Genesee County's justice system took another step forward on Monday in the prosecution of Michael J. Elmore, implicated in the March 10 death of Sgt. line-of-duty death Thomas A. Sanfratello, and co-defendant Lyndsey J. Wilcox.
Both Elmore and Wilcox appeared in County Court before Judge Donald O'Geen for the first time and their attorneys, on their behalf, entered not-guilty pleas to the criminal indictments filed against each of them.
The hearing was standard procedure, with District Attorney Kevin Finnell affirming he had supplied the defense with all available discovery material, requesting an alibis demand, and stating that the people are ready for trial.
O'Geen then outlined the case's milestone dates, including trial dates if it reaches that far in the process.
The defense attorneys—Joseph A. Lobosco for Elmore and Daniel J. Dubois for Wilcox—have until July 12 to file motions. Defense attorneys typically file motions in criminal cases challenging the admissibility of evidence, the relevance of witnesses, and the possibility of constitutional violations (though every case is different, and there's been no public discussion of what motions the attorneys might make in this case).
The prosecution has until July 26 to file an answer to the motions.
Any hearing on the motions or other pre-trial issues will be held at 9:30 a.m. on July 31.
O'Geen provided each attorney with an anticipated schedule of proceedings after initial motions.
He set Aug. 23 at 9:30 a.m. for a hearing on any pre-trial motions, a follow-up hearing date of Sept. 20, a plea cutoff (the last day for defendants to accept any pending plea offer before trial) of Oct. 16 and a hearing date on any pending issues for Nov. 15. Then, if there is a trial, jury selection on Jan. 21. Opening arguments would begin on Jan. 23, with the trial scheduled to last until Feb. 11.
When Elmore and Wilcox were first arrested, they faced the same charges and both were ordered held on $100,000 bail.
On Monday, Dubois asked that his client, Wilcox, be released under supervision given the reduction of the top charges against her to burglary and assault. Finnell argued that since the top charges include mandatory prison terms if convicted, Wilcox should be held on bail. O'Geen reduced her bail to $20,000 cash, $50,000 bond, or $100,000 partially secured bond.
Elmore was indicted by the Grand Jury on counts of:
- Aggravated manslaughter in the first degree, a Class B felony. He is accused of intending to cause serious physical injury to a police officer and, as result, causing the death of a police officer;
- Aggravated criminally negligent homicide, a Class C violent felony. He is accused of causing the death of Sanfratello with criminal negligence;
- Assault in the first degree, a Class B violent felony. Elmore is accused of causing the death of Sanfratello while in the commission of another crime, burglary in the second degree;
- Burglary in the second degree, a Class C violent felony. He is accused of knowingly entering a building unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime in the building and threatening to use or did use a dangerous instrument.
Elmore and Wilcox are indicted on counts of:
- Burglary in the second degree, a Class C violent felony. Elmore and Wilcox are accused of remaining unlawfully in a building with the intent to commit a crime in the building and, while in the building, causing serious physical injury to another person;
- Assault in the second degree, a Class D violent felony. Elmore and Wilcox are accused of causing physical injury to a police officer who was in the act of performing his official duties;
- Obstruction of governmental administration in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. The pair is accused of trying to intentionally prevent a police officer from performing his official duty by means of intimidation, physical force, or interference.
Wilcox is separately charged with resisting arrest, a Class A Misdemeanor. She is accused of intentionally trying to prevent her legal arrest.
The incident that led up to Sanfratello's death began at 12:43 a.m. on March 10, a Sunday morning following a pair of events at Batavia Downs on Saturday night, when Sanfratello and Batavia Downs security responded to the Rush 34 bar for a disturbance. There, Sanfratello confronted Wilcox, 39, of Batavia and ordered Wilcox to leave the building. While being escorted out, she allegedly became combative with Sanfratello. She is accused of hitting Sanfratello several times with the intent to injure him.
As Wilcox was being arrested, Elmore became involved and was also ordered to leave. He reportedly walked out of the building and came back in with a chain in his hand (a chain he was apparently wearing that night).
During the struggle, which included assistance from Batavia Downs security, Sanfratello reportedly tried to deploy his taser in an attempt to subdue the person attacking him.
According to initial reports, Sanfratello suffered a medical emergency during the struggle and became unresponsive. There was extensive effort, according to witnesses, to revive him with CPR. He was later pronounced dead by a county coroner.
For complete prior coverage of the case and related articles, click here.
