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Clarence motorcyclist killed Wednesday did not have a license

June 6, 2013, 10:10 pm
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The Clarence motorcyclist who died Wednesday when he crashed into an oncoming car while being pursued by a state trooper had only a permit to operate a motorcycle, not a license, law enforcement authorities told The Buffalo News on Thursday.

Patrick Conway, 18, a senior at Clarence High School who was looking forward to joining the Marines in August, was pulled over Wednesday morning by a trooper on Main Street in Clarence for not having a rear license plate on the high-performance motorcycle.

When the trooper got out of his vehicle to approach Conway, the teen sped off and ultimately smashed into a BMW on the other side of the road. Conway was killed instantly. The driver of the BMW was uninjured.

People 18 or over must first obtain a permit before getting a license to operate a motorcycle, explained State Police Sgt. David Martek, who is a traffic supervisor. Martek could not comment on the investigation into Conway’s death. But he explained that there is no waiting period for people 18 or over seeking the license.

The permit “allows you to practice driving,” Martek said.

People with permits can operate motorcycle only “in the immediate proximity” of a driver who is at least 21 and has a valid motorcycle license.

Operating a motorcycle unsupervised without being accompanied would be considered the same as unlicensed driving, Martek said.

email: mbecker@buffnews.com
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Closing statements set today in Hoskins’ animal cruelty trial

June 6, 2013, 11:10 pm
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Attorneys in the criminal trial of Beth Lynne Hoskins on 74 counts of animal cruelty tied to alleged neglect on her Morgan horse farm three years ago will offer closing statements at 9:30 a.m. today before Aurora Town Justice Douglas W. Marky.

The nonjury trial has been going on for more than a year, interrupted at times by adjournments, delays and scheduling conflicts.

Hoskins’ attorney, Thomas J. Eoannou, and two prosecutors from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Michael Drmacich and Matthew A. Albert, will make their summations before the judge in what has become a high-profile and highly controversial case that has stretched well beyond what had been expected for a misdemeanor animal cruelty case.

Thursday, the judge heard additional questioning of two rebuttal witnesses called by the prosecution.

No decision was made on Hoskins’ recent request that the case be dismissed because of what she called prosecutorial misconduct.

She said Albert and Alex Cooke, an SPCA employee involved in the case, have been romantically involved as the trial has been under way. Cooke was never called as a witness.

District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III has called Hoskins’ dismissal request “yet another act of desperation” by the defendant. It is not the first time that Hoskins, through attorneys, has asked for the case to be dismissed.

The judge will hear arguments on the dismissal motion at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Hoskins’ attorney on that matter, John Bartolomei, who was in court Thursday, has asked for time to review the response filed by the District Attorney’s Office.

email: krobinsion@buffnews.com
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Knocked-down utility pole forces brief closure of Campbell Boulevard

June 7, 2013, 6:04 am
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A vehicle knocked down a utility pole on Campbell Boulevard before the morning rush hour Friday, forcing authorities to close the road for a short time near the Niagara-Erie County line, Niagara County sheriff’s officials reported.

The accident occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on Campbell Boulevard, near Tonawanda Creek Road.

One male was taken to a local hospital with what authorities described as minor injuries.

Sheriff’s officials had no reports of any power failures.
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Man arrested in killing of Kenmore tavern owner

June 7, 2013, 9:24 am
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A 19-year-old man who was reported missing 14 months ago in Buffalo has been arrested in the May 19 slaying of the popular owner of Malone’s Bar & Grill on Delaware Avenue, Kenmore police announced Friday.

Antonio Martin-Brown has been charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Vincent J. Cottone, the 62-year-old bar owner.

The two men were acquaintances, but police said they had no additional information about how they knew each other.

“All I know is that they were not strangers,” Police Chief Peter J. Breitnauer said. “It was not a random killing, and we never thought it was a random killing.

“I don’t know if they were friends,” the chief added. “The only thing I can tell you is that the suspect did not work at the bar.”

Martin-Brown, accompanied by relatives, turned himself in to authorities Friday. The suspect had hired an attorney, who talked with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and arranged for Martin-Brown to surrender.

The case now is expected to go to an Erie County grand jury.

Buffalo police had reported Martin-Brown missing in April 2012, after he was last seen when his shift ended at a Wendy’s restaurant on Main Street on April 10.

“He did not return home and has not been seen since,” Buffalo police reported in announcing his disappearance at the time.

Multiple media reports did not include whether he was ever found.

Cottone’s body was found in his Landers Road home late on the morning of May 19, after he did not appear at a staff meeting that morning.

He was an apparent victim of blunt-force trauma, police said. No gun was used, but police have not confirmed any other weapons they believe were used in the attack.

Friday, Breitnauer wouldn’t say anything about the means, the motive or any other details of the killing.

Cottone, known to everyone as Jimmy, had left his tavern a few minutes before midnight the night before he was killed. Police now believe that he was killed sometime between about 2 and 11 a.m. May 19, but they won’t say where they think he may have been between midnight and 2 a.m.

Martin-Brown was arraigned Friday morning in Kenmore Village Court and sent to the Erie County Holding Center without bail, police said.

Breitnauer praised the Kenmore Police Detective Bureau, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office and the Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory for the investigation that led to Friday’s arrest.

email: gwarner@buffnews.com
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TSA officer arrested on felony cocaine charges

June 7, 2013, 9:32 am
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A federal security officer working at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport is accused of dealing drugs.

Todd Stoddard, 29, of Kingswood Drive in Cheektowaga, was arrested on felony cocaine charges Thursday night, according to the Erie County Sheriff’s Office.

Stoddard has been working as an officer for the Transportation Security Administration at the airport since November 2011, sources said.

Law enforcement received information about Stoddard’s alleged drug dealing, which led to a monthlong, joint investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and police from Cheektowaga and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, officials said.

“He went to work during the day, and then he would leave work and he’d go and sell drugs on the side,” said Scott R. Patronik, chief of special services for the sheriff’s office. “It looked to me like it was just additional income.”

It is not believed Stoddard used his position at the airport to smuggle drugs.

“That was something we actually took a real close look at, and we didn’t see anything at all,” Patronik said.

Stoddard was charged at around 9 p.m. Thursday during a traffic stop on Vicksburg Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda, as part of a planned operation by investigators, Patronik said.

Stoddard was charged with three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, criminal sale of a controlled substance and two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

TSA officials could not be reached to comment Friday.

The case was another example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together cooperatively to make an arrest, said Sheriff Timothy B. Howard.

email: jrey@buffnews.com
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Summations made in three-year-old Hoskins animal cruelty case

June 7, 2013, 12:34 pm
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Prosecutors said all the sidebar issues of money, hoarding and vendettas should be ignored and asked the judge to focus solely on the suffering of horses under Beth Lynne Hoskins’ care.

The defense attorney contended that Hoskins is the victim of overzealous animal rights crusaders trying to use the case to rewrite the rules on how animals are treated.

Hoskins faces 74 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, dating to March 2010, when the SPCA removed 73 Morgan horses she owned from her 50-acre East Aurora farm. The animals were described as underfed, underwatered, lacking in exercise and medical care, and living in filth.

In his summation Friday in Aurora Town Court, prosecutor Michael Drmacich skimmed over issues that he categorized as irrelevant in the case, including whether Hoskins’ alleged mistreatment of her horses was deliberate or neglectful, whether the conditions of her barns and stables were due to a lack of resources or “plain laziness,” and whether the defendant had a hoarding problem.

“It doesn’t matter why this happened,” Drmacich told Aurora Town Justice Douglas W. Marky, who is hearing the case without a jury. “We have proven that there was inadequate food and water, that there was neglect. … That these animals suffered.”

“I’m not using that as the general term ‘suffered from,’ ” Drmacich said, “I’m using it in the literal sense: They suffered.”

He listed eight areas in which Hoskins, who had promoted her farm as a breeding place for high-end Morgans, had allegedly failed her animals. He said that his witnesses found multiple forms of neglect evident in every horse.

Hoskins’ attorney, Thomas J. Eoannou, disputed the prosecution’s characterization of the horses’ condition, pointing out that none of the animals required treatment for lameness or any other serious condition after they were confiscated.

“This is really a debate between animal welfare people,” he said outside the courtroom. “They are wanting to raise the bar on the minimum standard of care, and they are using my client to do it.”

He argued that none of the prosecution witnesses had specific medical measurements that indicated abuse of the horses.

“There are no measurements, no math, no science,” he said. “The animals were taken before they were even seen.”

“They told her: ‘Forfeit your horses or be arrested,’ and Beth was the first person to stand up and say, ‘No, not without proof,’ ” Eoannou said.

After closing arguments, Marky said that he would not make a hasty ruling in the case. There is already before him a motion to dismiss the case from Hoskins, based on what she is calling prosecutorial misconduct. Marky said he will rule on that motion Tuesday and at that time will have a better idea on the timetable for his decision.

Forty of Hoskins’ horses have been returned to her; the remaining animals are still under SPCA care pending Marky’s ruling.

email: mmiller@buffnews.com
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New heroin-fentanyl cocktail linked to deaths

June 7, 2013, 12:40 pm
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A potent new cocktail, already popular with heroin addicts in Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit, is making its debut on the streets of Western New York.

And killing people.

The cocktail, a dangerous mixture of heroin and the painkiller fentanyl, is significantly more potent than heroin and has a reputation for giving users the extra “pop” so many of them crave.

It also has been linked to several drug overdoses in Erie County, three of them fatal in recent days.

“It’s so strong, it’s killing people,” said Dale Kasprzyk, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Buffalo. “This is a deadly combination. This substance is out there in the drug-trafficking community right now.”

The mixture of heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic prescription painkiller, has been showing up in other cities for years.

In Chicago, home to a large community of heroin addicts, hundreds of deaths have been linked to fentanyl and fentanyl combined with heroin since the mixture was first discovered in 2006.

Experts say the link between the overdoses here – there have been a handful over the past several days – and the heroin-fentanyl cocktail will be better known once toxicology reports are complete.

“These people are probably dying within minutes,” said Robert Osiewicz, chief toxicologist at the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office.

When word of the sudden surge in overdoses reached U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr., he took the unusual step of holding a news conference Friday to announce a warning of sorts to addicts and their families: Stay away from this new fetanyl-laced heroin cocktail.

Hochul said his office already knows of one local man, Robert Runfola of Buffalo, who died at his Delaware Avenue home May 23 after allegedly using the dangerous mixture.

“He was dead within 60 minutes of ingesting the drug,” Kasprzyk said.

The drug, even though it took years to reach Western New York, has apparently arrived with ugly consequences.

“We’ve had six cases, four overdoses, and three people who died,” said John Simich, director of the forensic laboratory at Erie County Central Police Services.

And that’s just in a few days.

Osiewicz said the combination of heroin and fentanyl began showing up in his lab reports recently, and at first he thought the two drugs were being used independently by addicts.

“Now we know they were probably being used together,” he told reporters at Friday’s news conference.

Kasprzyk said a lot of the addicts who use the new cocktail are probably former prescription drug users who can no longer afford pills.

It’s not uncommon for that type of addict to turn to heroin or, in this case, a mix of heroin and fentanyl.

“When they can’t afford the prescription drugs, they transition to heroin,” Kasprzyk said.

Prosecutors believe the drugs that killed Runfola came from Peter N. Militello, 32, of Tonawanda, but have not yet charged him in connection with his death.

Hochul said Militello is charged with selling heroin and crack cocaine and could face additional charges if he’s linked to Runfola’s overdose.

“We expect the medical reports soon, in a week or two,” Hochul said.

Militello appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy.

email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
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Man suspected in two holdups at same bank arrested following chase

June 7, 2013, 2:00 pm
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A man suspected of two robberies last month at the M&T Bank branch on Seneca Street was arrested following a chase late Wednesday.

Nicholas Harber, 35, of no known permanent address, was taken into custody by South District police, with the help of the Air One helicopter of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and Town of Tonawanda police, Harber was captured following a foot chase on Niagara Falls Boulevard near the Youngmann Highway entrance ramp just before 11 p.m. He is being held on felony robbery and grand larceny charges in the robberies at the M&T Bank branch, 2199 Seneca St., on May 7 and 17.

Police said they also are investigating possible connections in other bank holdups.
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Town of Randolph woman accused of being graffiti vandal

June 7, 2013, 3:26 pm
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RANDOLPH – A Town of Randolph woman is facing graffiti and criminal mischief charges for incidents last month, according to the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office.

Alicia R. Hartson, 20, who was arrested Thursday, is accused of spray-painting graffiti on several buildings in the town, including businesses, on May 20. She was ordered to appear in Randolph Town Court later this month.
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Newfane man arraigned on meth charges

June 7, 2013, 3:40 pm
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LOCKPORT – A man who was arrested April 4 in a Niagara County Drug Task Force raid on an alleged methamphetamine lab in an Olcott home was arraigned on a 10-count indictment Friday in State Supreme Court.

Dearick L. Hoefer, 32, of Newfane, pleaded not guilty to five counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, four counts of third-degree sale and one count of manufacturing meth.

He was one of two men arrested in the raid in 1579 Franklin St. The other, Geoffrey Linderman, 28, was charged with maintaining a public nuisance. A hazardous materials team was called to clean up the drug-related chemicals in the house.
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Four DWI arrests made during Niagara County DWI crackdown

June 7, 2013, 3:47 pm
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LOCKPORT – A countywide DWI crackdown by the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office and other police agencies over the Memorial Day weekend resulted in four arrests for driving while intoxicated, nine other criminal arrests and about 80 traffic tickets, Sheriff James R. Voutour announced Friday.

The crackdown from May 23-27 was staffed with more road-patrol units, said Voutour, who noted more crackdowns are planned throughout the year.
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Falls man pleads not guilty to receiving pot shipment

June 7, 2013, 3:53 pm
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LOCKPORT – A man who was arrested outside a Niagara Falls post office after he claimed a five-pound package of marijuana was arraigned Friday in Niagara County Court.

Michael J. Crumpton, 22, of 21st Street, pleaded not guilty to second-degree criminal possession of marijuana.

Assistant District Attorney Theresa L. Prezioso said the package was damaged in transit, and postal inspectors were able to see what it contained. They called Falls detectives, who busted Crumpton outside the Main Street post office on the afternoon of Dec. 6.
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North Tonawanda man takes plea deal in assault on 4-year-old son

June 7, 2013, 4:06 pm
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LOCKPORT – A man who dislocated his 4-year-old son’s elbow accepted a plea-bargain Friday in Niagara County Court.

Daniel J. Barnes, 27, of Meadow Drive, North Tonawanda, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree assault. County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas, who scheduled sentencing for Aug. 30, said she will place Barnes on interim probation for up to a year if he continues to obey rules laid down in a Family Court proceeding against him. Otherwise, Barnes risks a prison term of as long as four years.

The boy was intentionally hurt Sept. 4, Assistant District Attorney Cheryl L. Nichols said. Barnes was living on North Avenue in North Tonawanda at the time.
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Man pleads guilty in scrapping of stolen farm equipment

June 7, 2013, 4:09 pm
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LOCKPORT – A Royalton man pleaded guilty Friday to selling stolen farm equipment for scrap last November.

Kevin Considine II, 31, of Hollenbeck Road, admitted to a reduced charge of attempted third-degree criminal possession of stolen property and was scheduled for sentencing Sept. 12 by Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas. He faces up to seven years in prison and as much as $8,000 in restitution, although a hearing may be needed to determine the exact amount.

Assistant District Attorney Theresa L. Prezioso said the victim, a farmer on Keck Road in the Town of Lockport, noticed Nov. 11 that a fertilizer wagon and a hay elevator were missing. But sheriff’s deputies learned that a witness had seen Considine at the wheel of a motor home, towing the wagon to a Chestnut Ridge Road gas station Nov. 1.
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Auto thief rewarded with probation

June 7, 2013, 4:12 pm
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LOCKPORT – David Mount Pleasant, a Tuscarora Indian Reservation man who, according to a prosecutor, was involved in an auto stripping operation with two other men, was placed on five years’ probation Friday as a reward for putting himself through drug treatment.

Mount Pleasant, 29, of Mount Hope Road, had pleaded guilty to third-degree auto stripping, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and illegal possession of a vehicle identification number. He must pay $2,500 restitution to the owner of a stolen snowmobile.

“I didn’t think there was a chance in hell he’d ever rehabilitate himself,” Assistant District Attorney Heather A. DeCastro told Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas.

“At first, it was hard, because I didn’t want to do it,” Mount Pleasant said.

DeCastro said the auto theft front on the reservation has been “fairly quiet” since she prosecuted Mount Pleasant and two other men. Chadd G. White, 30, of Ashland Avenue, Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty to a felony and was assigned to court-supervised drug treatment; James Higgins, 30, of Upper Mountain Road, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in Lewiston Town Court.
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Jamestown man accused of running crack house

June 7, 2013, 5:01 pm
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JAMESTOWN –A Jamestown man was arrested Friday during a raid on West Eighth Street house used to sell crack cocaine, Jamestown police said.

Sean D. Harris, 30, was charged with first-degree felony criminal nuisance during the police raid at 106 West Eighth about 10:45 a.m. Harris could face additional charges, police said.

Anyone with information about the illegal drug sales in the Jamestown area is urged to contact the Jamestown Police Department’s Anonymous Tip Line at 483-8477 (Tips). All calls are kept confidential.
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Olean police arrest three on drug charges

June 7, 2013, 7:44 pm
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OLEAN – Olean Police street crimes unit arrested two men and a woman on drug charges linked to indictments issued by a Cattaraugus County grand jury, police announced Friday.

Jailed on indictments charging each with criminal possession and sale of controlled substances are:

Nathan A. Green, 25, of East Hill Road, Lyndon; Carlton J. Sayles, 31, no permanent address, Olean; and Heidi Clayson, 33, of Route 16, Franklinville.

After her arrest on a Olean city bus Friday, Clayson was also was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. All three are being held in Cattaraugus County Jail.
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Murder plea made in Buffalo shooting death

June 8, 2013, 8:13 am
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A Buffalo teen has pleaded guilty to murder for shooting a man to death last year after the victim left an East Side convenience store.

Devon Scott, also known by the street name “Ghost,” pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder before State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia.

Scott, 18, of Cornwall Avenue, fatally shot Walden Avenue resident Darrell Anderson, 30, who was walking on the 500-block of Goodyear Avenue at 3:50 p.m. July 1. Police said Anderson had just left the nearby Super Price Choppers convenience store on Genesee Street.

Police made the arrest in September after talking with eyewitnesses to the incident.

Scott pleaded guilty to the highest charge for which he could have been convicted had he gone to trial, Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III stated. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life when he is sentenced before Judge Buscaglia on Aug. 8.

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Rollover crash leads to DWI arrest

June 8, 2013, 8:14 am
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A Niagara Falls man was arrested and charged with drunken driving after he failed to negotiate a ramp onto the Robert Moses Parkway late Friday night and crashed into trees and fences.

Sean Payne, 43, of Orchard Parkway, was apparently driving along the Lasalle Expressway around 10:40 p.m. Friday when he failed to negotiate the ramp, according to State Police.

His vehicle struck two trees and two fences before rolling over and coming to rest on the passenger side on a walking path below the expressway, police said. He was treated and released at Erie County Medical Center and has been charged with driving while intoxicated.

He is scheduled to appear in court on June 19.
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West Side fire leaves 11 homeless

June 8, 2013, 8:47 am
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Eleven people were left homeless after a fire damaged their West Side home early Saturday.

Buffalo firefighters responded at 3:13 a.m. to a house fire at 100 Brayton St. The fire started on the second floor of the house and spread to the attic of the 2½-story home.

The house was occupied by six adults and five children, none of whom were injured in the blaze, according to the Buffalo Fire Department. The resients are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The fire caused $15,000 in damage to the building and $8,500 to the contents, investigators said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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