crime

A pair of road checks set up Friday night by Genesee County sheriff's deputies in Stafford and Bergen yielded 25 "uniform traffic tickets," the arrest of four illegal aliens, who were then given into the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol, and the following seven arrests:

• Wesley E. Baun, 51, of Bergen, was charged with driving while intoxicated.
• Steven P. Alvarez, 42, of Brockport, was charged with driving while intoxicated.
• James C. Whitcroft, 18, of Webster, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
• Adam T. Shipwash, 28, of Greece, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.
• Michael R. Cole, 27, of Elba, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Markel L. Hill, 19, of Medina, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Anthony F. Leonardo III, 27, of Spencerport, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Alan B. Costa, 64, of Rochester, was charged with driving while intoxicated, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawful possession of marijuana, deputies said. Costa was stopped by deputies early Saturday morning on Route 98 in Alexander. He was also ticketed with speeding, moving from the lane unsafely and refusal to submit to a breath screening device. Costa was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $1,000.

Batavia city police reported the arrest of Mary F. Hicks, of 35 Clinton St., Batavia, who was charged with driving while intoxicated after Hicks drove into the rear of another vehicle that was stopped in traffic.

All of the above arrests were reported in published releases from the departments.

All of the following calls were reported by the City of Batavia Police Department. Listed offenses do not imply that charges were filed. Calls may result in no official action.

Wednesday:

• 1:59am, 105 Washington Ave. (Apt: Side), trespass
• 5:35am, 96 Ross St., criminal mischief
• 6:40am, 64 Walnut St., criminal mischief
• 12:31pm, Main Street, accident
• 6:16pm, 141 Cedar St., trespass
• 11:10pm, 17 Walnut St. (Apt: Side), harassment

Thursday:

• 11:56am, 101 Bank St. (Apt: Lower), larceny
• 2:10pm, 505 E. Main St., accident
• 2:29pm, 136 W. Main St., accident
• 3:23pm, 17 Thorpe St., menacing
• 3:27pm, 419 W. Main St., fraud
• 9:39pm, 151 W. Main St., accident (car + pedestrian)

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• LeRoy village police have determined that the death of 41-year-old Glen Kanaley, whose body was found in Oatka Creek earlier this week, was accidental. They say that he likely fell from a railroad trestle. The autopsy performed in Monroe County showed that Kanaley died of massive internal injuries.
• It's true — the 1,200-pound "show steer" that escaped from the Genesee County Fairgrounds Monday is still on the lam. Dan Fischer relates the latest run-in with the elusive bovine: Last night, Dr. Cricket Johnson and about 50 others located the steer in some fields, popped it with a tranquilizer, but then lost it in some "thick growth." When it "resurfaced" later in the night, the tranquilizer had worn off. Fire crews even brought out heat-seeking search devices. But to no avail. We're told that it was last spotted hanging in an old railroad bed east of the fairgrounds. (I don't know about anybody else, but I find this the most interesting story I've tracked in the past two months. Many kudos to Dan Fischer for making it so much fun.)
• No cause has yet been determined in the fire that destroyed part of Cristina's Restaurant almost a week ago.

LeRoy police have identified the body discovered in Oatka Creek Wednesday afternoon as that of 41-year-old Glenn Kanaley, according to the Daily News. No cause of death has been determined, and the body has been taken to the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office where an autopsy will be performed.

LeRoy Police Chief Christopher Hayward dispelled rumors on television that the death was a suicide. "Nothing indicated he was suicidal," writes reporter Scott DeSmit.

In other news, the New York State School for the Blind opened its "Sensory Park" playground Wednesday. The park is designed to"stimulate senses (and) help students with motor skills" and includes an herb garden, slides and a swingset, pedal cars, go-carts and a "spongy carpet, which gets thicker under any areas where students are apt to fall."

The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park was approved for a $225,000 grant from the Batavia Town Board at its meeting last night.

Consolidation is under way as city police officers begin training on the new computer system they will share with the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Once the consolidation is complete — should be in September — there will no longer be a dispatcher in police headquarters. Instead, "the city will have a clerk on duty during day-time hours."

Investigation into the fire that scorched Cristina's Restaurant Saturday continues, though "the probe has shifted ... to interviewing people," writes Paul Mrozek. Cristina's owner Charles Brumsted has declined to comment to the Daily News and has not returned messages left by The Batavian.

Pick up your copy of the Daily News at local newsstands — such as Main Street Coffee. Or, better yet, subscribe online at BataviaNews.com.

All of the following calls were reported by the City of Batavia Police Department. Listed offenses do not imply that charges were filed. Calls may result in no official action.

Monday:

• 1:15am, 166 Vine St., trespass
• 7:56am, Oak Street, accident
• 9:22am, 278 Bank St., criminal mischief
• 10:38am, 16 Woodland Dr., larceny
• 12:50pm, 249 East Ave., criminal mischief
• 3:26pm, 577 E. Main St., harassment
• 4:25pm, 29 Liberty St., aggravated harassment
• 6:39pm, 13 Thorpe St., larceny
• 9:21pm, 8 S. Main St., harassment
• 9:40pm, 117 North St., accident
• 11:32pm, 238 Liberty St., trespass

Tuesday:

• 1:29am, Law Street, accident
• 4:20am, 20 Main St., larceny
• 10:13am, 260 State St., criminal mischief
• 12:50pm, 136 W. Main St., accident
• 1:35pm, 10 Olyn Ave., harassment
• 1:56pm, 217 North St., harassment
• 4:47pm, W. Main Street, accident
• 5:11pm, 107 Elm St., fraud
• 6:36pm, 416 E. Main St., harassment
• 7:33pm, Jefferson Avenue, harassment
• 7:53pm, 114 Liberty St., larceny
• 9:23pm, 7 Central Ave., robbery

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

All of the following calls were reported by the City of Batavia Police Department. Listed offenses do not imply that charges were filed. Calls may result in no official action.

Friday:

• 12:15am, 112 East Ave., assault
• 2:20am, 208 Swan St., aggravated harassment
• 12:29pm, Richmond Avenue, accident
• 12:33pm, E. Main Street, accident
• 2:44pm, Washington Avenue, accident
• 5:20pm, 216 Ellicott St. (Apt: Rear), harassment
• 7:46pm, 8 Manhattan Ave., fraud
• 10:37pm, 39 Ellicott St., fire

Saturday:

• 1:42am, Ellicott Street, accident
• 5:40am, 419 W. Main St., menacing
• 9:10am, 1 Mill St., accident (auto + pedestrian)
• 9:57am, 5 Thomas Ave., larceny
• 10:26am, 1 State St. (Apt: 107), larceny
• 2:05pm, 60 Roosevelt Ave., fraud
• 6:17pm, 8315 Park Road, larceny
• 8:16pm, 8351 Lewiston Road, child abuse
• 9:28pm, 2 Goade Park, harassment
• 11:37pm, 413 W. Main St., criminal mischief

Sunday:

• 3:45am, 505 E. Main St., criminal mischief
• 10:49am, 127 North St., trespass
• 1:17pm, 119 1/2 State St., criminal contempt
• 5:25pm, Watson Street, accident

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Batavia city police report two arrests over the weekend.

Justine D. McWethy, 21, of 4011 Pearl St., Batavia, was charged with driving while intoxicated early Saturday morning. McWethy was stopped by police after she allegedly drove through the police barricades set up at the fire at Cristina's Restaurant.

That same morning, 19-year-old Jushua D. Quaintance, of Byron, was pursued by police following a complaint of menacing. He was pulled over on W. Main Street in Batavia and charged with driving while intoxicated.

Batavia city police report one arrest for Thursday: Andrea M. Gray, 30, of 19 Porter Ave., Batavia, was charged with second-degree criminal trespass. Police were told that Gray entered a residence on Vine Street and refused to leave.

Blotter

Thursday:

• 9:14am, 110 Summit St., criminal contempt
• 9:39am, 100 Ross St., criminal mischief
• 12:08pm, Genesee County Mall, accident
• 1:36pm, 390 W. Main St., accident
• 2:50pm, 341 W. Main St., fraud
• 5:02pm, 12 Ellicott St., harassment
• 8:31pm, 4152 W. Main St., accident

Friday:

• 12:21pm, 166 Vine St., criminal mischief
• 12:23pm, 215 Summit St., accident
• 12:29pm, W. Main Street, accident (car + bike)
• 12:53pm, W. Main Street, accident (car + pedestrian)
• 1:53pm, 6 Ellicott Place, larceny
• 4:02pm, 412 E. Main St., larceny
• 5:03pm, 135 Hutchins St., larceny
• 5:30pm, Porter Avenue, larceny
• 6:08pm, 510 Ellicott St., larceny
• 6:55pm, 10 W. Main St., harassment
• 9:11pm, 5 Porter Ave., trespass
• 9:38pm, 419 E. Main St., harassment

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

• Nineteen-year-old Anthony S. Molaro, of Alabama, faces several felony charges following an investigation into an incident that occurred on June 28, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies were told that Molaro violated an order of protection by allegedly locking a person in a car and forcing conversation by threats. Molaro was charged with first-degree criminal contempt, first-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree coercion.
• Genesee County sheriff's deputies reported several arrests made at the Motley Crew concert at Darien Lake last night. Three men were charged with second-degree harassment, and all three were accused of punching or otherwise attacking security officers at the concert. They were: Andrew D. Bolya, 26, of Franklinville; Joseph J. Manners, 23, of Kenmore; and Brian M. Slater, 35, of Syracuse. Bolya, 26, of Franklinville, was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
• Amber L. Knapp, 22, of Oakfield was charged with second-degree criminal contempt, second-degree criminal trespass and petit larceny yesterday afternoon, city police said. Knapp was accused of entering and taking something from a Summit Street residence in Batavia that she had been barred from entering per a court order.

Note: All of the above arrests were reported in published releases from the departments.

What's going on in today's Daily News? Let's take a look...

A former Orleans County resident, who is considered a "person of interest" in the shooting death of Oakfield man William Fickel in 2005, was jailed in West Virginia a couple weeks ago. James M. Nichols, 55, was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for possessing firearms that he should not have had since he's a convicted felon. While the charges do not relate to the murder, they were discovered as a result of its investigation. Read the article by Scott DeSmit for the full details of Fickel's unsolved homicide and the $100,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Reporter Tom Rivers takes a look at some changes in store for the poorly attended Genesee County Fair. Fair organizers hope the changes will bring in more bodies. Genesee has had the second poorest attendance out of eight upstate counties over the past several years, second only to Livingston. Changes this year will include:

• Charging admission by the carload rather than per person: $5.
• Offering an "Everything Pass" for $12 that gets you admission, rides and events.

In addition to the typical fair events, folks should expect live music daily and fireworks Friday and Saturday. The fair opens Tuesday and runs through Sunday.

A public hearing in Oakfield tonight will be the first to get input into a potential merger of the courts in Oakfield, Elba and Batavia.

A story in today's local section about a Genesee Community College $4 million capital project was featured in the WBTA news roundup on The Batavian this morning.

God's Helping Hands and Project Hope are looking for more volunteers for another neighborhood cleanup that runs from 10:00am to 1:00pm Saturday on South Spruce, Prune and Jerome Streets. Call (585) 344-2997 to join up.

Nothing local in sports news today.

Monday:

• 2:40am, Oak Street, accident
• 11:51am, 7 Lewis Place, criminal mischief
• 3:51pm, 8351 Lewiston Road, accident
• 5:21pm, 38 Columbia Ave., trespass
• 5:33pm, Vine Street, accident
• 6:54pm, 114 Liberty St., trespass

Tuesday:

• 8:54am, 18 Sumner St., larceny
• 2:14pm, 10 W. Main St., rape
• 3:32pm, 679 E. Main St. (Apt: 4B), burglary
• 3:21pm, 10 Jefferson Square, forgery
• 3:37pm, 16 River St., accident
• 7:23pm, 210 E. Main St., accident
• 8:25pm, Oak Street, accident
• 8:32pm, Clinton Street, accident

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Wednesday:

• 1:44am, 5 School St., trespass
• 12:09pm, 151 W. Main St., accident
• 3:17pm, 117 1/2 Liberty St., larceny
• 3:24pm, 20 Main St., accident
• 3:35pm, Ellicott Street, accident
• 3:44pm, S. Main Street, accident
• 4:55pm, 37 Walnut St. (Apt: Lower), assault
• 7:13pm, 522 E. Main St., accident
• 8:17pm, 17 Pickthorn Dr., harassment
• 9:17pm, 102 State St., larceny

Thursday:

• 8:20am, 127 North St., accident
• 9:29am, Ellicott Street, fraud
• 1:19pm, 209 Liberty St., larceny
• 1:59pm, 408 E. Main St., forgery
• 2:11pm, 55 Tracy Ave., endangering the welfare of a child
• 4:13pm, 408 E. Main St., fraud
• 5:53pm, 307 Washington Ave. (Apt: Upper), larceny
• 8:51pm, 115 Bank St., trespass
• 9:02pm, 670 E. Main St., accident
• 9:21pm, 69 Oak St., larceny

Friday:

• 1:53am, 162 Walnut St., trespass
• 11:08am, 11 Ross St., accident
• 11:43pm, 17 Holland Ave. (Apt: Lower), harassment

Saturday:

• 12:23pm, 121 Liberty St., criminal contempt
• 1:03pm, 5 Spencer Court, accident
• 5:28pm, 300 Ellicott St., accident
• 6:38pm, 38 Columbia Ave., harassment

Sunday:

• 11:51am, 201 Ross St., larcent
• 3:07pm, 10 Columbia Ave., burglary
• 3:24pm, 413 W. Main St., harassment
• 11:06pm, 5 Thomas Ave. (Apt: 2), larceny

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

• Timothy E. Talmon, 48, of Darien Center, was charged with driving while intoxicated following a traffic stop on Route 77 in Corfu Wednesday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said.
• George Lee Williams, 28, was charged with failure to register as a sex offender, a class-D felony, sheriff's deputies said. Williams, who is listed as a transient with no known home address, was picked up by deputies Wednesday on Upton Road following reports that Williams had been trespassing. He was also charged with second-degree criminal trespass and false personation. Williams was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
• Alfred C. Gray, 22, of Batavia, was charged with a felony count of first-degree criminal contempt, second-degree unlawful imprisonment and two counts second-degree harassment following reports that he was in an alleged physical confrontation Thursday with a female acquaintance who had an order of protection, city police said.
• Eighteen-year-old Brittany Y. Myers, of Rochester, was charged with a felony count of second-degree assault Thursday, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. An investigation into an incident on June 15 led to deputies to suspect that Myers struck another female in the head with a glass liquor bottle during a fight at a party in Alexander that night. The victim had to be taken to the hospital where she received "numerous" stitches.
• Mitchell K. Milroy, 22, of Pavilion, was charged with a felony count of first-degree attempted sexual abuse Thursday, sheriff's deputies said. Milroy was accused of allegedly attempting to touch a female while she was sleeping.
• Charles E. Dodson Jr., 53, of Byron, was charged with driving while intoxicated in addition to a felony count of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operator Friday, city police said. Dodson Jr. had previously had his license suspended due to a DWI conviction.
• Rebecca J. Sando, 43, of Byron, was charged with a felony count of second-degree identity theft Friday, sheriff's deputies said. Sando was accused of using her sister-in-law's bank card in April to make online purchases that exceeded $550.
• Twenty-five-year-old Renee K. Wapniewski, of 17 Pringle Ave., Batavia, was charged with second-degree criminal contempt Friday, city police said. Wapniewski had allegedly violted a stay away order of protection.
• Twelve youths were found at the Kelsey Road Pits early Sunday morning and charged with possession of alcohol with intent to consume, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies responded to the scene of the "underage drinking party" following reports that a 15-year-old boy had fell into the fire burning his hands.
• Michelle F. Wimble, 26, of Corfu, was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs and endangering the welfare of a child Sunday following a traffic stop on Route 5 in Batavia, sheriff's deputies said. A motorist told deputies that Wimble was driving erratically with her three-year-old child in the vehicle.
• Timothy J. Slotta, 31, of South Carolina, was charged with driving while intoxicated in addition to a felony county of first-degree aggravated unlicensed operator early Sunday morning following a traffic stop in the village of Corfu, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Deputies found that Slotta had three other suspensions on his state driving privileges, one of which pertained to an alcohol-related charge. Slotta was sent to Genesee County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Note: All of rhe above arrests were reported in published releases from the departments.

Tuesday:

• 7:59am, Ellicott Avenue, accident
• 8:52am, 20 Main St., accident
• 1:43pm, Cedar Street, trespass
• 2:55pm, Ellicot Street, accident
• 4:01pm, 45 Ellicott St., accident
• 4:20pm, W. Main Street, accident
• 11:57pm, 105 Washington Ave., harassment

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Michael J. Robbins, 49, of 20 Thorpe St., Batavia, was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs or alcohol late last night following a traffic stop on Stegmann Road in the town, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Robbins was also ticketed with consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle and unlicensed operator.

Batvia City Police reported today that Michael J. Fitch, 21, of Wyoming, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument early Monday morning. Fitch was found in a vehicle reported stolen by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, parked on Seneca Avenue, and he was allegedly in possession of cocaine and syringes. He was turned over to sheriff's deputies.

Monday:

• 11:26am, 30 Buell St., criminal mischief
• 12:33pm, 34 Swan St., accident
• 2:33pm, 8351 Lewiston Road, larceny
• 3:11pm, 3 McKinley Ave., criminal contempt
• 8:39pm, 700 Ellicott St., harassment

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Every morning I get online and go mining for news, mostly Batavia news, because thats why I'm here: to inform Batavians. I plug in keywords in search fields. I read through the news briefs at WBTA's timely-kept Web site. I scan the digital newspapers in the area for anything (geographically) of interest to our readers here in Batavia and, more and more, around other parts of Genesee County as well. Nevertheless, some days, no matter how many information wells I plumb, no news comes up.

That being said, Monday's are almost always a guarantee for news. Something had to happen over the weekend. Someone must have done something worthy of that half-inch bold font headline. A party somewhere must have gone wrong, and now someone — or a few someones are cooling it in the clink.

Today, that wasn't the case. We heard from the county sheriff's deputies and the city police, but they were all about alcohol busts over the weekend. Whether that meant selling it to people who shouldn't have it or driving after drinking too much of it, that was all they reported about the weekend — to us, anyway.

So it got me thinking. What makes the news?

Well, without turning this into a debate about how we the media need to focus more on positive, happy, make-you-feel-good news — because there really is plenty of that; it just doesn't make the front pages all the time and more often than not isn't written well so isn't worth reading — the news I find in my morning searches will fall pretty cleanly into one of a few categories: bad news (car crashes, crime, high profile death), news released by Genesee Community College, finance or sports. But there wasn't much of any of it this morning.

So when Batavia's downtown business director Don Burkel walked into Main Street Coffee this morning and asked me what the scoop was, I told him: no scoop. I told him I searched and searched and couldn't come up with anything. What happened over the weekend, I asked him. Didn't stuff happen? Wasn't there news?

For sure, he said. Good news.

Batavia's Public Market opened for the season Saturday morning. Despite the weather threats of hail storms and the like, the market was a raving success. Folks came out to buy from vendors who were eager to sell their wares. And I can understand his elation. Public markets make me feel the same way, and it isn't even my job to get excited about downtown business. Public markets have seen a real resurgence in the past decade or so. For good reason. They're an intersection of culture and finance that harken back to the Greek agora, the public gathering place where everything happened. Whenever I get the chance to visit the market in Rochester, I get giddy. They've got good cheap eats. Fresh produce. You can typically hear at least three languages spoken. And somehow the otherwise avaricious act of purchasing for a small moment in time turns cultural. Unlike, say, big box retail shops, that mostly smell of plastic and make me feel more neurotic than usual and sometimes even hostile towards my people.

So there was that. But also...

Jackson Square hosted its second Friday night concert of the season. The Ghostriders played, the square filled, people danced. And the whole evening seemed a foreshadowing of the weekend to come — Ramble Music and Arts Fest.

Downtown was good cheer, straight up and down, this weekend. And Don told me all about it with a beaming smile. Because it really was a good weekend for Batavia. And that was the news. Summer arrived, and Batavians got out and took advantage. They stayed close to home, and close to home proved worthy of sticking around for.

All this to say, sometimes good news is exactly that and deserves its place in the cycle of crime, death, finance, sports. Not that all good news is real news. I bought a pair of sneakers recently, and they're comfortable, and that's good news for me. But I doubt anyone else would care, and they shouldn't.

There are so many ways a community gets out and acts like one, and when it does it so blatantly and in a way that blots out the bad that gets the front page most every other day, it's worthy of shining a light on.

So, if you've got a keyboard and an Internet connection, and you know that your town, village, city, neighborhood, hamlet got out and manufactured some good news that just doesn't seem to get the credit it deserves — blog about it. Write a post. Write it in a way that you think is interesting. Put yourself in the story. We're not journalism teachers. We won't call you out for that. Just tell the story. Because sometimes the news cycle lets us down, and we could all do with a good story told well of folks doing good things.

Friday:

• 4:44am, 500 E. Main St., criminal mischief
• 3:25pm, 565 E. Main St., accident
• 4:46pm, 627 E. Main St., criminal mischief
• 5:46pm, 413 W. Main St., larceny
• 6:48pm, Walnut Street, harassment

Saturday:

• 3:55am, 11 Wood St., larceny
• 10:11am, 200 Oak St., larceny
• 12:54pm, 125 Liberty St., criminal mischief
• 2:37pm, W. Main Street, accident
• 6:34pm, 21 Holland Ave., harassment
• 6:49pm, 2 Olyn Ave., harassmemt

Sunday:

• 8:32am, 639 E. Main St., larceny
• 10:01am, Ellicott Street, accident
• 10:53am, Cedar Street, criminal mischief
• 12:42pm, 23 Birchwood Dr., accident
• 3:32pm, Ellicott and Liberty streets, accident
• 9:28pm, 17 Holland Ave., criminal mischief

Note: We don't include noise complaints, domestic disputes and routine police business.

Batavia police conducted what they call "a compliance check" Friday night in the city to see if alcohol was being sold to minors. Seventeen stores were visited by underage youths working with the police. Three were in violation.

• Laura A. Smith, 49, at CVS on West Main Street.
• Rachel Chaddock, 19, at Southside Deli on Ellicott Street.
• Tsige Tamirat, 46, at the M & T Express on West Main Street.

Summons were issued to the individuals for violating the Alcohol and Beverage Control Act that addresses the prohibited sale of alcohol to persons under 21 years of age. The compliance check was funded by the Genesee Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse.