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Wrong-way motorist collides with another vehicle

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A female motorist driving the wrong way on Interstate 190 in the Town of Tonawanda Tuesday night collided with a male motorist headed in the proper direction, State Police tell The Buffalo News.

Both drivers were injured during the 8 p.m. crash, just south of the South Grand Island Bridges, and were taken to Erie County Medical Center for their injuries, Thruway-based troopers said.

Troopers did not immediately release the names of the two drivers nor discuss the nature and severity of their injuries.

An investigation into the crash continued late Tuesday.

Olean man gets one year in jail for sale of cocaine

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LITTLE VALLEY – An Olean man will spend a year behind bars for selling cocaine in the city last June and July.

James V. Hamilton, 45, was ordered this week by Cattaraugus County Judge Ronald D. Ploetz to serve a year in the county jail and go on post-release supervision for a year on his guilty plea last September to criminal possession and criminal sale of cocaine.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, here’s what happened in other cases this week before Ploetz:

• Travis J. Doner, 24, of Salamanca, faces a prison term of up to 15 years when he is sentenced on his guilty plea to a reduced charge of attempted sale of a controlled substance. He was accused of selling morphine in Salamanca on May 9.

• James “Manny” McClary, 39, of Olean, faces a prison term of up to seven years on his guilty plea to criminal sale of a controlled substance. He sold cocaine in Olean last June 28.

• Douglas A. Farnham, 32, of Salamanca, faces a possible seven-year prison term on his guilty plea to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth-degree for a cocaine sale in Salamanca on March 2, 2011.

• Gordon J. Ramsey, 20, of Olean, faces a prison term of up to eight years on his guilty plea to attempted burglary for incidents at buildings in Olean last June 18 and 29.

• Asa J. Washburn, 24, of Salamanca, pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle for driving drunk in Salamanca on Dec. 1. He could face a prison term up to four years.

Also this week, Ploetz imposed three-year terms and probation on drunken driving pleas to Richard P. Tharnish, 52, of Elma, for a Jan. 14, 2012, incident in the Town of Machias; to Beau E. John, 24, of Gowanda, for a Dec. 24, 2011, incident in the Town of New Albion; and to Jeffrey A. Sarver, 61, of Salamanca, for an incident in that city last Feb. 29. All three drivers had their licenses revoked.

Ivan C. Williams, 28, of Coudersport, Pa., was granted a one-year conditional discharge and fined $500 on his third-degree assault and petit larceny plea for his role in an Olean incident Feb. 10.

Ploetz also took not-guilty pleas from: Nathaniel F. Skinner, 18, of Salamanca, on an indictment charging him with felony stolen property possession and grand larceny, for a Salamanca incident last Aug. 22; Julie M. Lay, 51, of Gowanda, on a indictment charging aggravated drunken driving, DWI, failure to keep right and no headlights, for a Perrysburg incident last Sept. 7; and James M. Gayton, 21, of Olean, to a stolen property indictment for an Olean incident last July.



email: mgryta@buffnews.com

Third trial for murder needed for Robie Drake

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LOCKPORT – A third murder trial for Robie J. Drake – who admitted he killed two North Tonawanda High School students in 1981, but says he didn’t mean to do it – will be needed after the state’s highest court refused to block it.

Niagara County Assistant District Attorney Thomas H. Brandt said this week that the Court of Appeals, without comment, rejected his motion to prevent the new trial.

Drake, 48, has been convicted twice, but both times the conviction was overturned because of legal errors pertaining to the claim that he sexually violated the corpse of one of his victims. Drake has never been charged with any sex crimes.

Brandt had filed his motion in June, and Drake’s third trial, ordered two months previously by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, was put on hold awaiting a Court of Appeals ruling.

The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled last April that Drake’s conviction in a 2010 trial was invalid because of what it considered irrelevant and prejudicial evidence that a bite mark was found on the breast of Amy Smith, 16.

Smith and her boyfriend, Steven Rosenthal, 18, were shot to death with a rifle as they kissed in Rosenthal’s 1969 Chevrolet Nova in a parking lot off River Road in North Tonawanda on the night of Dec. 5, 1981.

Smith was shot twice. Rosenthal was shot 14 times and also was stabbed in the chest by Drake.

Drake, a schoolmate of the victims, was 17 at the time. He said he went out that night with a rifle looking to vandalize vehicles, and he said he thought Rosenthal’s Nova was empty and abandoned.

Evidence showed that all the bullets went through the passenger side window. Smith was shot twice in the back of the head and Rosenthal in the face, neck and chest. The angle of impact changed, indicating Drake was getting closer to the car during the shooting.

He was convicted in 1982 of two counts of murder and was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

In January 2009, after a long battle by Drake without legal assistance, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that then-District Attorney Peter L. Broderick Sr. had used a bogus expert witness who accused Drake of suffering from a psychological malady that brought him sexual gratification from sniper activity and stab or bite wounds.

The federal court called that claim “quackery.”

In the 2010 trial, State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. allowed Brandt to introduce evidence about the bite mark, over the protests of Drake’s attorney, Andrew C. LoTempio.

He then brought in an expert witness to try to challenge that evidence.

“There was a trial within a trial on the issue [of] whether an uncharged crime had actually been committed. That was error,” the Appellate Division ruled April 27.

After Drake’s conviction in 2010, Kloch sentenced him to 50 years to life, a stiffer term than he received in 1982.

Both juries passed up the option of convicting Drake of second-degree manslaughter for reckless, not intentional, killing.

If Drake had been convicted of that offense, he would be a free man by now, since the maximum sentence for two counts of second-degree manslaughter is 30 years.

Brandt and Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh are expected to prosecute the case for the second time.

Drake will have his third defense team.



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com

Weapon charge sends Buffalo man to prison

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A Buffalo man was sentenced Wednesday to 37 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny on a charge of weapon possession.

Marcus Adside, 24, was accused of illegally possessing a firearm while on parole supervision from a prior felony conviction.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch said Adside fled Buffalo police officers when they approached in November of 2010 and, during a foot chase, threw the firearm. Lynch said DNA testing later linked the defendant to the weapon.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Buffalo Police.

Florida man sentenced in false ID case

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A Florida man has been sentenced to time served by U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny for his role in providing false identification documents to illegal immigrants, U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced Wednesday.

Daniel Jimenez, 25, of Fort Myers, had served eight months in prison. He and his father, German Jimenez, 48, also of Fort Myers, pleaded guilty in September to a charge of transferring false IDs. The elder Jimenez is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 15.

Prosecutors said German Jimenez sold fake green cards (permanent resident cards), Social Security cards and driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. They said his son helped mail them.

Rowdy Williamsville liquor store customer charged with DWI

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Troopers called to a Williamsville liquor store this afternoon ended up confronting an unruly customer and lodging a drunken driving charge.

Clarence-based State Police said they were called about 4 p.m. to Passport Wine and Spirits, on Main Street, and arrived to find an intoxicated patron, John Zimmerman, 76, of Williamsville.

Zimmerman failed several field sobriety tests. He was taken into custody, registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.13 percent and was charged with driving while intoxicated, troopers said.

Marijuana recovered in Pendleton traffic stop

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PENDLETON – Niagara County sheriff’s deputies found six baggies containing more than two ounces of marijuana after stopping a man on traffic charges at shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday at the corner of Lockport and Aiken roads.

Tyler J. Weeks, 19, of Lockport Road was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession and criminal sale of marijuana, second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia, failure to stop at a stop sign and speeding, for driving 68 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone.

Deputies said after stopping Weeks, they noticed a strong odor of marijuana; a search of the vehicle revealed a scale and the marijuana in several places, some in plain view, some in the center console and some under a blanket in the rear of vehicle.

Gowanda man charged in stabbing

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A Gowanda man was charged Wednesday with stabbing a man in Hanover Tuesday.

Johnny Bouknight, 35, of Gowanda, was being held in the Erie County Holding Center on first-degree assault and weapons charges, said State Police based in Collins.

Troopers arrested Bouknight Wednesday afternoon at his home.

Medical personal at Lake Shore Hospital in Irving called troopers Tuesday night, after a man who was stabbed drove himself to the hospital for treatment of a chest wound. The man, later moved to Erie County Medical Center, was in good condition Wednesday night, troopers said.

Gowanda Police and Erie County sheriff’s deputies helped with the investigation.

Repeat drunk driver arrested in Lockport

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LOCKPORT – Niagara County sheriff’s deputies investigating a case of suspected drunken driving Tuesday learned the suspect had his license revoked six times on alcohol-related charges and for refusing to submit to a chemical test.

Christopher J. Cullen, 51, of Amy Drive, was charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation, drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle and operating without insurance, registration and inspection.

A Niagara Hospice employee alerted deputies at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday when Cullen hit a pole in hospice’s Sunset Drive parking lot. Deputies said Cullen had alcohol on his breath and appeared unsteady on his feet.

A check of the vehicle found an open container of beer, according to deputies.

Cullen refused a chemical test, but was taken to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport for observation after deputies said a high alcohol level reading was found on their alco-sensor.

Buffalo man charged with cutting woman’s throat with trowel

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A Dartmouth Avenue man remained in custody at the Erie County Holding Center Wednesday night, a day after he was arrested for allegedly lacerating a woman’s throat with a trowel during an argument in a car on Grider Street near East Ferry Street.

Robert L. Patton, 47, was arrested by Officers Thomas Herbert and John Sullivan shortly after the incident at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. He was charged with second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly cutting the woman’s neck and threatening to “cut deeper,” according to a police document. The woman sought medical attention on her own after Patton’s arrest.

Tonawanda scrapper case tossed

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The charge against a “scrapper,” cited for illegally collecting material left curbside in the Town of Tonawanda, was dismissed Wednesday night as a bench trial was to begin because of new information in the case.

Even so, Don DalFonso of Buffalo continued to speak out against the town ordinance, under which he had been cited last Oct. 1 for “interference with waste material set out for collection” on McConkey Drive.

“It’s still wrong. It’s still totally wrong,” DalFonso said after leaving the courtroom. “I don’t care what they say.

“They’re still singling me out. That’s the bottom line,” DalFonso continued. He said other scrappers have told him that Town of Tonawanda police drive past them.

An admitted repeat offender, DalFonso was scheduled for a non-jury trial before Town Justice Daniel T. Cavarello. People found guilty of violations first receive written warnings, then fines that increase with subsequent violations.

In December, Cavarello denied a motion to dismiss the case made by defense attorney John C. Nelson, who challenged the legal sufficiency of the charge.

Town prosecutor Mario A. Giacobbe, who said he’d been preparing for the trial since that ruling, made a motion Wednesday night to dismiss the charge. Before doing so, he said there was no doubt that DalFonso took a wheel and tire; DalFonso admitted as much during his first court appearance, the prosecutor said.

Before presenting his motion to dismiss, Giacobbe explained: “During the course of my investigation … new information has come to my attention that creates some doubt as to the location where it occurred … I made my decision after consulting with the police officer in this case.”

He said there is some discrepancy between where the officer may have observed DalFonso and where the violation took place.

The prosecutor added, however, that he wanted to make something clear: “These cases will continue to be aggressively prosecuted here in the town.”

The judge noted there were no Constitutional grounds for dismissal. He asked DalFonso if he understood why the case was being dismissed, then added: “I don’t want you to leave here with any misunderstanding.”

Cavarello said the ordinance still is on the books, before granting the prosecutor’s motion to dismiss.

When asked later to comment about the reason given for the dismissal, DalFonso suggested it had more to do with a warrant-less search he was subjected to by police that night last October.



email: jhabuda@buffnews.com

Buffalo man charged with beating pregnant woman, stealing her car

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A Buffalo man was arrested this week and charged with beating up a pregnant Buffalo woman and stealing her car about three months ago.

Gerald T. Newkirk, 43, of Princeton Place, was arrested Tuesday and charged with third-degree assault, harassment and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Buffalo police said.

He is accused of slamming the pregnant woman into a wall in a Genesee Street apartment Nov. 30 and driving off in her 12-year-old Cadillac, police said.

Perry police officer charged with killing his son

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HERKIMER – A Western New York police officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his son at an Adirondacks motel.

Michael Leach, 59, son of former Rochester Police Chief Delmar Leach, pleaded not guilty Wednesday during his arraignment in Herkimer County Court after a grand jury indictment was unsealed.

Leach told investigators he shot his 37-year-old son Matthew about 1 a.m. July 21, after mistaking him for an intruder while they were staying at Clark's Beach Motel in the Village of Old Forge.

Herkimer County District Attorney Jeff Carpenter would not comment on a motive or the evidence that led to the indictment.

Leach remained in the Herkimer County Jail Wednesday night on $200,000 bail.

The retired Rochester police captain is a part-time officer with the Perry Police Department in Wyoming County.

An officer who answered the phone Wednesday night at the Perry department declined to comment, but Perry Police Chief James Case issued a statement that said Leach “is under suspension by the village board.”

Leach made a 911 call right after shooting his son, state police said last year.

According to troopers, Leach used his police handgun in the shooting.



The Associated Press and News Staff Reporter Matt Gryta contributed to this report.

Impostor posing as dog warden tries to steal pets

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MAYVILLE – A man posing as a dog warden for the Town of Pomfret has been trying force homeowners in both Pomfret and the Town of Portland to surrender their pets to him under fake confiscation or impounding government orders.

The man is white and believed to be in his mid-30s, and has been driving a brown sedan, Chautauqua County sheriff’s officials said. He so far has been unsuccessful in convincing residents to turn over their dogs, officials said.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff’s dispatchers at (716) 753-4232 or Sgt. Peter Pett at (716) 753-4498.

Bedore Tours sued over Steuben bus crash

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A travel company in India and several of its customers who were injured in a deadly bus crash in Steuben County have filed lawsuits against the North Tonawanda company that owned and operated the bus.

The suits, filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, claim Bedore Tours was negligent in operating the tour bus. The crash, which took place in July 2011 and has been linked to a blown tire, killed two people and injured 35 others.

The bus, which was carrying tourists heading from Washington, D.C., to Niagara Falls, was traveling north on Interstate 390, about 55 miles southeast of Rochester, when it plunged down an embankment into a wooded median and overturned.

Details emerge in slaying as girlfriend is charged

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Officer Timothy Sylvester walked into a nightmare late Wednesday night, responding to a report of a domestic disturbance at an Oliver Street apartment in North Tonawanda.

As he entered the second-floor residence, a young man lunged in the officer’s direction from outside a bathroom. Uncertain if the man was attempting to attack him, the officer took him to the ground but quickly realized the man was wounded in the upper chest.

At that point, Sylvester pulled off his patrol jacket and pressed it against the 24-year-old man’s wound, trying to stop the rapid flow of blood.

Before he could be taken to the hospital, the man died.

Jennifer Marchant, 23, whom authorities said acted in adult movies and also worked as a bill collector, later was charged with second-degree murder. She was accused of killing Ralph Stone, the 24-year-old man she was living with at the Oliver Street apartment, where the police were summoned.

Sylvester was the first officer on the scene, and after putting Stone down, he took off his coat and put pressure on the wound, while at the same time scanning the room, trying to remain safe himself, Police Chief Randy D. Szukala said in describing the intensity of the scene at about 10:30 p.m.

Officer Robert Frank, who was close behind Sylvester, entered the apartment and removed Marchant from inside the bathroom, taking her to another room as Sylvester attempted to save her boyfriend’s life.

Though details are limited as to why the couple had been arguing, police sources said Marchant claimed she was acting in self-defense when she used a 6- to 8-inch-long kitchen knife to stab Stone in the area of his left collarbone.

After consulting with the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office, detectives charged Marchant with killing Stone. She pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in North Tonawanda City Court, accompanied by her lawyer, Kevin S. Mahoney of the Amherst law firm of Hogan Willig.

Marchant was later taken to the Niagara County Jail, where she is being held without bail.

“We are processing evidence from the scene, and there will be a felony hearing at 2 p.m. Monday in City Court,” said Capt. William R. Hall, chief of detectives, adding that he was unable to comment specifically on what led to the stabbing.

According to accounts on Facebook, Marchant and Stone had been in a relationship since May. Marchant described herself as someone who is fun, spontaneous and likes to joke around.

In addition to acting in adult movies, authorities said she worked as a collector for an Amherst bill collection agency.

Stone reportedly worked as a contractor in his family’s business, Stone Landscape and Aquatic Design. According to his Facebook page, he was the father a little girl, Lilliana.

His relatives declined to comment, but a friend of the family said it was hard to believe Stone had been killed.

“Ralph was a good dude. I was in shock when I heard. I feel more sorry for his family,” Mark Clewell said.

Residents at the 2½-story apartment house described Marchant and Stone as a nice couple who kept to themselves.

“This is a friendly building with nice people living here. For something like this to happen is baffling,” said James Fancher, a first-floor resident.

A funeral service for Stone will he held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Lighthouse Baptist Church, 383 Wheatfield St., North Tonawanda.



email: lmichel@buffnews.com and nfischer@buffnews.com

Buffalo woman gets 10 months for obstruction of justice

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A Buffalo woman was sentenced to 10 months in prison Thursday by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen A. Lynch and Maura K. O’Donnell said the defendant, Evelyn Roberson, 61, knowingly concealed evidence – a check, a money order, cash, and credit, debit and bank cards – from law enforcement with the intention of impeding a criminal investigation of her son.

Investigators claim Roberson obtained the items from her son’s house and from his associates and then, during a search of her home, tried to conceal them in her clothing and on her person.

The sentencing was the result of an investigation by the FBI and United States Secret Service.

Man killed in Great Valley farming accident

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GREAT VALLEY – A 29-year-old man was killed when he was caught in a piece of farm equipment while working on a farm off Hungry Hollow Road.

The body of Augus Lindell was found at about 4:30 a.m. Thursday by Cattaraugus County sheriff’s deputies. The exact time of the accident is not known, officials said.

Officials speculated that he was pulled into the mechanism while trying to clear a clog in the tractor with his feet.

The investigation is continuing.

Man punches, threatens woman with knife outside City Mission

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A man living at the City Mission was arrested this week and charged with punching a woman in the face and threatening to stab her with a lock-blade knife outside the East Tupper Street mission, Buffalo police said.

James E. McGeachy, 53, who listed his address as mission, was arrested about 6 p.m. Tuesday by officers who reported they recovered a knife from him.

A woman told police she got into an argument with McGeachy and he punched her in the face repeatedly and threatened to stab her with the knife he was holding.

McGeachy was charged with third-degree assault, third-degree menacing, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Buffalo man indicted in trio of suburban break-ins

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A Buffalo man has been indicted on charges he burglarized the home of a 79-year-old Elma man and carried out other residential break-ins in Newstead and on Grand Island in August and September.

Bryan Colon, 33, of the Shoreline Apartment complex on Niagara Street, remained in custody tonight in the Erie County Holding Center. During his arraignment Wednesday, he was charged with three counts of second-degree burglary and was ordered held on $250,000 bail by Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio.

Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III and Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, whose investigators arrested Colon early in October, said Colon is accused of stealing $7,400 worth of items during the Sept. 7 burglary at a North Davis Road home in Elma. The other residential break-ins occurred between Aug. 31 and Sept. 23, the law enforcement officials said.

Howard said a suspicious neighbor of the victim in Elma took down the license plate number of Colon’s car the day of that burglary. Colon escaped from sheriff’s detectives about a week after that break-in by jumping out a second-floor window of his apartment, the sheriff said.

After his Oct. 3 capture, Colon tried unsuccessfully to flee a second time, Howard said.



email: mgryta@buffnews.com
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