loomis is from 8934 Luckenbach Hill, Springwater.

Leo was transported to UMMC with a minor head injury.

The accident occurred at 1919 Broadway. We origionally reported this as an accident involving a tractor trailer.  No tractor trailer is mentioned in Deputy K.R. McCathy's report, so the original report must have been in error in that regard.

Two cars  hit head-on on Route 5 near Kenny Road in Le Roy on Tuesday about 8 p.m.

Both drivers were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

Deputy M. R. Butler investigated the crash and reported that Paul D. Bennett, of 15 Myrtle St., Le Roy, was attempting to make a left-hand turn into the Kwik-Fill station when she spotted a vehicle in the oncoming lane. She reportedly attempted to swerve back into her own lane but didn't make it.

The other driver  was George J. Vagg, of 10321 Creek Road, Pavilion.

Bennett was driving a 2007 Nissan sedan and Vagg was behind the wheel of a 2001 Chevy SUV.

Vagg, 76, reportedly suffered minor cuts to his face. Bennett reportedly complained of abdominal pain.

It didn't take Dennis M. Abrams long on the morning of June 18 to figure out he apparently had made a huge mistake.

Within 30 minutes of leaving the M&T Bank in Elba with one of his buddies holding a bag full of more than $20,000 in cash allegedly taken at gunpoint, Abrams was lying in the brush along Lewiston Road sending a text message to his wife, Bianca.

"I messed up," was the simple message, according to Abrams' written confession.

"She called me because she did not know what I was talking about," he wrote. "I told her I could not talk because the police were close. I told her we had robbed a bank and that it had gone wrong. I then hung up because the police were close."

A few minutes later, Abrams was taken into custody.

His confession closes, "I would like to state that I made a mistake and that I am sorry for ever making this type of decision."

Abrams reportedly said he "messed up," but it wasn't like he wasn't warned.

According to the statement of one of his alleged accomplices, Demone Dillon, Dillon told Abrams and co-suspect Michael Wells that robbing a bank wasn't smart.

Dillon was the alleged look out who stood in the doorway of the bank while Abrams and Wells reportedly pulled off the stick up.

"I told them that it was a bad idea to rob a bank, but they decided to go in anyway," Dillon reportedly told investigators. "I followed them to the foyer area of the bank because I was told to do so."

According to Dillon's statement, Abrams called him about 10 o'clock the night before the robbery and said he had an idea to make some easy money.

In the Abrams' confession, Abrams said he and his friends were playing football the night before and started talking about how they needed more money.

"I said I know about this bank that I drive by when I go to Orleans Corrections to visit my cousin," Abrams wrote. "I said the bank was secluded, so we agreed to rob it."

The next morning, Abrams reportedly drove his black Chevy Blazer to pick up Dillon and Wells and then they stopped at Rite Aid to buy rubber gloves. Dillon said he knew the gloves were meant to avoid fingerprints, but he said he still didn't know the plan was to rob a bank.

It wasn't until they arrived at the bank, he indicates, that he learned of the plan. While sitting in the bank waiting for drive-up customers to leave, Dillon said, "I think this is a bad idea."

Inside the bank, the statement of teller Patti Hackett paints a terrifying picture. She said two men rushed into the bank while she was on a conference call with other M&T employees and the men started yelling, and she heard another teller scream "don't hurt me."

She writes, "The guy who grabbed me yanked me out of my chair and threw me to the ground." The men were yelling "get on the floor. We're not going to hurt you."

Hackett told investigators that the same man who threw her to the ground pointed a gun at her head.

In his confession, Abrams said he brought his Walthers P22 into the bank. He said it can hold 22 rounds, but he thinks it had only nine rounds in it at the time of the robbery, and that he waived it in the air with the safety on.

After leaving the bank, Abrams said he drove his Blazer at the speed limit until a state trooper spotted the vehicle and turned on his lights. Abrams said he stepped on the gas believing he could out run the trooper's Tahoe.

By that time, either Dillon or Wells had reportedly opened the money bag only to have an apparently pepper-spray-laced dye pack explode. Dillon said within a half mile of the bank, he threw the bag out the back window.

Abrams said that both Dillon and Wells were screaming for him to let them out of the car and he stopped at the first intersection he came to and the two men jumped from the Blazer and ran.

Dillon said he first went to a nearby house and lied down on the porch, but he quickly got up and started running. He removed his clothes because they had become wet and heavy, he said in the confession.

Dillon never directly explains why he agreed to go along with Abrams and Wells on what he admits in his statements clearly seemed to be a plan for some sort of criminal activity.

But the need for cash seems to be a factor. 

"The reason I did this is because I'm in serious need of money," Dillon told investigators. "I have a 6-month-old baby and also two 5-year-old kids."

Abrams, who admits in his signed confession to coming up with the plan, owning and carrying the gun, and driving his own vehicle to and from the bank, is about to become a father. In his confession, he said his wife Bianca is seven months pregnant. In his Genesee County Justice interview, he also says he is a foster father, and while being employed with the same company for more than five years, his gross earnings were $700 a week.

The third suspect, Michael Wells, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Yesterday, Judge Robert Noonan ordered Abrams and Dillon held on $250,000 cash bail and $500,000 bond each.

Pictured above, from the top, are Abrams, Dillon and Wells.

Today, four great deals from four fantastic local businesses:

The Enchanted Florist, 202 E. Main St., Batavia, N.Y.: Whether you need just the right gift or a memorial or simply want to brighten your own home or work place, The Enchanted Florist can put together a fantastic floral arrangement for you. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

Valle Jewelers, 21 Jackson St., Batavia, N.Y.: Need a gift? Need some sparkle? Valle's has a large selection of jewelry and gifts STARTING at UNDER $25. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

Herbly Wonderful, 3701 Pearl St., Batavia, N.Y.: Plants, teas, herbs, mixes, a great place to shop to make your home more cozy, naturally. We have a $25 gift certificate for $12.50.

South Main Country Gifts, 3356 Main St. Road, Batavia, N.Y.: Always a great place for gifts, South Main just brought in a bunch of new merchandise from the region. We have a $20 gift certificate for $10.

A $1 PayPal service fee applies.

Rules: The gift certificate must be used by within 30 days of purchase. It is not valid with other offers and has no cash value.  People who have won a certificate in the past 30 days are not eligible to win a certificate from the same business as before.  By state law, gift certificates cannot be used for alcohol purchase.

How to Win: Purchase using the PayPal "Buy Now" button below. After the first person to hit the "buy now" button completes the purchase, PayPal will let you know that the item has been sold. Ideally, the winner will arrange to stop by my office on Main Street to pick up gift certificate. Mail is an option, but it would be better to hand you the gift certificate. 

If you want to be notified via e-mail of future Deals of the Day, sign up for the Deals of the Day e-mail list by clicking here.

Merchants: If you would like your business featured in Deal of the Day, call Howard Owens at 260-6970.

Valle Jewelers

SOLD

South Main Country Gifts

The Enchanted Florist

Herbly Wonderful

There is a flash flood watch in place until 8 p.m.

The National Weather Service warns that after several days of rain and anticipated slow-moving, thunderstorms producing heavy downpours, "it will not take much rain to produce flooding."

The weather service says flooding is a possibility along rivers, creeks and drainage culverts as well as low-laying roadways.