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Gang members accused of murder during drug deal

March 20, 2013, 4:43 pm
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With a one-two punch of sorts, police moved against two of the city's most violent street gangs Wednesday.

Two new indictments, one against the Bailey Boys and one against the LRGP Crew, up the ante in the government's ongoing prosecution of the East Side gangs.

The new charges include allegations that Bailey Boys members Rayshod Washington and Raymel Weeder killed Fred Rozier in February of last year as part of a drug ripoff that went bad.

The new indictment also charges Bailey Boys member Tyriq Brown, 20, with the shooting and wounding of a rival gang member in July of 2011 on Kensington Avenue, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce said.

The new charges mean the Bailey Boys now stand accused of three murders and six shootings, including a shooting that occurred during a neighborhood party with children present.

So far, two gang members have been convicted.

“Today's developments add to the over 140 gang members we've charged to date, individuals responsible for numerous murders, attempted murders and other acts of violence in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney William J, Hochul Jr. said in a statement. “And the community should know that these efforts will only continue.”

The Bailey Boys operate in a neighborhood bounded by Winspear Avenue, the Kensington Expressway, Eggert Road and Main Street.

A separate indictment involving the LRGP Crew charges three new gang members and associates with racketeering stemming from their participation in illegal activities such as cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to murder rival gang members.

The indictment also means 10 previously charged defendants will face new charges.

Dewayne Gray was the leader of LRGP from 2009 until early 2012 and oversaw the sale of crack cocaine from gang-controlled residences on Memorial Drive, Sobieski Street and Meyers Street, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCabe said.

McCabe said gang members also conspired to kill a rival gang member, Amir Chambers, who was shot and killed in April of 2011 on Mills Street.

“Our gang investigations continue to clear cold case homicides that may not have been solved otherwise,” Christopher M. Piehota, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo FBI Office, said in a statement: “Not only do we arrest gang members, but we can provide the victims' family members with some amount of closure.”

LRGP is named after the turf where it once operated, an area bounded by Lombard, Rother, Gibson and Playter Streets.

The LRGP indictment follows the arrest last August of several gang members and a Houston, Texas man accused of being one of their major drug suppliers.

Both indictments are the work of the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force, the same group that oversaw the dismantling of the 7th and 10th Street gangs on the city's West Side.

The task force works with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Erie County District Attorney's Office, Buffalo Police, Erie County Sheriff's Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New York State Police.



email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
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Three masked men enter a home and pistol whip a Falls man and his wife

March 20, 2013, 5:36 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – An Eighth Street man said a gun was pointed at his head and three men forced their way into his home in the 1600 block of Eighth Street just after 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The 35-year-old victim said the men all had handguns and demanded he hand over pills. He said one man hit him in the head twice with a pistol and two other men kicked in a bathroom door where his wife was hiding and when she screamed he said they her in on the side of her face with a pistol four times, then took her purse.

The victim told police he had taken a cab ride earlier that night to a 7-Eleven and believes that he recognized one of the man who had a tattoo under his eye. He said the man had been in the cab with him and asked him questions about drugs.
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Falls woman has her vehicle’s rear window shot out as she stops for gas

March 20, 2013, 5:38 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – A woman told police she was sitting at the pump as a gas station in the 600 block of 19th Street just after 11 p.m. Tuesday when her sedan’s rear window shattered.

The 48-year-old woman said she heard a single popping noise and was then forced to duck her head to avoid flying glass.

Police investigating the cause of the broken window said they saw no signs of a suspect on security video, but found a small scratch on the dash board which may have been caused by a pellet or BB.

Damage was listed at $200. No injuries were reported, according to police.
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Lockport woman found driving a stolen vehicle also a suspect in an attempted robbery

March 20, 2013, 5:40 pm
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A Lockport woman wanted in connection with the attempted robbery of a Lockport 7-Eleven was stopped by Niagara County sheriff’s deputies driving a vehicle owned by her neighbor that had been reported stolen.

Katherine A. Figueroa, 21, of Norwood Drive, was stopped by Niagara County sheriff’s deputies Monday evening after she was located driving through a parking lot in the 2000 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard in Wheatfield and charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle and operation by an unlicensed driver.

She was also charged by City of Lockport Police with attempted third-degree robbery for her role in an attempted robbery of a 7-Eleven at 95 South Transit Street at 6:45 a.m. Monday.

A clerk in the convenience store told police that a woman came into the store and demanded that he turn over all the cash in his register. The man said he told her he was unable to do that and called police. He gave police a license plate number, which police traced to a home of Figueroa’s neighbor on Norwood Drive. The neighbor said Figueroa had been in his house and after she left he noticed his cell phone was gone and told police that she must also have taken the keys to his Ford Expedition.

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Falls man awoken and robbed

March 20, 2013, 5:43 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS — A Ninth Street man said he was awoken at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and forced into his closet while three men robbed his apartment.

The 66-year-old victim told police that he woke up when he heard three men in his bedroom in the 400 block of Ninth Street. He said when he asked them what they were doing they forced him into a closet.

He said he heard them leave and went out of the closet and saw them loading his television into a gray vehicle.

Stolen was a 60-inch television, his social security card, a credit card and a cell phone. The victim said he found a porch window open after they left.

The victim told police that one of the men’s voices sounded familiar and said that man had recently been in his apartment and commented on the television
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Tonawanda Coke trial turns to state inspections

March 20, 2013, 6:57 pm
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Gary Foersch visited the byproducts area at Tonawanda Coke at least 15 times during his career as a state inspector.

Despite those numerous visits, Foersch never noticed a bleeder valve that is believed to be a major source of air pollution and is at the crux of the government’s criminal prosecution of the Town of Tonawanda manufacturer.

Foersch, a retired inspector at the state Department of Environmental Conservation, was the first witness called by Tonawanda Coke and fellow defendant Mark F. Kamholz, the company’s environmental controls manager, as part a defense that suggests the company complied with clean air regulations until inspectors suddenly changed the rules.

“Do you know what that is?” Defense attorney Rodney O. Personius asked Foersch while showing him a photo of the bleeder valve in court Wednesday.

“No,” said Foersch.

“You never noticed that pipe?” Personius asked.

“No,” said Foersch.

“Can we agree it looks like an emission point?” Personius asked.

“Yes,” said Foersch.

Foersch said it’s possible he overlooked the bleeder, or pressure-relief valve, because he always focused on other aspects of the plant during his inspections.

The valve and its emissions – the allegation is that it spews toxic coke oven gas – have become a focal point of the criminal case against Tonawanda Coke and Kamholz, and the defense has responded by asking why state inspectors went years, even decades, without noticing it.

Company employees, both current and former, have testified that the valve opened every 20 to 30 minutes to release pressure from the plant’s coke oven gas line.

Prosecutors say the gas that came from the valve included benzene, which is why the valve is at the heart of six of the 19 charges against the company and Kamholz.

The prosecution of Tonawanda Coke comes at a time when residents surrounding the River Road plant are increasingly concerned about their health and air quality.

A recent study by the state found elevated levels of certain cancers and birth defects among those residents, though officials have stopped short of identifying a cause.

An earlier study also found concentrations of benzene and formaldehyde to be much higher in the Tonawanda area than in other industrial and urban areas.

Foersch, a state inspector for nearly 40 years, also testified about the need for baffles, a piece of anti-pollution equipment, on two “quench towers” at Tonawanda Coke.

The criminal charges against the company include 10 separate allegations that Tonawanda Coke’s two towers, which are used to cool the hot coke produced at the plant, were not equipped with baffles.

Personius asked Foersch if he was aware that the company had an exemption for one of the towers, and referred to a 1984 DEC letter citing its infrequent use.

“The installation of baffles is not required due to unreasonable cost and physical impairments,” the DEC said in the letter.

Despite that letter, the criminal charges include allegations that neither tower had baffles.

Foersch said he advised Kamholz to install baffles in the second tower but added that he doubted Kamholz ever followed through. And yet, he never cited the company for not having baffles in the second tower.

“Isn’t it true you knew, in your heart of hearts, that there were no baffles in Quench Tower No. 2?” Personius asked.

“I had a gut feeling there weren’t baffles in there,” Foersch said.

The trial before Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny resumes today.



email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
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Trial scrubbed as defendant undergoes mental exams

March 20, 2013, 7:10 pm
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LOCKPORT – The trial of a Niagara Falls man charged with burglary, which never progressed beyond jury selection, was called off Wednesday as a second doctor was being sought to assess his mental competency.

Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas set a new trial date of May 28 for Edward J. Parmer, 52, of 22nd Street, who is charged with second-degree burglary, petit larceny and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property in connection with a July 18 house burglary on Willow Avenue in the Falls.

On March 11, after jury selection, Parmer checked into the mental health unit at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. Assistant District Attorney Theresa L. Prezioso said the first doctor to examine Parmer said he was, in the prosecutor’s words, “malingering.” However, a second doctor’s opinion is required, and if they disagree, a third doctor is called in to break the tie. Parmer also would be entitled to a competency hearing before Farkas.

The judge sent Parmer to jail without bail after he did not surrender on a bench warrant Farkas issued upon his release from the hospital. Prezioso said U.S. marshals captured Parmer early Wednesday in Niagara Falls.
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Falls man denies sexual abuse charges

March 20, 2013, 7:12 pm
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LOCKPORT – A Niagara Falls man pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Niagara County Court to an eight-count indictment accusing him of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.

Thomas R. Murray II, 38, of 87th Street, is charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and single counts of second-degree assault, second-degree strangulation, criminal obstruction of breathing, second-degree menacing and third-degree sexual abuse.

The latter charge stemmed from an alleged incident during the week of Dec. 3, and all the others allegedly occurred Dec. 11, when Murray is accused of forcing the girl into sex acts, choking her and threatening her with a piece of broken glass.

Assistant District Attorney Robert A. Zucco said Murray has past felony and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated convictions, and told police he was highly intoxicated at the time of the Dec. 11 incident. County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas allowed Murray to remain free on a $20,000 bail bond.
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Falls murder defendant rejects plea offer

March 20, 2013, 7:41 pm
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LOCKPORT – Darius M. Belton, of Niagara Falls, rejected a plea offer Wednesday in the shooting death of his uncle, and the case appears ready to go to trial April 17 in Niagara County Court.

Belton, 18, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the Sept. 25 slaying of Luis A. Ubiles, 37, who lived next door to Belton on South Avenue. The killing allegedly followed an argument between Ubiles and Belton’s mother, who is married to the victim’s brother.

Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann said she had offered Belton a chance to plead guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a sentencing cap of 20 years.

Defense attorney Angelo Musitano said, “We preferred the second count [the weapons charge], which would have been a cap of 15 years. We understand the people are under no obligation to offer a plea that we want.”

Hoffmann said that if Belton is convicted as charged, he could be sentenced to as long as 40 years to life in prison, saying the sentence for the weapons count could be added consecutively to the 25 years to life that is the murder maximum.

However, Musitano is challenging the weapons count’s validity, arguing that Ubiles possessed the gun at his home, which would not be a crime if the gun itself were legal. Hoffmann said Belton was standing on his front porch when he shot Ubiles; the legal question is whether the porch is part of the home.

Musitano also has said he may argue at the trial that Belton acted in self-defense, because Ubiles allegedly was running toward Belton.

Wednesday, Detective John Conti testified about the identification of Belton in a photo array viewed Oct. 9 in Hoffmann’s office by witness Craig Mathis, who made the initial 911 call to police. Mathis said the shooter was a man he knew from the neighborhood who was called “Drizz,” which police say is Belton’s nickname.

Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas said Mathis’ identification of Belton will be admissible at the trial. She also said she will rule on Musitano’s objection to the weapons count before the final pretrial conference April 12.



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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5 pit bull terriers seized by SPCA in raid at animal shelter in Elma

March 20, 2013, 8:53 pm
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An animal-rescue operation called Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue on Bowen Road in Elma has been raided by officers from local law enforcement and the SPCA Serving Erie County, as five pit bull terriers were seized and taken to the SPCA’s Town of Tonawanda shelter.

Gina M. Browning, a spokeswoman for the SPCA, said an official of Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue, a 15-year-old not-for-profit organization, has been ordered to appear in Elma Town Court for proceedings in the animal-cruelty case April 4.

Browning said the raid on the shelter at 610 Bowen Road began early Tuesday afternoon. No spokesmen for Smilin’ Pit Bull could be reached to comment Wednesday night.

The organization’s Facebook page lists it as a public charity focused on helping needy pit bulls in the Northeast. It says the organization is “committed to increasing pit bull awareness and to furthering responsible dog ownership.”

Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue has been controversial in recent months. A rival Facebook group called “The Truth About Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue,” which started Jan. 11, includes dozens of stories from people who say they have had experience with the organization.

Those making critical comments identified themselves as one-time foster families for dogs from the group, people who adopted dogs from the group, or people who were once active in other ways with Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue.

Some of them complained that dogs had been denied veterinary care for injuries or illnesses and had deteriorated while in the group’s care. Others said dogs had been confined to crates for extended periods.

Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue’s Facebook page and its companion website include a forum discussing many aspects of pit bulls, from veterinary issues and training to diets and sports.

A posting by Smilin’ Pit Bull Rescue says, “This site journeys through our past 15 years of owning and rescuing this wonderful breed.”



News Staff Reporter Anne Neville contributed to this report. email: mgryta@buffnews.com
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Veteran pleads not guilty to 1st SAFE Act violation

March 20, 2013, 9:27 pm
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Benjamin M. Wassell is more than just the state’s first defendant accused of illegal weapon sales under its tough new gun control law.

He’s an Iraq War hero who, despite a traumatic brain injury from an improvised explosive device that destroyed his vehicle back in 2006, was able to lead other wounded Marines through a minefield to safety, according to loved ones and military records.

The 32-year-old Silver Creek man, who family members say would still be in the Marines had he not been severely injured, is also a devoted husband and father of two young children.

But Wednesday morning in Hanover Town Court, Wassell found himself at the center of the fierce debate spawned by the New York SAFE Act, adopted in response to the slaughter of Connecticut schoolchildren late last year.

Dressed in a dark suit, the hulking man, a towering 6 feet, 5 inches, his hair closely cropped, sat by his wife, who held their 4-month-old son, as more than 75 people, most of them supporters, crowded the courtroom.

“I can’t speak about the case,” Wassell told a reporter.

It didn’t matter.

Others were more than willing to tell the story of Ben Wassell, starting off by saying he was unfairly arrested in an undercover State Police operation based on what his supporters say is an unjust law.

“My son served two terms in Iraq and was wounded twice. He was a sergeant in the Marines. He’s a good man. He’ll do anything for anybody. What they’re doing to him is very unfair,” Dianne Wassell said.

Patrick Hurley, his father-in-law, said that it is hard for Wassell to accept that he is now on the other side of the law.

“This is tearing him up. He’s very patriotic. He has no criminal record,” Hurley said.

Authorities, though, say Wassell flouted the new law by taking advantage of an increased demand for the banned assault-style weapons by adding features to make the two rifles he sold illegal and thereby increase their value.

He is accused of selling a Del-Ton AR-15 rifle, 299 rounds of ammunition and six large-capacity clips for $1,900 on Jan. 24, nine days after the SAFE Act was passed. That gun had an illegal pistol grip, telescoping butt and bayonet mount. On Feb. 24, he allegedly sold an Armalite AR-10 Magnum semiautomatic rifle with 21 rounds of ammunition for $2,600. That gun had a pistol grip.

Wassell is employed by a utility company to check rural gas lines and well heads, and also has a modest disability pension from his war injuries. He reportedly enhanced the guns to earn money to help support his family.

State police, in their complaint, pointed out that Wassell went through with the second sale even though the undercover officer told him he had a felony domestic violence conviction. Felons are prohibited from owning guns.

“In this case, he sold a dangerous assault weapon to an undercover police officer who could have very well been a dangerous felon looking to do harm in our community,” said one law enforcement official familiar with the case.

Wassell also allegedly was selling or attempting to sell several other guns that he had illegally modified.

“He would get the main portion of the gun, the receiver with the barrel, and make modifications, like adding a flash suppressor, telescoping butt, bayonet mount, features that are currently prohibited under the SAFE Act,” the official said.

If convicted on the three felonies and one misdemeanor he is charged with, Wassell could spend up to seven years in prison.

In a sign of how important authorities are taking this first case involving the new gun control law, the New York State Attorney General’s Office is handling the prosecution rather than the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant Attorney General Paul McCarthy, assigned to the case, said a special request was made to State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman to handle the case.

“The attorney general prosecutes crimes when requested by a state agency, and in this case it was the State Police making the request,” McCarthy said.

Wassell is being represented by Buffalo attorneys Paul J. Cambria Jr. and Michael S. Deal. Deal entered a not guilty plea on Wassell’s behalf in front Hanover Town Justice Walter Klyczek, who adjourned the case to 2 p.m. April 17.

Outside the courtroom, Deal said he wanted to stress two points.

“Paul and I are looking out for Ben’s best interests. That’s of the utmost importance. Second, it should be known that Ben is a good man, a good father and someone who served in the military and sacrificed his health,” Deal said. “He suffered a traumatic brain injury.”

A Marine Corps “Certificate of Commendation,” obtained by The News, describes how in 2006, during his second seven-month deployment to Iraq with the 1st Marine Logistics Group, Wassell had removed Marines more injured than himself from their vehicle, which had been destroyed by an explosive.

“When the blast occurred, he immediately realized the fuel tank was ruptured. With little regard to his own safety, Wassell escorted the wounded Marines to a recovery vehicle. His quick thinking prevented further injury to the Marines in his vehicle,” the commendation stated.

Among Wassell’s many supporters Wednesday were people he did not know.

“I came here to show support for another veteran,” said Vietnam War veteran Ed McCarty of Hamburg. “It’s illegal what [the police] are doing. They entrapped him.”

Dan Devlin, a Buffalo resident who identified himself as from the Fundamental Human Rights Organization, said state government leaders are denying people a God-given right to defend themselves.

“The Legislature and governor apparently believe citizens don’t have the right to protect themselves,” Devlin said. “Even from a religious standpoint, we are obligated to defend the innocent and that happens to be with firearms or other instruments.”



email: lmichel@buffnews.com
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Indictments target two East Side gangs

March 21, 2013, 4:29 am
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With a one-two punch of sorts, police moved against two of the city's most violent street gangs Wednesday.

Two new federal indictments, one against the Bailey Boys and one against the LRGP Crew, up the ante in the government's ongoing prosecution of the East Side gangs.

The new charges include allegations that Bailey Boys members Rayshod Washington and Raymel Weeder killed Fred Rozier in February of last year.

The new indictment also charges Bailey Boys member Tyriq Brown, 20, with the shooting and wounding of a rival gang member in July 2011 on Kensington Avenue, Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce said.

The new charges mean the Bailey Boys stand accused of three murders and six shootings, including a shooting during a neighborhood party with children present.

So far, two gang members have been convicted.

“Today's developments add to the over 140 gang members we've charged to date, individuals responsible for numerous murders, attempted murders and other acts of violence in our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. said in a statement.

The Bailey Boys operate in a neighborhood bounded by Winspear Avenue, the Kensington Expressway, Eggert Road and Main Street.

A separate indictment involving the LRGP Crew charges three new gang members and associates with racketeering, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to murder rival gang members. The indictment also means that 10 previously charged defendants will face new charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McCabe said gang members also conspired in the murder of a rival gang member, Amir Chambers, who was fatally shot in April 2011.

“Our gang investigations continue to clear cold-case homicides that may not have been solved otherwise,” Christopher M. Piehota, special agent in charge of the Buffalo FBI Office, said in a statement. “Not only do we arrest gang members, but we can provide the victims' family members with some amount of closure.”

Both indictments are the work of the FBI's Safe Streets Task Force.



email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
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First of three suspects in rape of 12-year-old arrested

March 20, 2013, 9:34 pm
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One of the suspects in the rape of a 12-year-old Buffalo girl two months ago has been arrested, Buffalo police reported Wednesday night.

Derrick D. Young Jr., 19, of Adams Street, was taken into custody early Wednesday morning by Police Officers Keith Fitzner and Brian Griffin. He was being held on charges of second-degree rape and forcible touching.

The girl’s mother told police that three males, two of them juveniles, forced her daughter into a basement in the first block of Hazelwood Avenue between 8 and 9 p.m. on Jan. 19 and raped her, according to a police report.
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Remnants from meth lab removed from Niagara Falls home

March 20, 2013, 9:36 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – Federal agents were called in to assist Niagara Falls police after officers found what appeared to be the remnants of a meth lab in a basement of a house in the 400 block of 18th Street.

City police officers were called to the house at about 11 a.m. Wednesday on an unrelated call. But in the course of the investigation, they noticed materials that indicated there had previously been a lab for making methamphetamine drugs.

Narcotics Lt. Theodore Weed said no arrests were made and there was no danger at this time.

“It was the remnants of what probably was the attempt to make a meth lab,” Weed said. “We called [the Drug Enforcement Agency] to take things out as a procedural thing. They know what they need to be looking for.

He said because the materials were found in a common area and so many people had access to the basement they were unable to determine who had done it.

“There was nothing illegal at this time. It wasn’t like they were in the middle of the cook. It was just remnants,” Weed said.

He added, “It didn’t appear dangerous – today. But at one-time it probably was.”
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Lawsuit filed against state's gun control law

March 21, 2013, 10:41 am
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ALBANY – In a case that backers vow to take all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, a major gun-rights group filed suit Thursday in federal court in Buffalo seeking to toss out the state’s new gun-control law on a variety of constitutional grounds.

The lawsuit by the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the state affiliate of the National Rifle Association, attacks the NY-SAFE Act on several legal fronts, including claims that it violates interstate commerce protections and the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.

The legal work for the lawsuit has been two months in the making, and Tom King, the group’s president, said he is confident the case will set a precedent.

“The New York courts are fairly liberal, and they have not been the friendliest to the Second Amendment, but we believe this is going to be a landmark case that is going to be eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, and we hope the law is overturned,” King said in an interview Thursday.

The lawsuit says the gun law, which passed in January, violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause, which empowers the federal government to regulate interstate commerce, because the law restricts interstate commerce by requiring private gun owners to go through dealers if they want to sell guns to a private party in another state.

The law’s ban on assault-style weapons is being challenged on equal protection grounds and on several federal court cases that have said a particular class of firearms cannot be banned, King said. As for the equal protection argument, he said, “If the firearms are so dangerous and the bad guys are using them, why shouldn’t individuals be able to purchase these firearms if they want?”

King said the lawsuit also challenges the ban on sales of ammunition clips containing more than seven bullets. The current law allows up to 10 rounds in a clip.

But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the law is likely to be changed to permit the current 10-round clips to be sold; they were to be banned as of April 15. Cuomo said that while the 10-round clips can be sold, owners will not be able to place more than seven bullets in a magazine unless they are at a gun range or shooting competition.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said Thursday that gun manufacturers have informed the state they have no intention of making special seven-round magazines to be sold in New York State.

In response to the Cuomo and Silver comments, King said: “It doesn’t do anything yet because it’s not law.”

The NY-SAFE Act was pushed through the Legislature following the Sandy Hook school shootings in Connecticut. Cuomo and gun advocates say such instances of violence call out for stricter laws on gun possession and sales.

The new law enacted stronger prohibitions against assault-style weapons, increased registration requirements, hiked penalties for crimes committed with guns and set up a state ammunition tracking system.

It also requires mental health professionals to report to county officials the names of patients they deem to be a threat to themselves or others. Counties report those names to the state, which will check to see if the patients own guns; the state then can move to confiscate the weapons. Mental health professionals have voiced concern the provision will create a chilling effect and dissuade people who might need professional help from seeking it if they think their weapons will be taken away.

The gun debate has only intensified since the law was passed. Counties across the state have passed nonbinding resolutions condemning the measure or asking for its repeal. The Board of Supervisors in Schoharie County, west of Albany, last week said the county would not spend any money to enforce the law.

Cuomo said Thursday he had not seen the details of the lawsuit.

King could not say why the lawsuit was filed in Buffalo except to say it was done on the advice of lawyers.

Besides the NRA’s New York affiliate, an Albany-based group with 45,000 members founded in 1871, plaintiffs include gun rights and sportsmen’s groups around New York, individual gun owners and gun companies, including Lancaster-based Bedell Custom.

The NRA said it is a part of the suit filed in U.S. District Court. Besides asking the court to declare the law unconstitutional, the plaintiffs seek temporary and permanent injunctions to keep New York from enforcing it.

“The National Rifle Association is committed to defending the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding New Yorkers,” said Chris Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute of Legislative Action.

Cox said Cuomo and lawmakers “usurped the legislative and democratic process in passing these extreme anti-gun measures with no committee hearings and no public input. This obvious disrespect for New Yorkers and their Second Amendment rights will not be tolerated.”

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office will defend the state against the lawsuit, did not comment on the specifics of the litigation.

But he said in a written statement that the NY-SAFE Act is a “comprehensive law that is making New York communities safer, while ensuring constitutional protections to responsible gun owners.” He promised to “aggressively defend” the state against the suit.

The lawsuit states that the action was brought “to vindicate the right of the people of the state of New York to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

The 46-page complaint seeks to overturn the law on a number of fronts, including that the new assault weapon ban has “radically broadened” the definition of such weapons to include “countless” guns that had been considered common before the law was enacted.

The law includes a severability clause, which means if a court were to strike out one provision, all the other provisions would remain on the books.



email: tprecious@buffnews.com
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West Seneca man accused of stealing silver antiques and jewelry

March 21, 2013, 2:14 pm
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WHEATFIELD – A West Seneca man has been charged by Niagara County sheriff’s deputies for his alleged role in the theft of more than $1,000 worth of silver antiques and jewelry from the Shawnee Country Barn Antiques Co-Op.

Tyler M. Schmidt, 18, of Treehaven Road was charged with felony grand larceny just after 6 p.m. Wednesday following an investigation. A vendor at the Shawnee Road business said a man looked at her display case Friday, then left telling her that he forgot his wallet. The vendor said she became suspicious and she gave deputies his description and license plate number.

The vendor said 37 sterling rings, several sterling spoons and antiques valued at $1,200 were missing.

The vehicle was traced, and deputies said Schmidt admitted taking the rings, but was unsure how many he took and said he sold them at a Cheektowaga flea market for $200.

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Copper thefts reported in Niagara Falls

March 21, 2013, 2:19 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – Copper thieves hit two residences, one of them occupied and one vacant, stealing hundreds of dollars worth of copper pipe from the basements.

A property manager told police Wednesday that an upstairs tenant in an apartment in the 1800 block of 16th Street called when he was without water. The manager said he discovered that 70-feet of copper pipe, valued a $500, had been stolen from the basement. There was no sign of forced entry, but the downstairs apartment had been vacant, reported police.

A vacant building in the 2000 block of LaSalle Avenue was found vandalized on Thursday morning by police.

The owner of the vacant building said someone smashed a window in a rear entrance door and cut the tops off two hot water tanks and stole about 8 feet of copper pipe from the tanks and another 8 feet of copper pipe from a basement sink. The total value is $200.
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A Falls man is beaten and slashed in a knifepoint robbery

March 21, 2013, 2:27 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – A 20-year-old man was the victim of a knifepoint robbery as he walked along the 1700 block of Walnut Avenue early Thursday.

The victim said two men jumped him as he passed by. He said the men punched him several times and one of them cut him on the right arm and wrist with a folding knife. The victim said he fell to the ground and was kicked in the head. The two suspects then fled with $60 cash and a lottery ticket.

The victim drove himself to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for treatment of his wounds, according to police.
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Two suspected drug houses were closed in unrelated raids by Falls police

March 21, 2013, 2:39 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – Two houses were raided Wednesday night, shutting down one supected marijuana dealer and condemining a second unrelated house, which appeared to have been used as a drug house for both dealers and users.

At 8:42 p.m. narcotics detectives and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) served a warrant at a first floor apartment at 2409 Grand Avenue. Michael P. McCarthy, 19, who lives there, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana after investigators found a small amount of prescription pills and marijuana.

Narcotics Division Capt. David LeGault said another neighborhood nuisance was addressed a short time later when a warrant was served by the ERT and detectives just before 11 p.m. at 413 18th Street. No arrests were made there, but city inspectors condemned the house because of its condition.

“This was an occupied house, but it was a mess. It was filthy. There was no heat in the house, only a few sources for electricity and they had been using a toaster oven to heat the place,” LeGault said. “There was only one spot for running water.”
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Over $2,000 worth of copper pipe stolen in Newfane

March 21, 2013, 2:43 pm
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NEWFANE – More than 250 feet of copper pipe, valued at $2,500, was reported stolen in a vacant building, following an inspection for a property owner on Thursday.

The copper pipes were removed from the apartment building as well as from a garage apartment behind the main residence in the 2700 block of Main Street, according to Niagara County sheriff’s deputies.

Newfane Building Inspector Douglas Nankey told deputies that the bank-owned building has been abandoned for quite some time and said he boarded up the property on Sept. 22, 2010.

Entry appears to have been made through basement doors, said deputies. The copper was removed from the water meter to the hot water tank in the basement. In the garage apartment the copper was removed on the first floor of the garage and also at the water heater, said deputies.
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