The 28-year-old business sign for Settler's Restaurant was destroyed early this morning by an alleged drunken driver.
Martin F. Jones, 41, of 120 Jackson St., Batavia, allegedly hit the sign at 1:56 a.m.
After Jones reportedly hit the sign, witness reportedly found Jones apparently passed out over the wheel of his car. They pounded on the window of the vehicle and Jones reportedly woke up, put his car in reverse, and pulled out onto West Main Street.
He then allegedly drove to the Hess station at West Main and Oak streets where he allegedly ran into a parked vehicle.
Police say Jones then abandoned the vehicle and left on foot.
He was located a short time later by Deputy Frank Bordonaro and taken into custody.
Jones was charged with felony DWI, refusal to take breath test, two counts of leaving the scene of a property damage accident, unsafe backing, aggravated unlicensed operation, 1st, avoiding an intersection, speed not reasonable and prudent and driving on the sidewalk.
He also had two active arrest warrants for allegedly falsely reporting an incident and disorderly conduct.
Batavia PD reports that Jones had "several" previous DWI convictions and was driving on a revoked license as a result.
Following arraignment in city court, Jones was jailed without bail.
The case was investigated by Lt. Greg Steele, Sgt. Dan Coffey, Officer Eric Bolles and Officer Marc Lawrence.
Settler's co-owner John Spyropoulos said the sign, which has already been removed from the property, is damaged beyond repair and will need to be replaced.
As a victim, Mr. Spyropoulos
As a victim, Mr. Spyropoulos is entitled to compensation, but I bet it'll be a "top notch" sign. Oh, and was Mr. Jones drinking at Mr. Spyropoulos' establishment next door by any chance? Or has he ever? Curious minds want to know. That may put a different spin on this scenario.
" Last call for alcohol", "
" Last call for alcohol", " One for the ditch ", " Nothing good happens after Midnight "..............etc.
Who cares wht curious minds
Who cares wht curious minds want to know, what difference does it make where the guy was drinking? The way you make your comments Lisa it seems you are insinuating that Mr.Spyropoulos got what he deserved? Who do you think it going to re-imburse him for the sign? His insurance will cover it that what you pay insurance for. There is no spin to this story to change, the guy drinks too much and has had his liscence revoked already, obviously he needs further help from the court system to make the public safe. Perhaps a good while in jail might work.
Lisa, you sound like a
Lisa, you sound like a complete fool above. Curious minds want to know why you would say what you did, as you must have some sort of beef with the Spyropoulos family.
The parked car hit at Hess
The parked car hit at Hess was my daughters car while she was working. She didn't even know that the car had been hit until the police arrived to look at her car.
Ironically, the guy never came into Hess to purchase anything, just drove in, hit my daugthers car and left.
Great job by law enforcement piecing it all together.
Kyle - you continue to attack
Kyle - you continue to attack me personally. I acknowledge that you do not agree with me. Move on please and thank you.
Cory - Mr. Jones should be punished if breaking the law. Mr. Spyropoulos does not deserve to be a victim. However, if it was his establishment that served drink to an obviously intoxicated individual, I believe it bring this matter into a different light. That's all. I acknowledge that you do not agree with me. Move on please and thank you.
Mark - I'm sorry this was your daughter's car. I'm glad no one was hurt. You are right, law enforcement did a great job.
Move on? That will be my
Move on? That will be my reply to all of your posts from now on, because they are usually as ridiculous as you telling me to move on. So you are entitled to make a comment on here, but no one is allowed to comment back? You are ASSUMING this happened. You have no proof or even reason to suspect that he had a drink, let alone enough to intoxicate himself at Spyropoulos' place. You base it on proximity? You are absurd. There is a liquor store on the other side of Billy Goats. Did they sell him the alcohol? Why don't you attack them too? Sugar Creek is on the other side and sells beer too. Maybe them? You almost always have an angle with all of your comments on here when it comes to who did what and who's responsible. Maybe instead of pretending to be some at home investigator, you should start asking these questions to the proper people, especially since you seem to already have answers before you ask them. And feel free to respond. No need to move on if you don't feel ready to.
Cant we all just get along? I
Cant we all just get along?
I think Lisa makes an (almost) valid point, perhaps it would be better phrased "what irony (if Jones was drinking at Billie Goats) that Mr. Spyropoulos' sign was "destroyed"" (it doesn't look destroyed in the pic - it looks like a failrly easy repair - but what do I know?)
As far as the punishment goes, if he was (allegedly) drinking and driving and on a revoked license no less, I hope he gets the MAX
John Spyropoulos e-mailed and
John Spyropoulos e-mailed and asked me to note that Mr. Jones was not a patron on this evening of Billy Goats.
Also, as for the sign being destroyed -- it can't easily be repaired. It was split open and one side was cracked. John showed me other pictures that make it pretty clear to me at least the sign can't really be saved.
The only important thing is
The only important thing is that no one was injured or killed. From what I heard on the scanner as it happened, and my daughter's account the next morning, it could have very easily ended tragically.
Lisa, dont make allusions or
Lisa, dont make allusions or comments that are open to attack. I made my points, not that they weren't obvious. Again you wont be dictating my actions or comments in this forum.
Mark hopefully your daughters car is damaged too badly to inconvenience her transportation needs. Glad to hear everyone is ok too. I think thats why one of the charges this guy had was avoiding an intersection, he tried to avoid the light thru Hess parkinglot, he's lucky he didnt get clobbered exiting that Hess lot as there is a curbing between the driving lanes and you have to face oncoming traffic for a few yards before being able to get into the proper lane.
Thanks for the clarification
Thanks for the clarification Howard. The information is appreciated.
Kyle & Cory, if I am not attacking YOU there is no reason for you to attack me. We may not see things the same, and that's ok. It's good to exchange ideas - even if very different - but the attacks are downright immature. I'm sorry you don't agree with my postings, but like you, I have that right - and I DO NOT and WILL NOT attach you personally. That's ridiculous. We see same matters differently. That's it.
Howard was good enough to post some points that answered questions I had. It's a done deal.
The restaurant owner should be compensated. His bar did not play a roll in Mr. Jones' intoxication. Mr. Jones should have to face the consequences of his actions.
Thank you, Mr. Spyropoulos, for sharing the information that you did.
You really dont get it do you
You really dont get it do you Lisa? Even if Jones did drink in Billy Goats allnight long... That has no bearing whatsoever on compensation for the resteraunt owner. The public, the city, the police dont compensate people or entities for damage done during a crime or criminal activity. Insurance does, or the owner sues the person who did the damage either way I dont understand how compensation and the location of Mr. Jones drinking is related.
Its not an attack to comment on other peoples comments, thats the whole point of discussion. Once again your perception and reality differ, and you like to spin yourself as a victim. Especially when you authortively make comments and like to "spin" yourself as the victim when they are questioned.
Never said you were attacking
Never said you were attacking me. I just don't think it's up to you to tell anyone to move on after someone responds to your comments. Don't say anything if you can't handle the responses. Where did I say YOU attacked me? I basically said I have the right to respond whether you tell me to move on or not. That's not your decision.
Now that your paddle is clean of the doo doo you stir, I hope you can sleep better:)
And after looking at the
And after looking at the sign, it's pretty clear the wood is splintered in half on the left side, and on the bottom right where it was in the ground, it has been completly sheared off. Even if they tried repairing it, and it fell due to wind or just because it wasn't structurally sound, how much will that cost them in lawsuit/insurance if it falls on a car or worse yet, a person?