byron

A man wanted by Batavia Police has been located in Florida and is in a Tampa-area jail awaiting extradition to New York.

A week ago, Batavia Police issued a "wanted" notice for Dajuandrick Gardner, 33, of Byron. Gardner is wanted for an alleged violation of parole.

U.S. Marshalls' took Gardner into custody on Monday.

No information has been released regarding the original charges against him.

When the police released the wanted information on Gardner, they also listed 18-year-old Jeremiah Williams as a wanted person on unrelated charges. Williams remains at large.

Two Batavia men were arrested last night after the Local Drug Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant at 13 Ross Street, lower, looking for a suspected meth lab.

What officers reportedly found was a dismantled lab and some quantity of methamphetamine in various stages of production.

The two suspects in the case were apparently not at the residence at the time of the raid and were located elsewhere in the county.

Taken into custody were Warren T. Cotton, 33, and Eric D. Johnston, 31.

Cotton is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Johnston is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Cotton was arrested following a traffic stop at Walkers Corners Road in Byron. Johnston was located on Evans Street.

While Johnston was released on an appearance ticket, Cotton was jailed without bail.

The investigation is ongoing.

Assisting in the case were Wyoming County Drug Task Force, the Genesee County District Attorney's Office, the Office of Emergency Management and Mercy EMS.

Photos: Warren T. Cotton, upper right; Eric Johnston, lower left.

There is a motor-vehicle accident reported at routes 237 and 33 with injury.

There are two cars involved. They are not blocking traffic.

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Taylor Dylan Carbonaro, 19, of 1044 Peck Road, Hilton, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Carbonaro was stopped on Route 77 in Pembroke at 7:07 p.m. Monday by Deputy Patrick Reeves for an alleged traffic violation. Deputy Reeves reported smelling the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the car and found Carbonaro allegedly in possession of cannabis. Carbonaro was also issued tickets for alleged failure to keep right and throwing refuse/cigarette on the highway.

Todd L. Fairbanks, 27, of 38 Prospect Ave., Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment 2nd. Fairbanks is accused of making several unwanted and annoying telephone calls to a female acquaintance. He was jailed on $1,000 bail.

Rebecca L. Santiago, 23, of Stafford, was arrested Jan. 23 and charged with petit larceny. The arrested appeared in today's State Police blotter. She was also charged with criminal mischief. No further details provided.

A 17-year-old girl from Corfu is charged with harassment 2nd. She was arrested by State Police in Pembroke at 11 a.m. Monday. No further details provided.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

6:22 p.m., Feb. 8, Weatherwax Road, Elba, one vehicle; Driver 1: Glenn J. Northup, 63, of Byron. No injuries reported.

A barking dog alerted a 13-year-old boy and his sister to a fire in his home late this morning in Byron, allowing them both to get out of the house safely before the entire structure burst into flames.

Byron Fire Chief John Durand said the house was already fully involved and a total loss before the first fire truck arrived.

"It had a big head start on us," Durand said.

The house is located at 6137 Merrill Road and is owned by William R. Causyn. His daughter, Heidi, and son, Tyler Walls, were in the house when the fire started.

"They heard the dog bark and then saw fire and smoke inside the laundry room," Durand said. "They called 911 and got out of the house."

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

About dozen fire companies from Genesee, Monroe, Orleans and Livingston counties responded to the scene. The large response was necessary in part because the house is not on a street with a hydrant system, so tanker trucks were needed to shuttle water to the fire.

Upon arriving at the scene, Bergen's Deputy Chief Paul Cummings (pictured, right) acted quickly to disconnect the house's propane tank and roll it away safely from the residence.

Cummings works for Suburban Propane.

"I wouldn't just have anybody do it, but I knew he knew what he was doing," Durand said.

As for Cummings' bit of heroics, Genesee County Emergency Coordinator Tim Yaeger said, "That's what we do."

No firefighters were injured during the incident. 

Red Cross is on scene to assist the family.

Durand acknowledged the situation could have been a lot worse if the fire had erupted in the middle of the night.

"They were already up and about," Durand said. "It's not like if it was three o'clock in the morning and they had to get up and get dressed. There were able to get out as soon as somebody yelled 'fire.' At three o'clock in the morning, it's always possible it's a far different outcome."

UPDATE: We've added five pictures submitted by Ralf Kurzowski.

More pictures after the jump:

The following pictures were submitted by Ralf Kurzowski.

If you live in Byron and commute to Riga, you're in luck -- the trip is going to get much faster.

High-speed rail is coming to Genesee County, according to Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

But it won't get you to Albany or New York City. It won't even get you to Rochester or Buffalo. But it will get you to Riga.

A more extensive high-speed-rail system would cost billions and President Obama didn't bless New York with that much money.

He earmarked just $150 million for a "demonstration project."

The tracks will lay beside a current rail line, but engineered so existing Amtrak trains can obtain a speed of 110 mph, compared to the current top speed of 79 mph.

Here's the D&C story.

UPDATE: WBTA's Geoff Redick interviewed Victoria Dillon (mp3) from Rep. Slaughter's office. Dillon reveals this stretch of track will not connect with anything. No train will run on it. It's just a third rail. Linking it into any other system, "would create extra crossing that we would just have to get rid of," Dillon said.  She calls it "an important first step."

Melissa Ellen Quigley, 30, of 6535 Main Road, Stafford, is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle, operating a snowmobile while intoxicated and operating a snowmobile without a helmet. Quigley was arrested at 1:45 this morning by Deputy Frank Bordonaro on the listed charges.

Craig M. Meyer, 24, of 6611 Albion Road, Oakfield, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and aggravated unlicensed operation. Meyer was stopped by Deputy Tim Wescott for allegedly driving 78 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 63 in the Town of Batavia on Wednesday.

Cory R. Markidis, 20, of 2 Beechwood St., Rochester, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlicensed operation. Markidis was stopped by Deputy Matthew Butler on Route 33, Town of Stafford on Jan. 3.

A 17-year-old resident of Oakfield is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth was arrested at his home after allegedly being found in possession of a small quantity of marijuana.

A 17-year-old from Alexander is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. The youth was arrested by State Police on Jan. 6. No further details available.

Jeffery R. Muntz, 26, of Bergen, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and false personation. Muntz was arrested by State Police at 3:10 p.m. Tuesday on Irving Parkway in Oakfield. He was jailed on an unspecified bail amount.

The following accidents were included on the State Police blotter:

9:03 a.m., Jan. 6, Town of Bergen, one vehicle; Driver: Mary E. West, 37, of Pallmetto, Fla. No injuries.

2:08 p.m., Jan 6, Fargo Road and Harlow Road, Town of Darien, two vehicles; Driver 1: Derek R. Long, 18, of Akron; Driver 2: James J. Lis, 22, of Darien Center. One reported injury.

2:55 p.m., Jan. 12, Brown Road, Town of Batavia, two vehicles; Driver 1: Timothy M. Zielinski, 40, of Attica; Driver 2: James J. Diabo, 59, of Batavia. No injuries.

3:59 p.m., Jan 12, Byron Holley Townline Road, Byron, one vehicle; Driver 1: Racheal J. Millspaugh, 26, of Bergen. No injuries.

(NOTE: One of the consistent bits of feedback from our survey is that we don't always follow up on accidents and other incidents we initially report off the scanner. We don't always get the reports in order to follow up. The State Police blotter includes some information about any accidents Troopers investigate. Rather than try to tie one particular blotter entry to something we may or may not have reported before, we thought we would start including all of the accidents from the blotter in Police Beat.)

A woman who was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance following an accident on Clinton Street Road on Sunday night has been treated and released.

Margaret G. Foley, 86, of 6880 Lymon Road, Byron, reportedly lost control of her car on a snow-covered road, hit a mailbox and then a snow pile, causing her car to overturn onto the passenger side.

The accident occurred at 10:28 p.m. Sunday in the area of 5860 Clinton Street Road, Stafford.

The accident was investigated by Deputy Frank Bordonaro. No tickets were issued. No other vehicles were involved.

Here's our initial report.

A dryer fire that is now believed to be out has been reported at 5857 Byron-Holley Road.

Byron and South Byron fire departments have been dispatched.

Bergen and Elba are requested to stand by and Town of Batavia Fast Team is asked to stand by.

UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: South Bryon back in hall, back in service.

UPDATE 12:10 p.m.: Byron back in service.

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Deputy Brad Mazur apparently makes for a convincing pizza delivery driver.

On Nov. 15, Mazur showed up at the home of a Byron woman with a fresh pizza from Fullerino's Pizza and asked her to sign the credit card slip.  The woman signed, just as she reportedly has before for orders from Fullerino's.

Mazur's ruse worked.

The credit card number used by the woman was allegedly stolen.

After Mazur identified himself he asked the lady a few questions. The interview led to the discovery of several such allegedly fraudulent transactions that began with the woman reportedly stealing credit card numbers while employed at Batavia Citgo.

Mazur delivered his pizza to Alisha A. Ballard, 21, of 7174 Byron Road.

Ballard faces several charges, including petit larceny, forgery 2nd, unlawful possession of a  personal ID, identify theft 2nd and falsifying business records 1st.

After being arraigned in Batavia City Court, Ballard was released under the supervision of Genesee Justice.

The investigation began Oct. 30 after a local resident complained that his credit card number had been used without his authorization to order food from Fullerino's. Mazur and Deputy John Duyssen conducted the investigation.

The alleged credit card thefts date back to Aug. 18.

A house fire has been reported at 6544 Byron-Holley Road, Byron.

UPDATE (6:18 p.m.) The fire captain reports the fire is under control and engines are leaving the scene.

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A car is on fire after hitting a deer on Route 262 in the area of Byron-Bergen School.

UPDATE 11:12 p.m.: The car is described as fully involved.

Valene May Blackwell, 26, of 22 Tracy Ave. Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Blackwell is accused of shoplifting $35.91 in items from Kmart.

Ryan M. Bobzin, 21, of Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and driving a vehicle with a suspended registration. Bobzin was reportedly stopped by State Police on Route 237 in Byron on Monday at 10:45 a.m.

Jonathan A. Brenkus, 21, of Elba, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, aggravated unlicensed operation and driving in excess of 55 mph. Brenkus was reportedly stopped by State Police on Route 33 in Stafford Monday at 8:50 a.m.

A bomb threat was scrawled on a bathroom wall at Byron-Bergen High School today, and two youths have been charged with a felony as a result.

One student is 17 years old and the age of the second suspect was not released.*

Both are charged with falsely reporting an incident in the 2nd degree and conspiracy in the 5th degree.

The two students allegedly conspired in order to get out of school

The older suspect was jailed on $1,500 bail.

*NOTE: while the Sheriff's Office released the name of the first suspect, it is the policy of The Batavian not to identify possible Youthful Offenders who are not at least 18 years old, except for, in our sole discretion, serious crimes. In New York, defendants can be adjudicated a Youthful Offender through his or her 19th year. (We generally identify suspects at age 18 and 19.)

Reginald Jason Donahue, 34, of 6483 Townline Road, Byron, is charged with criminal contempt in the first degree and menacing in the third degree. Donahue is accused of entering the residence of his estranged wife, violating an order of protection. During a reported argument with her, he allegedly made a fist and threatened her.

Juan A. Ramos, 19, of Batavia, was arrested by State Police at 8170 Batavia-Stafford Townline Road, Batavia. Ramos is charged with trespass.

There was a rash of car break-ins over night in Elba and Byron and items stolen include long rifles, according to Deputy Brian Thompson.

Thompson is asking that anybody who saw or heard anything suspicious between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. to call the Sheriff's Office at 585-345-3000.

He said any residents who find that their cars were entered over night, no matter what was taken, should call.

"People will say, 'oh, it's just some spare change,' but we need to map where these break-ins took place," Thompson said.

The pattern of break-ins include Barre in Orleans County, Thompson said. He estimates the total number of cars reported so far at about 20.

All of them were left unlocked, including the cars that contained the guns.

"People are just not getting the message," Thompson said. "Every house we go to people say they didn't know we've been having car break-ins for the last year and a half. I just don't get it. You've been reporting it. The Daily's been reporting it. It's been on WBTA and on TV in Buffalo and Rochester. People don't understand that in today's drug-infested situation we're in, it happens everywhere, not just in the city."

Investigators are looking for possibly two suspects, Thompson said. Based on the description from people who heard the timing of car doors slamming and cars driving off, it appears there is a person on foot going into cars and another person driving a getaway car.

The South Byron Volunteer Fire Department has a new tanker that it hopes to have in service by January.

To meet that deadline, there will be intensive driver and operator training, according to Scott Blossom, who supplied the picture and information.

Tanker 87 was received by the department on Sunday. It was built by Crimson Fire, Inc. in Brandon, South Dakota. It's a 2009 Kenworth T370 Chassis with a five-man commercial cab.

It can pump 1,250 gallons per minute and has a 2,750-gallon water tank with a remote controlled tail pump. It will have 1,000 feet of 4-inch supply hose, one 3/4-inch attack hand line and two 1/2-inch heavy attack lines. 

The truck is capable of being a front-line engine.

It replaces a 1984 Ford tanker with a 500-gallon per-minute pump and 2,000 gallon tank.  That tanker is now up for sale.

UPDATE: I sent a follow up e-mail to Scott and asked about the price of the tanker.  Below is his response, which also clarifies some of the terminology.

Around $265,000

A few boo boos in the posting, I should have been clearer with firefighting terms. It is a tail dump, that is to say where the water dumps out of the truck into a portable tank for engines to suck water out of to fight fires. Used in areas without fire hydrants. The tankers bring water to the scene from ponds, streams, or the nearest hydrant.

The sizes of the attack lines are 1.75 inches and 2.5 inches, as we write them 1 3/4 and 2 1/2.

No biggee, my fault for not being clear.  When your used to talking a certain way, you forget to adjust your terms for those who are not in you line of work.

A driver reportedly lost control of her car, hit a house on Swamp Road and then left the scene of accident, according to a Sheriff's Office accident report.

She reportedly told Deputy Frank Bordonaro that after striking a tree and a house, a deer ran into her car.

Deborah S. Mayo, 43, of 7008 Swamp Road, Byron, is the reported driver. According to the report, she was not injured.

Mayo was charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to reduce speed for a curve and leaving the scene of an accident involving an animal.

According to the report, Mayo was driving in the area of 6657 Swamp Road at about 11:07 p.m..

The individuals involved in starting a bonfire that apparently ignited a fire in Byron on Sunday night will not face criminal charges, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster sent this e-mail:

District Attorney Friedman recommended no prosecution. He stated that the actions surrounding the fire's start are not criminal in nature.

Previously:

• Last night's Byron fire under investigation by Sheriff's Office
• Back unit of apartment house in Byron gutted by fire
• Apartment fire reported in Byron

We heard an investigator was 6296 W. Main St. (Route 262), Byron, the scene of last night fire, and so we e-mailed the Sheriff's Office for more information.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster sent the following reply:

The investigator assigned is currently back out at the scene. He will be consulting with the District Attorney's Office about possible charges later this afternoon. As far as arson, that will be one of several possibilities that will be discussed.