crime

Yesterday, a woman who's bike was apparently stolen overnight saw a man riding her bike on East Avenue and called Batavia police.

When police responded, they reportedly found Nicholas McKague, 18, of 1 Colorado Ave., riding the bike.

According to a Batavia Police Department press release, McKague admitted to stealing the bike from 4 Elm St.. Upon further questioning, he also allegedly admitted to breaking into several unlocked cars and taking items in the area of Union, Oak and Allen streets Monday night/Tuesday morning.

The property taken has not been recovered.

Tuesday morning, several people reported their cars on Redfield, Kingsbury and North Lyon streets were broken into overnight. Bikes were also reported stolen on North Lyons Street.

The investigation is continuing and other suspects have been implicated.

The Batavia Police are asking residents to continue to be vigilant in locking cars and securing bikes and other property in garages or on porches.

Neil R. Ramsey, 43, of 342 South Ave., Medina, is charged with felony DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Ramsey was stopped yesterday at 4:57 p.m. by Deputy Bradley D. Mazur on Route 237 in Byron following a citizen complaint of a possibility intoxicated driver. Upon investigation, Mazur arrested Ramsey for allegedly driving drunk. Ramsey was also issued a ticket for an uninspected vehicle. Following his arrest, Ramsey was turned over to the Monroe County Sheriff on an outstanding arrest warrant.

A man with an unloaded BB gun sent Batavia police on a late night search for a subject with "a handgun" in the area of Chestnut and Kibbe streets last night.

Jason P. Wickson, 27, of Orleans Ave., Batavia, was arrested after a brief foot pursuit through the Kibbe Park neighborhood on the south side of the city.

It was only after Wickson was arrested that officers discovered the gun he allegedly brandished shortly after midnight was an unloaded BB gun.

Wickson was charged with menacing and obstructing governmental administration.

Police say Wickson displayed the gun "in an attempt to place another in fear."

The pursuit began when police officers arrived at 7 Chestnut and reportedly ordered Wickson to "show his hands."  Wickson allegedly turned and ran.

Wickson ran from yard-to-yard in the area of Kibbe and South Jackson, eventually being taken into custody in a residential backyard without further incident.

Wickson was arraigned this morning and sent to jail on $5,000 bail.

Officers responding to the scene were E.E. Bolles, Dan Coffey and Lt. G.Q. Steele.

Previously: White male reportedly carrying handgun taken into custody near Kibbe and South Jackson

More than a half dozen cars were ransacked over night, according to reports this morning, but very little was taken.

Many callers to the dispatch center this morning say somebody went through their cars, rifling through glove compartments and looking through other areas of the car, but the callers haven't found anything stolen.

The person or persons going through the cars have left behind spare change, radar detectors and other valuables. One man reported his wallet with $50 cash in it was left behind.

Two bicycles left in a car were reportedly stolen.

UPDATE: At our request, Det. Rich Schuaf provided a description of the bikes and he added a reminder about securing your property.

Taken from 11 N. Lyon St. during the night.
1. Schwinn, Gold/White, Girls, 26", 18 spd. Mt. Bike.
2. Schwinn, Maroon, Boys, 26", 18 spd, Mt. Bike.

Reminder: Secure bikes with locks or in garage. Also remember to lock car doors. None of the latest reported incidents of theft have come from locked cars or secured garages.

Shane M. Ramos, 18, of 16 Hutchins Place, Batavia, and Joshua M. Barber, 18, of 7380 Griswold Road, Bergen, are both charged with criminal trespass. Ramos and Barber allegedly got onto the roof of Batavia High School on Aug. 11. They were arrested yesterday. Ramos faces an additional charge of petit larceny for allegedly taking computer accessories. The case was investigated by Officer Wayne Fenton.

Michael P. Murphy, 24, of 39 Columbia Ave., Batavia, is charged with DWI, DWI with a BAC of .08 or greater and endangering the welfare of a child. Murphy's car was reportedly stopped following the complaint of another driver about an erratic vehicle. Murphy allegedly had a child with him in the car at the time.

Luke W. Ritzenthaler, 26, of Byron (no address given), is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Ritzenthaler was reportedly ticketed by State Police at 7:55 a.m. yesterday.

Batavia Police have just apprehended a subject who was reportedly seen with a handgun in the area of 7 Chestnut St.

The suspect, described as a white male with short hair, wearing a black hoodie with the hood down, and barefooted, was taken into custody in the area of Kibbe and South Jackson streets.

Officers were apparently on foot as they searched for the suspect, who was seen heading down Kibbe, lost for a minute, and then seen heading east across Kibbe. A few minutes later, a Batavia police officer informed dispatchers that he had the suspect in custody.

There are no reports of shots fired at this time.

UPDATE 8:52 a.m.: The man was reportedly carrying an unloaded BB gun.

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Batavia police officers issued 15 tickets at two checkpoints set up Thursday night in conjunction with the Phish concert at Darien Lake.

The checkpoints were on Pearl Street and Clinton Street.

Three arrests were made. Two were reported this morning.

A third arrest was of Sara Hill, of North Canton, Ohio, who was allegedly driving an unregistered vehicle with improper license plates. She also allegedly had no insurance. According to police, Hill has a DWI conviction in Ohio and is required to drive a vehicle with special license plates. Hill, who reportedly said she was heading to the Phish concert, reportedly told police she didn't want to drive her vehicle with the restricted license plates to the concert, so she took plates form her garage and put them on her car. The plates had reportedly been stolen previously. A possible charge of possession of stolen property is pending.

A man wanted in Pontiac, Ill. on a home repair fraud charge, who was arrested in Batavia on May 19, may go free because, apparently, the governor's office in Illinois has failed to file an extradition request.

At least, no request has reached the Genesee County District Attorney's Office, according to Will Zickl, an assistant D.A.

It's also possible, the request never made it out Gov. David Patterson's office.

Normally, it would be up to the Illinois governor's office to contact the New York governor's office with such a request.

William John Riley, who was reportedly living in the Rochester area at the time of his arrest, was stopped May 19 for allegedly having excessively tinted windows on the vehicle he was driving.

Under state law, a person cannot be held more than 90 days without a proper extradition request. The clock would have started ticking at the time of his arraignment, a few days within the time of his arrest.

Riley is out on bail. He was reportedly scheduled to appear in court today along with his attorney, Mike Ranzenhofer, at 1:30 p.m. Neither Riley nor Ranzenhofer were apparently in court at that time.

Sometime around 2:30 p.m., Ranzenhofer did meet with Judge Robert Noonan and Zickl in the judge's chambers.

Zickle said Ranzenhofer made a motion to dismiss the case, and Noonan requested that the motion be filed in writing.

It's unclear if Riley was in the courthouse today or where he is living. Ranzenhofer said during a phone interview later that he couldn't discuss the specifics of the case without his client's permission.

According to Zickl, a wrinkle in the case is that Riley isn't being held in jail, but is out on bail, which may change the 90-day limitation.

Ranzenhofer contends, in general, without discussing his client's case, that being held is being held, whether in jail or out on bail.

There's no word on when Noonan might issue an opinion on the motion.

A former Batavia firefighter who operates a train museum in Medina is accused of sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman Friday at the museum and may have installed a videotaping system in the building.

Martin Phelps, 67, is accused assaulting the woman at 4:30 p.m.. Medina police have also removed an "extensive" videotaping system from the building.

Phelps bought the museum in 1991 and opened it in 1997 after spending six years remodeling the location.

He was remanded to Orleans County Jail on $5,000 bail.

(Source, the Batavia Daily News)

A motorcycle group out on a fundraising ride through Alabama on Sunday was confronted by a shotgun-wielding motorist when he apparently didn't like an intersection being closed by members of the group while the caravan passed.

William E. Buncy, 64, of Depew, was arrested by State Police and charged with a misdemeanor count of menacing.

The shotgun, which was reportedly unloaded at the time, along with three other unloaded firearms, were taken from Buncy at the time of his arrest. Buncy was returning from an event at a local gun club at the time of the incident.

The motorcycle group had 150 riders, and a few members of the group blocked the intersection at Lewiston Road and Route 63 to make it easier and safer for the entire group to pass through the intersection.

Titled the Jonathon Cote Memorial Motorcycle Run, it featured 150 riders and began in Amherst and was headed to Wilson Boat House in Wilson.

Buncy will be arraigned on the charge on Aug. 25 in the Town of Alabama Court.

Two men from Medina were taken into custody at 1:46 a.m. Monday on McAlpine Road in Pembroke after being found in possession of a number of reportedly stolen items.

All of the items appear to have been taken from parked cars.

Raymond J. Molina, 23, of 332 W. Oak Orchard St., Medina, and Shawn R. Wisniewski, 20, of 400 Erie St., Medina, are charged with criminal possession of stolen property.

They were jailed on $10,000 bail each.

Both Molina and Wisniewski were allegedly found with stolen GPS units, stolen purses and assorted stolen currency.

The case was investigated by Deputy Jason Saile, with assistance from Deputy John Weis and Sgt. Brian Frieday.

UPDATE: Chief Jerome Brewster clarifies that the items allegedly stolen were taken that night in the Pembroke area.

The Six Star Body Shop at 101 Lehigh Ave. Batavia, was apparently hit by a burglar on Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Batavia Police Officer Andrews is investigating the incident, in which a person or persons kicked in a door and ransacked the office.

The owner of the business is taking an inventory to determine what items are missing.

Chad M. Johnson, 23, of 15 Fairway Drive, Batavia, is charged with obstructing governmental administration. Batavia Police Officer Frank Klimjack reports that he encountered Johnson as a suspicious subject on South Main Street and when Klimjack requested to pat him down for weapons, Johnson allegedly refused. At that point, Johnson allegedly tried running away. After being ordered to stop, Klimjack used his Taser, at which point, Johnson stopped running. Upon further investigation, Batavia Police learned Johnson is reportedly on parole and was allegedly in violation of his terms of release from a state correctional facility. State parole officers were notified and further action is pending.

William Lyons, 36, of unknown address, Medina, is charged with harassment. Lyons was allegedly involved in a fight with another family member at 149 Ross St.. He was jailed on $1,500 bail.

Shane D. Vandenberg, 29, of 20 S. Main St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child. Vandenberg allegedly choked a female in front of the couple's child.

A 16-year-old boy is charged with criminal contempt. The boy was arrested at a roadside check point on Clinton Street Thursday night after allegedly being found in the company of a person whom he's been ordered not to contact.

Steven R. Goodrich, 27, of 649 E. Maine Road, Johnson City, is charged with DWI following a stop at a roadside checkpoint Friday night on Pearl Street. He is also accused of driving an uninspected vehicle.

UPDATE: The item below came in later this morning.

Andrew R. Miles, 20, and Benjamin M. Rogalia, 19, residences not given, were arrested at Darien Lake Theme Park on Monday at 3:07 a.m. for allegedly stealing a golf cart and running it into a locked gate. Both the gate and the cart were damaged. Both were jailed on $1,000 bail.

UPDATE II: More items that came in later in the day.

Darren W. Spencer, 26, of Springville, is charged with assault in the third degree after he allegedly punched the driver of another vehicle during a road-rage confrontation.  Spencer and the other driver confronted each other after an incident took place between the two of them on the roadway. The victim suffered a dislocated jaw in the incident.

Lawrence R. Laude, 22, of Corfu, is charged with robbery, criminal mischief and harassment in connection with a domestic incident last night. Laude was jailed in lieu of bail.

Valerie R. Mullen, 20, of Batavia, is charged with DWI following a property damage accident Thursday at 4:25 a.m. at 6835 Knowlesville Road in Alabama. Mullen was also charged with driving with a BAC of .08 percent or greater.

UPDATE III: And just missed this one this morning:

Charles P. Yaeger, 69, of 17 Madison Ave., Akron, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08, endangering the welfare of the child and violations of moving from a lane unsafely, failing to keep right and having an unsafe tire. Yesterday at 4:25 p.m., the Sheriff's Office received a complaint that a car had struck two parked cars at 1288 Little Falls Road, Pembroke, and then fled the scene. Yeager's car, which suffered a broken axle and flattened tire, reportedly left skid marks over eight miles of roadways, which Sheriff's deputies Patrick J. Reeves and Timothy Wescott said they followed from the scene of the accident to Yaeger's Akron home. Upon investigation, Reeves and Wescott found that Yaeger reportedly had a 17-year-old passenger in his car.

The following arrests were made during the Brad Paisley concert at Darien Lake Theme Park on Friday night:

Timothy Meade, 20, of 7326 Lakeshore Road, Derby, is charged with trespassing for allegedly re-entering the concert after being ejected.

Garrett Lang, 23, of 7195 Fish Hatchery Road, Bath, is charged with trespass after allegedly climbing a fence and going for a swim in the Grizzly Run Ride.

Checkpoints were set up in Genesee County yesterday by the Batavia Police Department and the New York State Police, leading to the arrests of 14 people.

The checkpoints were at Clinton Street, as well as in the Town of Darien and on Colby Road in Pembroke.

Sally C. Dixon, 39, of 5801 Byron-Holley Road, Byron, is charged with DWI. Dixon was stopped on Clinton Street by Batavia police.

The following arrests were made by State Police:

Robert Davis, 24, of N. Tonawanda, NY,  charged with DWI, allegedly driving with a BAC of .10 percent.

John Blackmore, 36, of Ewing, N.J., charged with three counts of criminal possession controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Michael Hirsch, 26, of Tonawanda, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .14 percent.

Richard Gentilozzi, 25, of Fairfield, Conn., charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Ryan Rich, 23, of Norwalk, Conn., charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Lawrence Taylor, 36, of Depew, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .08 percent.

Bret Cimerman, 27, of Buffalo, charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Hunter Ciliberti, 20, of Redwood, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC .13 percent.

Adam Drexler, 30, of Rochester, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .10 percent.

Thomas Lalomia, 26, of Getzville, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .16 percent.

Gregory Martin, 31, of Niagara Falls, charged with DWI for allegedly driving with a BAC of .09 percent.

Michael Sargent, 29, of Rochester, charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs.

The following arrests were made last night in conjunction with the Phish concert at Darien Lake Theme Park:

Matthew Maziarz, 26, of 216 Spaulding St., North Tonawanda, charged with criminal possession of marijuana.

Ryan P. Flannery, 20, 52 Lookout View Road, Fairport, allegedly found with LSD and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Ramon Ratiniskiy, 18, of 1048 N. French Road, Amherst, and a 16-year-old companion where charged with petit larceny for allegedly pushing a Darien Lake water cart through the crowd allowing patrons to take water for free.

Nhut D. Frawley, 41, 2 Brookside Drive, Catawissa, Pa., was allegedly found in possession of LSD and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Michael R. Sunley, 26, of 3893 Foleys Trail, Lexington, Ky., was charged with selling a noxious material. Sunley was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Michael E. Mugridge, 24, of 47 Coldwater St., Hillsdale, was charged with disorderly conduct. He was jailed on $250 bail.

Justin D. Ritchie, 27, of 19 Chestnut St., Waretown, N.J., was allegedly found in possession of psilocybin (hallucinogenic) mushrooms. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Ritchie was jailed on $500 bail.

Robert J. Krueger, 37, of 38 Kenneth Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly trying to break into vehicles in the parking lot. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Richard W. Tweedy, 24, of 6011 Fallough St., Taylor, Mich., was charged with selling a noxious material. Tweedy was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Dianna M. Quinn, 36, of 65 Ashwood Lane, Phoenixville, Pa., was charged with selling a noxious material. Tweedy was allegedly selling balloons containing nitrous oxide. He was jailed on $500 bail.

Apparently, Dannie Sims didn't want to pass through a State Police road check on Route 63 in Oakfield today.

Troopers spotted a Chevy Lumina making an alleged illegal u-turn after it started to approach the road check, so a trooper initiated a traffic stop.

It turns out that Sims may have had good reason for avoiding the road check -- a felony warrant in Monroe County. He is also a suspect in several alleged larcenies of purses, wallets and other items at several retail store locations. Sims is a "person of interest" for the Genesee County Sheriff's Office in several alleged larcenies in the Batavia area.

Sims, 53, is a resident of Alabama.

After his apprehension, Sims was turned over to the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. The investigation is ongoing in Genesee County.

The purpose of the road checks is to check all safety related equipment that is required by the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Laws as well as ensuring that all vehicles are properly registered, insured and inspected.

William G. Potter, 53, and Tina L. Ground, 49, of 6924 Council House Road, Alabama, are charged with crimes stemming from a dispute at their residence. During a fight, Ground allegedly threatened Potter with a claw hammer. Potter allegedly made contact with Ground, which violated a court order. During the investigation of the incident, Deputy Kevin McCarthy and state troopers allegedly found seven potted marijuana plants in the house. Ground also allegedly had marijuana on her person. Potter is charged with criminal contempt. Ground is charged with menacing, unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful growing of marijuana.

Robert M. Browne, 48, of 282 Route 20, Room #3, Darien, is charged with DWI and criminal contempt. Reportedly, law enforcement received a report that Browne had contact with a person he is ordered not to contact. Deputy Patrick Reeves was dispatched to find Browne, and reportedly found him driving on Route 20 in Darien. Reeves determined that Browne was allegedly driving while intoxicated. Browne was also charged with unlicensed operation and operating a vehicle that was unregistered, uninsured and that had improperly switched plates.

State troopers stopped a van last night on Route 98 in the Town of Batavia for allegedly speeding and found that two people inside were apparently in the country illegally.

Taken into custody were Leodegario Vazquez-Rodriguez, 48, and Francisco Hernandez-Gomez, 24.

Both were charged with unlawfully entering the United States.

Hernandez-Gomez was also charged with seven vehicle and traffic violations.

Vazquez-Rodriguez was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Hernandez-Gomez was placed in Genesee County Jail on the alleged vehicle and traffic violations, awaiting transfer to federal authorities after the local charges have been answered.

Joanne C. Buchanan, 50, of Box 70 Country Road Route 37, Central Square, and Jayne E. Best, 52, of 9384 Woodlawn Drive, Brewerton, were arrested for allegedly attempting to evade or defeat tax and possession of untaxed cigarettes. Deputy Tim Wescott initiated a traffic stop for alleged speeding and reportedly found 10 cartoons of cigarettes in the car Buchanan and Best were in.

Donald J. Cummins, 60, of 104 Bernice Drive, Seneca, is charged with DWI. Cummins was reportedly driving westbound on Route 33 at 11:53 p.m. when his vehicle allegedly strayed from the roadway toward the left shoulder striking a road cone. Deputy Kevin R. McCarthy stopped Cummins and found he was allegedly driving while intoxicated. He was also cited for allegedly driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and moving from a lane unsafely.

Susanna E. Venti, 60, of Alexander, is charged with DWI. Venti was stopped by a state trooper on Walker Road in the Town of Darien for allegedly crossing the center line. Venti's alleged BAC was .08 percent. Venti was cited for DWI, failing to keep right and driving an unregistered vehicle.