Quantcast
Channel: The Buffalo News - police
Viewing all 8077 articles
Browse latest View live

Shot fired in an armed robbery in Falls

$
0
0
NIAGARA FALLS – The rash of armed robberies in the city continued with another armed robbery reported Wednesday. City detectives have been called to investigate nearly half a dozen armed robberies in the city over the past two months.

The owner of a Valero gas station and convenience store in the 1900 block of Ferry Avenue told police that just before 3:30 a.m. Wednesday two men wearing all black and ski masks, one of them armed with a semi-automatic handgun, entered the store and stole the cash register.

The owner said the armed man appeared to have tripped when he entered the store and fired one shot. Both men then picked up the cash register, which contained about $200, and fled west towards 19th Street.

Dunkirk police chief and another driver hurt in two-car crash

$
0
0
POMFRET – Dunkirk Police Chief David Ortolano and another driver were taken to hospitals after a two-car crash at State Route 20 and State Route 60 late this morning in the Town of Pomfret.

State Police said Ortolano was southbound on Route 60 when a vehicle driven by Paula Shively of Fredonia made a left turn into the path of the chief’s car. Ortolano was taken to Brooks Hospital to have knee and hand pain checked. Shively was taken there after she complained of chest and hand pain. The accident remains under investigation.

Mistrial declared in Alden man’s sexual assault case

$
0
0
A trial on two charges of predatory sexual assault against an Alden man in a 2011 home invasion ended in a mistrial late Thursday afternoon when the jury informed Erie County Court Judge Kenneth F. Case it was deadlocked.

Samuel Muscarella, 25, of Seabrook Drive, was accused of raping and sodomizing a 22-year-old woman on Dec. 15, 2011, in Alden. He also was charged with one count of burglary and six counts of aggravated harassment. If he had been convicted, he could have been sentenced to up to 50 years to life in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Lynette Reda and defense attorney Joseph Agro are expected to appear before Case in about two weeks to discuss the status of the case.

Man charged with three Niagara Falls cocaine deals

$
0
0
LOCKPORT – A Town of Niagara man pleaded not guilty Thursday in Niagara County Court to an indictment charging him with three cocaine sales in November in Niagara Falls.

Jonathan D. Bersani, 21, of Miller Road, is charged with three counts each of third-degree criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance.

The alleged drug deals with a police informant occurred Nov. 15, 20 and 27, Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said.

Clarence man admits using forged pill prescription

$
0
0
LOCKPORT – A man who tried to fill a forged prescription for painkillers at a Lockport pharmacy pleaded guilty to a felony Thursday.

Sameer K. Garg, 26, of Shimerville Road, Clarence, admitted to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and was assigned by State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. to the judicial diversion program of court-supervised drug treatment.

If Garg succeeds in treatment, his charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor with a probation sentence; otherwise, he could go to prison for as long as seven years.

Assistant District Attorney Peter M. Wydysh said Garg was unsuccessful in his Nov. 21 effort to obtain 180 tablets of oxycodone at the Rite Aid store at South Transit and High streets in Lockport.

Teen burglar pleads guilty, faces 15-year sentence

$
0
0
LOCKPORT – A 19-year-old man Niagara Falls man, linked to at least 10 house burglaries in Niagara Falls in December and January, pleaded guilty Thursday in Niagara County Court and will be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas will make the sentence official May 30 for Q’Nique McCrimmon of Ontario Avenue, who accepted a pre-indictment plea bargain to three counts of second-degree burglary.

According to Deputy District Attorney Doreen M. Hoffmann, McCrimmon’s usual practice was to kick in the front door of an unoccupied house. The plea deal required him to admit specifically to break-ins Dec. 31 on North Avenue, Jan. 3 on Michigan Avenue and Jan. 28 on Linwood Avenue. He also was ordered to pay $849 in restitution.

Farkas said that after the prison sentence is up, McCrimmon will face five years of post-release supervision.

McCrimmon said in court he was expelled from school in 10th grade because of truancy, and also was kicked out of Niagara Falls’ drug court program for not showing up. He leaves behind the unmarried mother of his small child.

Five-day jail term wraps up burglary case

$
0
0
LOCKPORT – A man who was placed on probation five years ago for the theft of a safe from a Niagara Falls home was sentenced Thursday to five days in jail to settle a charge of violating his probation.

State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. imposed the sentence on Joseph A. Tierney, 25, of the Falls, who admitted in September that he had failed to complete his time in the county work program. Kloch said he had grown tired of Tierney’s frequent requests to postpone the sentencing.

Tierney was placed on probation in the first place because he had helped prosecutors. He was a victim of an armed robbery that occurred when he was working as a food delivery man, and his testimony helped convict one of the robbers.

Buffalo man arrested for burglarizing LaForce Place home

$
0
0
A 21-year-old Massachusetts Avenue man was charged with second-degree burglary and other charges after allegedly breaking into a LaForce Place home and threatening a woman occupant when confronted about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Buffalo police reported Thursday. Louis A. Melendez was also charged with criminal mischief and harassment for allegedly threatening the woman and pulling her hair.

Minton street couple charged after car stop

$
0
0
A Minton Street couple was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle after Buffalo police stopped them in what turned out to be a speeding rental car on Bailey Avenue near Langfield Drive about 5:30 a.m. today.

Jorrel Ward, 27, and Tyshawn A. Johnson, 26, were both charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Ward, who allegedly admitted he was an unlicensed driver and was not listed on the car’s rental agreement, was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, disorderly conduct, speeding and driving without a license.

Johnson was charged with criminal possession of stolen property after a stolen credit card was found as she was frisked. When the already-handcuffed Johnson began fighting with police and trying to flee she was also charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration.

Routine traffic stop leads to marijuana charges

$
0
0
A 21-year-old Herman Street man was charged with criminal possession of marijuana after Buffalo police pulled his car over in the 600 block of Hopkins Street shortly after midnight today to check on the dark tint on his vehicle’s windows. Ernest Fuller was spared a traffic charge for the windows but police found four plastic baggies of marijuana and a just-smoked marijuana “roach” in the center front ash try. He was charged with both unlawful possession of marijuana and criminal possession of marijuana.

Two well-loved Wilson residents mourned following crash

$
0
0
WILSON – The town was mourning the loss of two longtime Wilson residents killed in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday in what authorities suspect may have been a speeding-related accident.

“The Wilson community has been so hard hit by loss. Both are such nice people. This is a real tragedy,” said Deputy Town Clerk Diane Muscoreil.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Ronald Zauner, 69, and Cathy World, 58, who were both driving their own cars on Wilson Burt-Road when, according to preliminary investigation, the driver of a pickup rear-ended World’s vehicle, crossed over the lane and hit Zauner’s car.

That driver was identified as Fredrick Lederhouse, 58, of Ransomville.

No charges have been filed, but Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour told The Buffalo News that investigators are looking at speed as a possible factor in the crash.

Both Zauner and World were active, well-known and well-liked members of their community, according to residents who spoke to The News on Thursday.

“Cathy was always out walking around and saying hello to everybody,” said Town Clerk Wanda Burrows. “And Ron had been very involved in his Boy Scouts and in church ministry.”

Julie Godfrey, Wilson’s tax collector, said she knew both World and Zauner from church.

“Cathy was a sweet and wonderful girl. She always had a smile. She was the sweetest person you want to know,” said Godfrey.

Zauner and his wife, Judy, are the parents of two adults sons. Godfrey said her children and the Zauners’ children had grown up together in the Boy Scouts.

“He was very active in prison ministry, which some people shy away from, but he loved it,” Godfrey said.

“Just so many things I don’t know where to begin,” she said “He was just the greatest guy. He enjoyed life – always a smile on his face and a God bless you. He made you feel good.”

World, who was unmarried, cleaned houses for people and delivered the Retailer, according to Godfrey. She said World had a walking paper route in the village but was unsure if she had a motor route or had been delivering the weekly paper the day of the crash.

Deputies were called to the scene in the 4800 block of Wilson-Burt Road just before 4 p.m. Wednesday and found the two victims still in their vehicles and unconscious.

Zauner was removed from his vehicle but pronounced dead at the scene. World was removed from her vehicle by the Wilson Fire Department and transported to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where she was pronounced dead.

Lederhouse was conscious at the scene and able to exit his vehicle. He was transported by the Olcott Fire Department to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

No passengers were in any of the vehicles.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Unit spent most of the evening at the scene attempting to determine a cause of the crash.

No alcohol or drugs were involved, and weather does not appear to have been a factor, according to deputies at the scene.



email: nfischer@buffnews.com

Man who raped 12-year-old girl gets 14-year sentence

$
0
0
Cotrell Jenkins got 14 years behind bars – close to the maximum sentence – for raping a 12-year-old girl.

People on hand Thursday in Erie County Court who were hoping he would get a lighter sentence included not only his family but the mother of the victim, who for months refused to believe Jenkins, her boyfriend and the father of her unborn son at the time, had committed the crime.

Only when the mother was confronted with DNA evidence to prove Jenkins had impregnated her daughter did she stop maintaining his innocence, Assistant District Attorney Marni Bogart said. But she still “stood by her man” by insisting her daughter was a willing participant in the sexual encounter, the prosecutor said.

Jenkins, 27, claims he has no recollection of the attack two years ago and that he must have blacked out from being “jacked up on Loritabs and alcohol,” Bogart said, quoting Jenkins.

“The girl went to her grandmother and godmother because she knew her mother wouldn’t be supportive. The grandmother and godmother took her to Women and Children’s Hospital and it was determined she was nine weeks pregnant. She suffered the trauma of an abortion, then medical complications,” Bogart said, adding that at one point during the attack Jenkins covered the girl’s head with a pillow.

Erie County Judge Kenneth F. Case settled on a sentence of 14 years, rather than the maximum of 17 years or minimum of 10 years. He said it was shocking to read some of the statements Jenkins had made to authorities.

“In your initial statement to police, you said ‘I never did her’ and, ‘Well, she’s fast for her age.’ I don’t know how to respond to that,” Case said.

Defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou urged the judge to take into consideration that Jenkins has no prior arrests, that the behavior was an “aberrational event,” and that when he is eventually released from prison, he and the victim’s mother plan to reunite and raise their son, who is now 2 years old.

Eoannou also pointed out that Jenkins, who is learning disabled, has been a devoted single parent to his other son, an 8-year-old with autism.

Dressed in jeans and a checked shirt, the stocky Jenkins told the judge he was remorseful. “I apologized to the young lady in the case,” he said. “I’m remorseful. They say I’m not remorseful. I am remorseful.”

The victim, now 14, her mother and the toddler have moved to North Carolina, said Bogart, who repeatedly sought to diminish any weight a letter written to the judge by the mother seeking leniency might carry.

“I call her a mother, but I use the word loosely. The worth of that term applied to her is not worth the paper her letter is written on,” Bogart said.

The prosecutor added, “While the mother was pregnant with his baby, he turned to her daughter for sex. The mother finally accepted that he was the father when shown DNA results. She then started saying it was consensual. A child cannot consent to sex with an adult and he put a pillow over her head.”

Bogart said that Jenkins had already received his share of mercy when he was allowed to plead guilty last fall to a Class B felony of first-degree rape, rather than face a trial on two A-felony charges of predatory sexual assault. If he had been convicted of those felonies, he could have been sentenced to prison for life.

Eoannou said that Jenkins regularly drove to Rochester to work at a relative’s pawn shop to support his family and that he had lived with the girlfriend for about four years on Richlawn Avenue.

“Other than this obviously very serious incident, by all accounts, he was a good provider and father and had no involvement with the criminal justice system.” Eoannou said.

With 13 months already served and anticipated credit for trouble-free behavior in prison, the attorney estimated that Jenkins would be released from prison in 11 years.

“It is both of their desires to reunite once Cotrell is released,” Eoannou said of his client and girlfriend.

Case ordered that Jenkins be placed on supervised release for eight years after serving his sentence and that he have no contact with the victim through an order of protection that will remain in force through March 2035.



email: lmichel@buffnews.com

Animal cruelty charges dismissed against Lockport dog breeder

$
0
0
TOWN OF LOCKPORT – Animal cruelty charges were dismissed Thursday in Town Court against a Lockport dog breeder charged last month after the SPCA of Niagara removed more than 60 Pomeranians from her house.

Ellouise Magrum, 50, of South Royal Parkway, pleaded guilty to a town code violation of an unpermitted use in her home and was fined $250 by Town Judge Raymond E. Schilling. He said she could have faced up to a $350 fine and six months in jail on the animal cruelty charges. An additional charge of endangering the welfare of a child was granted a six-month adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. Magrum has two teenage children.

Her attorney, George V.C. Muscato, said she never should have been charged with animal cruelty.

“Animal cruelty was an inappropriate charge which never should have been brought,” said Muscato.

He said Magrum was not guilty of any mistreatment, noting that a veterinarian from the SPCA of Niagara said the dogs were not in bad health and were well-fed.

He noted that Magrum was forced by the SPCA of Niagara to sign over all the dogs. She would have faced more severe charges if she hadn’t. He said she was not given the chance to make other arrangements.

Muscato told The Buffalo News after court that he will recommend that she fight the SPCA and attempt to have the dogs returned to her, despite the fact that they have already been adopted by new families.

“Her son was devastated. One of the dogs they took was the family pet. Her children loved this animal,” Muscato told the judge. “This woman is not guilty of any wrongdoing, and her family has paid a tremendous price.”

Muscato questioned the fees that the SPCA of Niagara charged for finding new homes for the Pomeranians, which he said were far above what they charge for regular adoptions.

Lockport Police Chief Lawrence Eggert, who is also an SPCA of Niagara board member and was at the scene when the dogs were removed spoke to The News after court and disputed charges that the adoption fees were inflated.

He said a team of volunteers had be called in to wash and clean the dogs, who were found covered in urine and feces. Costs for medical treatment were also factored in, he said.

“One dog had to have 21 teeth taken out, another dog had to have knee surgery. It’s just a lot of money,” Eggert said. “There was a staff of volunteers who spent three days cleaning and bathing them.”

Muscato told the judge that it was true Magrum should not have been raising these dogs in her house and that there was some smell, but he said it had not existed for more than a day or two.



email: nfischer@buffnews.com

City gets a preliminary victory in commingling case

$
0
0
A challenge to the city’s ban on underage patrons at bars in the Chippewa entertainment district stumbled this week when a judge denied a request that the city lift the ban while the case plays out in court.

Two Chippewa bar owners and an individual brought a suit against the city, challenging its policy of prohibiting individuals ages 18 to 20 in bars around Chippewa Street.

The plaintiffs – bar owners Daniel Valentine of Lux and Adam March of Bayou, and 19-year-old Colin Miller – asked the city to lift the ban and allow younger patrons to visit the bars while the legal challenge was decided in court, but State Supreme Court Justice James H. Dillon denied that request.

The plaintiffs will appeal that decision, attorney Elizabeth A. Holmes said Thursday.

The city saw a victory in the decision, in that the initial attempt to stop the ordinance was unsuccessful.

“We’re well positioned in the litigation,” said Corporation Counsel Timothy A. Ball. The parties are due back in court April 9.

The city had allowed younger patrons in Chippewa bars on Thursdays, but that policy, known as commingling, ended in October, and it was not renewed in the Common Council.

“The motivation was always, has always, been about public safety,” said Ellicott Council Member Darius G. Pridgen. “It was never intended to take away anyone’s rights, it was intended to keep people alive and safe.”

Bars can ask the city to allow commingling on certain nights, and the Council reviews these applications.

Pridgen, who represents Chippewa, has been approving these applications and allowing the Brown administration to deny them if it sees fit.

The Council cannot know whether the Police Department will have the staff to adequately patrol the area on a given night, but the administration does, Pridgen said.

The administration and Council are working on a better way for the applications to flow through City Hall,he said.



email: jterreri@buffnews.com

Somerset woman charged with welfare fraud

$
0
0
SOMERSET – a Somerset woman has been arrested on a charge of welfare fraud, Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour said Friday.

Stephanie Wilson, 36, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree welfare fraud and offering a false instrument. She faces a Lockport City Court appearance at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Further information was unavailable.

Lockport police continue hunt for tire-slashing vandals

$
0
0
LOCKPORT – Lockport police are on the lookout for culprits who slashed 17 tires and broke into two parked cars overnight Thursday.

The crimes occurred on Erie, High, Willow and Haines streets; Beattie Avenue; Hi-Point and McIntosh drives; and at the Belknap Middle School parking lot. Anyone with information is urged to contact police at 433-7700 or on the department’s confidential tip-call line at 439-6707.

Weapons charge lodged following nightclub fracas

$
0
0
A Buffalo man was arrested on a felony weapons charge after a loaded 25-caliber pistol was confiscated by a security guard following a fight outside La Boom nightclub in the 3000 block of Main Street about 4 a.m. Friday, police said.

Damon Erving, 24, whose home address was not released, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree.

Woman, 37, accused of hitting neighbor’s daughter during dispute

$
0
0
A Grote Street woman was arrested after striking a neighbor’s 11-year-old daughter during a dispute in her home about 7 a.m. Friday, Buffalo police said.

Schrelle Mallory, 37, was charged by Hertel District police with third-degree assault, disorderly conduct and child endangerment.

Two well-loved Wilson residents mourned following crash

$
0
0
WILSON – The town was mourning the loss of two longtime Wilson residents killed in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday in what authorities suspect may have been a speeding-related accident.

“The Wilson community has been so hard hit by loss. Both are such nice people. This is a real tragedy,” said Deputy Town Clerk Diane Muscoreil.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Ronald Zauner, 69, and Cathy World, 58, who were both driving their own cars on Wilson Burt-Road when, according to preliminary investigation, the driver of a pickup rear-ended World’s vehicle, crossed over the lane and hit Zauner’s car.

That driver was identified as Fredrick Lederhouse, 58, of Ransomville.

No charges have been filed, but Niagara County Sheriff James R. Voutour told The Buffalo News that investigators are looking at speed as a possible factor in the crash.

Both Zauner and World were active, well-known and well-liked members of their community, according to residents who spoke to The News on Thursday.

“Cathy was always out walking around and saying hello to everybody,” said Town Clerk Wanda Burrows. “And Ron had been very involved in his Boy Scouts and in church ministry.”

Julie Godfrey, Wilson’s tax collector, said she knew both World and Zauner from church.

“Cathy was a sweet and wonderful girl. She always had a smile. She was the sweetest person you want to know,” said Godfrey.

Zauner and his wife, Judy, are the parents of two adults sons. Godfrey said her children and the Zauners’ children had grown up together in the Boy Scouts.

“He was very active in prison ministry, which some people shy away from, but he loved it,” Godfrey said.

“Just so many things I don’t know where to begin,” she said “He was just the greatest guy. He enjoyed life – always a smile on his face and a God bless you. He made you feel good.”

World, who was unmarried, cleaned houses for people and delivered the Retailer, according to Godfrey. She said World had a walking paper route in the village but was unsure if she had a motor route or had been delivering the weekly paper the day of the crash.

Deputies were called to the scene in the 4800 block of Wilson-Burt Road just before 4 p.m. Wednesday and found the two victims still in their vehicles and unconscious.

Zauner was removed from his vehicle but pronounced dead at the scene. World was removed from her vehicle by the Wilson Fire Department and transported to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where she was pronounced dead.

Lederhouse was conscious at the scene and able to exit his vehicle. He was transported by the Olcott Fire Department to Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane, where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

No passengers were in any of the vehicles.

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Unit spent most of the evening at the scene attempting to determine a cause of the crash.

No alcohol or drugs were involved, and weather does not appear to have been a factor, according to deputies at the scene.



email: nfischer@buffnews.com

Razor-sharp knife seized after police search car trunk

$
0
0
An Easton Avenue man was arrested early Friday after Buffalo police found a razor-sharp knife in the trunk of his car in the first block of Hayward Street.

Calvin Lockhart, 31, was charged by South Park District officers with criminal possession of a weapon. Police responded to call shortly after midnight.
Viewing all 8077 articles
Browse latest View live


<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>