batavia

More than 100 gun rights advocates turned out this morning in 20-degree whether at the NYSP barracks on West Saile Drive to protest the SAFE Act.

As expected, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was the target of the protest signs and the speakers' rhetoric, but as it turned out, Cuomo gave the protesters a little extra ammunition when, during a radio interview yesterday, the first-term governor said, “If they are extreme conservatives, they have no place in the State of New York."

More than one speaker mentioned Cuomo's statement and suggested that perhaps it's Cuomo who should leave New York and is the one out of step with the majority of New Yorkers.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley also took Cuomo to task for his statement.

“The governor’s comments about my constituents are offensive and are a Freudian slip, which reveals what he truly thinks of Upstate New Yorkers. He has no right to come to Upstate New York and call himself governor when he has such obvious disdain for its people,” Hawley said. “The majority of Upstate New Yorkers are pro-Second Amendment and believe in traditional family values.

"If the governor does not think the good people of Upstate New York have a place in New York, he seems to be doing a good job of driving our families out of the state with his highest-in-the-nation taxes and infringements on our rights.”

Cuomo's apparent lack of fondness for the people of Upstate New York is yet another reason, Hawley said, for supporting his call for a voter referendum on dividing New York into two states.

For more on Cuomo's statement, see this Buffalo News article.

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A robbery just occurred at Five Star Bank at 390 W. Main St. in the city. Police are out in full force looking for a maroon van with tinted windows and possibly a Florida license plate. The vehicle is driven by an alleged accomplice. The robber is described as 6'2'' wearing black pants, a scarf, a black stocking over his face, eyeglasses and a dark jacket. No weapon was displayed. The vehicle is said to be headed toward Alexander...The police have stopped it on southbound Route 98. Attica has been notified.

UPDATE 11:38 a.m.: Both suspects are outside the vehicle being taken into custody.

They say you can’t teach size, and that was evident as Greece Arcadia out-muscled Batavia en route to a 61-56 win in Monroe County League play.

The Blue Devils got off to a slow start in the first quarter, as the Titans imposed their will inside and raced out to a 20-7 lead after the first frame.

“[Arcadia] is a physically tough team,” said Batavia Head Coach Buddy Brasky. “They’re the most talented team in the division. But, I was disappointed with our lack of toughness to start. We’re not big, we’re not strong, but we’re usually pretty scrappy. For some reason we didn’t bring that toughness to start the first quarter.”

Batavia scrapped their way back throughout the game, cutting the lead to as few as six in the second half after switching defenses and getting back-to-back three-pointers from Jerrett Laskett.

“I thought their size was hurting us in man-to-man,” Brasky said. “We switch on screens and we got some bad mismatches. We were hoping that the zone would get them a little more stationary. I thought it worked well, it helped get us back in the game.”

The leading scorers for the Blue Devils, Jeff Redband and Justice Fagan, struggled to find room to breathe all night and were smothered by the Arcadia defense.

Laskett stepped up in the second half while the defense was keyed in on Redband and Fagan. The junior reserve knocked down three three-point field goals in the second half and finished with 14 points.

“Everybody is taking Redband and Justice out of the game,” Brasky said. “Until someone else starts scoring consistently, it’s going to be difficult to be good teams. The tough thing is, the guys we’re asking to score are young guys.”

The Blue Devils, however, struggled all night to find an answer for Arcadia’s big men.

6-foot-6 senior Josh McFarland dominated inside all night, scoring 15 points, pulling 18 rebounds, blocking two shots and making two steals.

Jimmie Eddington, a 6-foot-5 senior, chipped in 14 points and grabbed five rebounds for Arcadia (7-4).

Fagan finished with a team-high 15 points, while Redband chipped in with 14, and Malachi Chenault added 11 points and eight rebounds for Batavia (7-4).

Top Photo: Jeff Redband attracted a crowd everywhere he went last night. A foul was called on the defense.

Photos by Howard Owens.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Jeff Redband, again in a sea of maroon jerseys.

Jerrett Laskett driving for the basket.

Greg Mruczek awaits a rebound opportunity during a free-throw attempt.

Jerrett Laskett scores on a layup in the fourth quarter.

Kiyonta M. Moffett, 23, of Buffalo, is charged with false personation, 2nd, aggravated unlicensed operation and operating with one headlamp; Lillie B. Owens, 21, of Erie, Pa., is charged criminal impersonation, 2nd, and was also arrested on a warrant out of Amherst. Moffett's car was stopped on Route 63, Batavia, by a state trooper for a broken headlight. When the trooper approached, allegedly the driver did not produce a license. The driver allegedly gave a name that later turned out to be false. It turned out, the name given was for a person with a petit larceny warrant out of Cheektowaga. Owens was reportedly a passenger in the vehicle and also allegedly gave a false name when asked to identify herself. Moffett was jailed on $750, and bail was set at $250 for Owens.

Arthur Mack Osborne, 47, of Park Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Osborne is accused of contacting a person protected by court order. Osborne was reportedly attempting to leave New York for Florida at the time he was located by Deputy Brian Thompson. He was jailed on $2,000 bail.

Sara Elizabeth Schimley, 24, of Weaver Street, Buffalo, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Schimley was taken into custody on a warrant out of Le Roy Town Court.

Robert Darnell Wright, 22, of East Tupper, Buffalo, was arrested on a warrant for alleged failure to pay fine imposed by court. Wright was arrested at the time of his release from Monroe County Jail, where he was held on an unrelated matter. Wright was arraigned in Genesee County Court and released upon his promise to make his monthly payments.

A 29-year-old man who broke into the apartment of a woman in Le Roy and raped her at knifepoint has been sent to prison for 18 years by Judge Robert C. Noonan.

Charles D. Johnson, 29, of 82 Gilbert St., Building #14, Apt. #6, Le Roy, will also be required to have 25 years of post-release supervision.

Johnson entered a guilty plea Nov. 26 in an agreement with prosecutors that he serve no more than 18 years in prison.  The minimum sentence available to Noonan, which he rejected, was eight years.

Johnson was indicted on counts of predatory sexual abuse, a Class A-II violent felony, burglary in the first degree, a Class B violent felony, and criminal possession of a weapon, a Class D felony.

He entered a guilty plea to a Class B violent felony. If convicted at trial, he would have faced 10 to 25 years in prison.

Johnson was identified as the suspect through DNA evidence, leading to his quick arrest following the May 9 rape.

Also in Genesee County Court today: Michael A. Nicometo, 28, of 45 North St., Le Roy, who was scheduled for sentencing this morning on his conviction for burglary, 3rd. Nicometo was involved in the heist of high-voltage copper wire from industrial buildings in Le Roy. Nicometo missed his appearance time today and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In the afternoon, he voluntarily appeared in court and his sentencing has been rescheduled for 11:45 a.m., Monday. Earlier this month, Nicometo missed his scheduled sentencing appearance because he was reportedly hospitalized in Rochester. Police arrested Nicometo in March following an investigation into the theft of high-voltage wire from industrial complexes in the Le Roy area. He and an alleged accomplice were later accused of doing $32,000 in damage to the Dolomite facility in Le Roy.

Yesterday in County Court, Shane M. Bell, 47, of 161 Jackson St., Batavia., charged with assault in the 2nd degree for allegedly hitting a man outside the Harvester bar on Harvester Avenue, was scheduled for a plea cut-off hearing. The plea cut-off date was extended to Jan. 23. If Bell and his attorney are unable to reach a plea agreement with the District Attorney's Office by that date, he will go to trial April 21.

The bad guys have surveillance cameras. Why shouldn't the guys in white hats have them, too?

Rob Yaeger, Batavia PD's assistant chief, said during an interview today that seeing surveillance cameras on the homes of known troublemakers is an increasing trend.

"Usually it's the houses we have to go to repeatedly, they have the cameras," Yaeger said. "They want to know who's coming to their door."

As part of the 2014-15 city budget, Batavia PD is requesting $7,500 for a surveillance camera.

Based on initial reactions from the public, Chief Shawn Heubusch thinks there are misconceptions about its purpose and how it will be used.

First, it won't be a stationary camera. It will be portable so it can be set up in anticipated trouble spots and moved around as needed.

Second, its video feed won't be monitored 24/7.

"I just don't want the general public to get the idea that it's Big Brother watching them because we don't really have the need to do that, nor we do we want to," Heubusch said.

Cameras have been successfully used to deter crime in Binghamton and Hornell, Heubusch said.

While those cameras are stationary, "they've seen a very dramatic decrease in crime where cameras are installed," Heubusch said.

The chief said he understand some of the concerns some people have expressed about surveillance cameras, but he believes in certain neighborhoods at certain times, they can be helpful in fighting crime.

"I certainly wouldn't want one out in front of my house, but if I lived on a bad block, I might want one in front of my house," Heubusch said.

Of course, surveillance camera technology these days has gotten so good and so inexpensive, that just about anybody -- including criminals -- can set up cameras outside their homes.

It's not a bad idea for people interested in protecting their property or their neighborhood to install their own cameras, Heubusch said.

"I would encourage anybody, if they can afford it, to install a video surveillance system just around their house, around their property, because property crime is always there," Heubusch said. "Unfortunately it will always be with us."

That said, in response to a comment on The Batavian, Heubusch said, it's still up to Batavia PD to take advantage of technology to help fight crime. The police can't rely solely on private citizens installing cameras. For one thing, the chain of evidence rules might make it harder for such video evidence to be admissible, especially if the resident demands anonymity.

It's also just better for police to conduct their own operations.

"It's our property," Heubusch said. "We're the ones in charge of keeping the safety and security of the residents of the city. I'm not going to depend on somebody else to put a video surveillance system on a troubled property. I'll do that myself. That's my job."

Still, in today's society -- not just in Batavia -- crime is always a public worry, and if residents want to take on themselves the installation of cameras in their neighborhoods, that's not a bad thing, Heubusch said.

"We do everything we can to stay on top of it (crime), but we'll take all the help we can get, so if somebody wants to install a camera system at their house, by God, bring it on."

One of the keys to what officials are calling a neighborhood sweep program in Batavia is to give law-abiding residents a safe outlet for sharing with cops what they're seeing on their blocks.

While explaining further the program to The Batavian today, Batavia PD Chief Shawn Heubusch and Assistant Chief Rob Yaeger, used the example of "Granny Smith" and how she'll benefit from the program and interact with police.

"She's going to have a police officer come up to her door and talk to her, because, you know, Granny Smith is probably the lady that says, 'I don't want to bother the cops. They've got so much better things to worry about,' " Yaeger said. "Or she's going to be one of those says, 'if I say anything, they (the criminals) are going to know it's me.' We're going to talk to everybody on the street so nobody can be singled out so somebody can say, 'that's the one who said something.' "

Contrary to previous reports, Heubusch said, the police aren't coming in and locking down a neighborhood for two or three hours. People will be able to come and go -- maybe not without being asked to show an ID -- and the sweeps will be over quickly.

"That's one of the keys to this -- giving people the outlet to come and talk to us," Heubusch said. "Like Rob said, there are people won't call us because they don't want to bother us, or they won't call us because they're concerned about what might happen to them. Well, if you've got a whole neighborhood willing to make that connection right there, in person, face to face, without any fear of retribution, that's going to embolden or empower people to come forward with more information in the future."

The timing for the program, perhaps, couldn't be better, the city's two top cops said.

In recent months there've been reports of shots fired on State Street and on Jackson Street, an armed robbery on Jackson, armed robberies of local hotels and an alleged burglar picked up this week off Park Avenue while carrying a loaded handgun.

The gun play is getting worse and worse and worse," Yaeger said. "We need to stop this and clean it up now."

The program is inspired by a series of neighborhood sweeps instituted in Buffalo. Law enforcement and municipal leaders there have met with Batavia officials and are providing ongoing consulting.  The sweeps have been very, very successful in Buffalo, Yaeger said.

"The chief in Buffalo told me, 'if we had started this program 20 years ago, we wouldn't be having the problems we have now,' " Yaeger said. "It's been very, very successful for them and the citizens absolutely love it."

It's been so successful and so well received in Buffalo, Yaeger said, local residents should wait to see it implemented in Batavia before passing judgment.

"In Buffalo, the neighborhoods love it," Yaeger said. "The block clubs love it. You'll see, once it's been tried here, the neighborhood will love it. There will be positive reviews."

The sweeps won't just include police officers. There will also be code enforcement officers, parole and probation officers, animal control officers and representatives of other government agencies. 

"It's going to be like one of those national night out events where everybody comes out for a meet and greet," Yaeger said. "They're going to get to know the cops, get some of their issues addressed -- 'I don't know who to call, who can help.' It's not like we're showing up in SWAT gear saying, 'OK, who are you hiding in there?' Nothing like that. It's going to be positive."

Neighborhoods selected for sweeps will be chosen based on data -- increased numbers of calls for service, more reports of criminal activity and perhaps one particular house known to be a cause of trouble or specific individuals in a neighborhood police believe will be causing problems.

In most cases, in fact, police might have one or two or three known troublemakers they hope to locate in a particular neighborhood, which is why a street might be closed to vehicle traffic, making it harder for targeted individuals to slip out without detection.

The sweeps will be completely unannounced for that reason, as well.

Heubusch agreed with City Manager Jason Molino who said part of the goal is for law enforcement to be a nuisance for those who are being a nuisance.

"That's one of the things that is often over looked in policy today," Heubusch said. "Because we're often inundated with calls, officers are often tied up on other things, so to go out and do that proactive police work where you're just bothering the people who are bothering us is tough to do sometimes. So you put together details like this and it gives our officers the opportunity to be a bit of a nuisance for the people who are being a nuisance."

For civil libertarians, Heubusch said the police officers will obey the law and department regulations, which means a person can't be forced to provide identification or detained without probable cause. 

Of course, police officers can pretty much tell when somebody is refusing to provide identification on principal compared to the guy who won't provide identification because he has something to hide, and will react -- within the limits of the law -- accordingly.

The sweeps themselves, it's not a hostile takeover of a neighborhood," Heubusch said. "We're not going to be shutting Granny Smith in her house so she can't go get her medication or go see her granddaughter in a play or anything like that. It's going to be targeted enforcement in specific areas to try and squash the criminal activity."

A large fight is reported near the Batavia Youth Center, located at 12 MacArthur Drive. City police responded promptly but found the parties had left the scene.

Press release:

A contractor will be making repairs on a private waterline on Bank Street near Ross Street on Thursday, Jan. 16th. This work may require the City water main to be shut down to complete these repairs. If a service interruption is required it will impact water service on Bank Street (between Chandler Avenue and Vine Street) and Ross Street (between Bank Street and North Street). Water service would be shut down after 9 a.m. until repairs are completed which may last several hours. This work may result in a period of discolored water in this general area after service is restored. Residents should check to make sure water clarity has returned before resuming activities such as laundry which may be impacted.

Angela Irene, 44, of South Grand Road, Medina, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. Irene was arrested as a result of reports on The Batavian and OrleansHub of a purse being stolen from a shopping cart in the parking lot of the Batavia Walmart and a gift card subsequently being used to purchase a cake at the Walmart in Albion. As a result of the publication of the surveillance photo from the Albion Walmart, the suspect turned herself in to local law enforcement. The Sheriff's Office also received numerous phone calls identifying the suspect. The case was handled by Investigator Kristopher Kautz and Deputy James Diehl.

Jillian E. Dibble, of Akron, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Dibble was stopped at 7:50 a.m. Sunday on Route 77 at Reynolds Road, Darien, by State Police.

Alexander E. Dills, 23, of Stafford, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, possession of a hypodermic instrument, unlawful possession of marijuana, criminal possession of a weapon, 4th, and aggravated unlicensed operation. Dills was arrested by State Police at 8:55 a.m. Saturday. No further details released.

Darrnell J. Barnes, 51, of Alabama, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Barnes was stopped at 7:42 p.m. Saturday on Alleghany Road in Alabama by State Police.

It took local law enforcement less than an hour today to respond to a reported burglary in progress at 28 Park Ave., Batavia, and take two suspects into custody.

The first, who was allegedly armed, was captured almost immediately about 100 yards from the residence.

The second suspect was the subject of a manhunt that involved officers from Batavia PD, the Sheriff's Office, State Police, a K-9 and a helicopter. It lasted about 45 minutes.

"We had the State Police helicopter up in the air quickly," said Chief Shawn Heubusch, Batavia PD. "We had the benefit of decent weather. We had several reports from residents in the area. Our officers responded very quickly. They set up a perimeter very quickly. Everybody did what they were supposed to do. That was the crucial element, to be able to bring all of those resources together in such a short amount of time."

It was a neighbor who reported the possible burglary. The witness saw two men knock on the door of 28 Park Ave. About 10 minutes later, the neighbor heard a loud noise coming from the residence.

Dispatchers received the report of the possible burglary at 11:28 a.m.

When police arrived, two men were seen running from the house. One headed east, the other west.

"It doesn't appear anything was taken," Det. Rich Schauf said. "There is evidence they were well into the house and, for whatever reason, they left in a hurry and were seen running from the house. The assumption is they saw that there were police in the area."

Arrested almost immediately was Nathaniel Davis, 18, address unconfirmed. Davis was allegedly found in possession of a loaded handgun at the time of his arrest.

"There was an attempt to tase him, but because he had thick clothing on, the initial tase did not work," Schauf said. "There might have been, I'm not sure if there was, a positive tasing at some point, and then (he) did finally fall to the ground."

With a perimeter established, Schauf said commanders on scene were pretty confident the second suspect hadn't gone far.

St. Paul's School, a private school on Washington Avenue, heard of the law enforcement activity in the area and went on lockdown. Schauf said both because of the fast-moving situation and because officers were confident that the second suspect was contained to a four-block area, other Batavia schools were not contacted about a possible lockdown.

"We weren't at a stage where we were in a planning mode," Schauf said. "That would have happened very shortly if this had continued on, but because it was fluid and all our resources were tied up in the pursuit, there wasn't time at that point to make a decision."

During the search, there were neighbors coming and going and residents coming outside to see what was going on.

Schauf said residents, as they appeared, were being instructed to stay inside, but if they saw anything, to call dispatchers.

Drivers were asked to keep moving along.

"You've also got to be aware that in this day and age of cell phones, this person could be trying to contact somebody to try and get him," Schauf said. "So we're trying to be aware of who's around that area."

The first order of business is safety, Schauf said, both for residents and for officers, but the PD was also confident they had the suspect pretty much trapped within the perimeter.

"That's why we are able to keep searching," Schauf said. "It was a needle in a haystack, so to speak, but we also knew there was a good chance the person couldn't get out of that perimeter, so we were pretty confident we could just keep searching."

At the start of the search, Deputy Brian Thompson -- on a well-deserved day off after being involved in a life-threatening situation where a suspect dragged him with his car before two truck drivers intervened -- was at the County Highway Department washing his patrol vehicle when he heard the call. Thompson had his K-9 Pharoah, not yet retired, with him and his gear.

"He thought his dog might be of service and absolutely he was," said Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster, adding that a K-9 officer is always ready for the call of duty.

It was Pharoah, whom Thompson has always praised for his tracking ability, who located the second suspect and chased him to the back yard of 48 Ellicott Ave.

"He continued to flee with the dog chasing him," Schauf said. "He went as far as he could go before giving himself up."

The suspect, 23-year-old Akeem Simmons, suffered a leg injury at some point during the incident, probably while running, but at this point, investigators aren't sure. He was transported from Batavia PD headquarters to UMMC by Mercy EMS, where he was treated. He was seen later at the police station with a leg brace boot on his right leg.

No weapon was found on Simmons, and a K-9 from the State Police barracks in East Aurora that is trained in weapons detection was brought in to sniff the path Simmons is believed to have followed and no weapon was located.

Investigators did find a discarded black hoodie.

The initial description of the two suspects was that they were wearing black hoodies. When Simmons was arrested, he was wearing a red hoodie.

"An obvious tactic is to change what you're wearing," Schauf said. "Once you get out of the immediate area, change what you're wearing."

Possible charges against Simmons and Davis include burglary, 1st, a Class B felony, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief and resisting arrest.

This is the fourth high-profile criminal incident in the past six months in the City of Batavia where guns were involved.

Both Detective Schauf and Chief Heubusch acknowledged there is an increase in weapons being used by criminals locally and an increase of violent crimes in Batavia.

It does seem like there are more incidents of people who have guns, where we didn't see that before," Schauf said. "If you look at it for society, it's been a problem at the forefront for a long time across the nation. We've been fortunate that we haven't had that here, but you can only hold out so long."

The reason for the increase might be, Schauf said, because criminals feel a greater need to protect themselves from each other.

"When you read about what goes on in Buffalo and Rochester, we're not removed from that," Schauf said. "As a police officer, we are always trained to be looking so that we're not taken by surprise, but I think as a community, it's something people need to be aware of -- to look out for one another, like what happened today, and to just be more cautious because it is more prevalent."

The best way to combat an increase of gun-related incidents, Chief Heubusch said, is for members of the community to look out for each other, as a neighbor did today.

In addressing that question, Heubusch also addressed the possible concern from residents that there is an increase in criminal gang activity.

"I think people in this community should just be concerned about the increase in violent activity on the whole," Heubusch said. "Whether it's related to any specific group of people, the message we're trying to get out there is you need to help your neighbor. If you see something, you need to say something. It's very simple."

He said that rather than be concerned about possible retribution, residents need to concern themselves first with looking out for the safety and well being of each other. 

"If you speak up about these people who you think are maybe in a gang or you think are may be going to commit a crime, you're going to drive those people out of the community," Heubusch said. "You're going to drive them out by saying we're not going to stand for it. We (the police) are going to back you up 100 percent. We're going to do everything we can to get these people out of our community.

"There's an increase in violent crime across the nation," Heubusch added. "We're not in a fish bowl. We need to be prepared. Our residents need to be prepared to take care of one another."

UPDATE: A couple of things left out of the original story. Davis is somebody Batavia PD has had prior contact with and is believed to be a longtime resident. Simmons is new to the community.  Simmons was on an alert list for questioning by parole or probation and law enforcement had been warned to consider him potentially dangerous.

Asked if one or both of these men might be suspects in the recent armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver, Schauf said that's certainly something investigators will look into. 

Regarding potential gang connections to recent gun-related crimes, a quote from Schauff: "It's something we don't overlook. It might not be stated as an obvious. Like the question you're asking, isn't it obvious? We can't go by obvious. We need proof. There is certain proof we need to prove that. It's something that we look at and we take seriously, but to say ... we would want to have more proof before I said that."

A manhunt is under way in the city for a black male suspect in a burglary which took place on Park Avenue about a half hour ago. Several police units are scouring that area.

A second suspect, also a black male, is now custody. He was carrying a handgun.

The perimeter of the manhunt is approximately Park Avenue on the north, Washington Avenue on the south, and Lincoln Avenue and Lewis Avenue.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: Police say the suspect at large may have just gone through yards on Ellicott Avenue.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: The suspect has been apprended on Ellicott Avenue. He is described as a light-skinned black male wearing black jeans and a black hoodie. The State Police helicopter and the new K-9 were used in the search and are now back in service.

UPDATE 12:57 p.m. (by Howard): Photos added. As you can see, the suspect is wearing a red hoodie, not black. That's often the nature of hasty eyewitness accounts. Batavia PD plans on releasing more information on the case later this afternoon.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m.: The 22-year-old subject of the manhunt is being taken to UMMC "in handcuffs and shackled" after complaining of right knee and ankle pain.

Park Avenue during the search.

In nearly every respect, the re-sentencing today of Jacquetta Simmons was routine. Matter of fact, perfunctory, even.

Stripped of any discretion in sentencing by the the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department, NYS Supreme Court, when the higher court threw out his previous five-year prison term for Simmons, Judge Robert C. Noonan had little to say in open court before sending Simmons to jail on a one-year term.

The 12-months in county lock-up, likely to be reduced to eight months on good time, was prescribed by the appellate division, which rendered mute in court both of the normally loquacious attorneys for the people and the defense, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman and Buffalo-based private attorney Earl Key.

"The sentence imposed by me previously is obviously the sentence I thought appropriate for this case," Noonan said. "The appellate division has the authority to modify the sentence and has done so. As Mr. Friedman noted, I have no discretion to modify their sentence. Therefore, I sentence you to one year in the Genesee County Jail."

Because the local jail cannot house female inmates, Simmons has been transferred to the Allegany County Jail, one of a half-dozen other jails in neighboring counties that take Genesee County's female inmates.

The county will be billed $85 per day to house Simmons in the Allegany jail, meaning if she serves eight months, county taxpayers will pick up as much as a $20,000 tab for her incarceration.

Simmons, 27-years-old at the time of her crime, was convicted by a jury of peers in August of delivering a roundhouse punch to the face of 70-year-old Grace Suozzi, a Walmart cashier, on Christmas Eve 2011, after arguing with Suozzi about producing a receipt for her prior purchases.

Suozzi has not worked and reportedly rarely goes out of the house since the attack.

Defense attorney Key maintained at trial, and in the appeal, that the punch was accidental and that Simmons was merely pulling her arm away from another store employee as she tried to rush from the store.

The appellate division sided with the jury, with one dissenting vote, even as it decided Noonan's sentence rendered in November was too harsh.

Key and co-counsel Anne Nichols said after court that the justices made the right decision in overturning Noonan's original five-year prison term.

Key said Nichols did extensive research and found no case in the State of New York where a first-time offender who was employed and going to college was given such a harsh sentence on a Class D violent felony conviction.

"There's never been a case that we could find, and the District Attorney's Office sure didn't refute what we said in the paperwork, where anybody has ever gotten five years as a first-time offender," Key said.

Friedman did not want to comment following today's hearing. But after the decision was first announced last week, Friedman seemed to question an appeals process that had little regard for local community standards.

"Having gone through this and seeing the impact this had on Mrs. Suozzi, her family, a lot of people in the community who knew her and cared about her -- all of that is something that is lost in the appeal process," Friedman said. "It's one punch, but more than the physical harm is the emotional harm. It really affected her life as far as her ability to return to work and go out and about. She's a very nice lady and this sentence doesn't do her justice."

In overturning the sentence, Nichols said, the appellate division did apply community standards -- the standards of the entire community of the State of New York.

"That depends what community you're talking about," Nichols said.

"Genesee County," a reporter interjected.

"I think it accurately reflects what more diverse communities are in line with," she continued. "If you look across the state, as we did with the appellate division in getting the stay to begin with, it's very unusual for a first-time offender to receive a sentence of five years incarceration. I did the research myself. I looked at DOCS, and I would say that's almost unheard of. The original result was in line with community standards across the state, for sure."

Asked to respond to the notion that the local Genesee County community is offended by a reduced sentence for a person that viciously attacked an elderly woman who's highly regarded here, Key said the sentence should not be based on who the victim is.

"Should decisions be made based on the victim's character and who the victim is?" Key asked. "So somebody who is less popular in the community, or somebody who is less affluent in the community, then the sentence should have been less, and then because Grace is who she is, then the sentence should be harsher? That's absurd."

Nichols said all of the negative comments about Simmons during the course of this case have come from people who don't even know Simmons.

"Nobody has taken into account what we've been trying to get across from the beginning is that Jacquetta Simmons had absolutely no criminal history," Nichols said. "She worked. She wasn't on public assistance. She had no CPS cases. She is not what everybody in this community has painted her out to be in many comment sections and from the many people I've heard talking in the streets. They don't know who Jacquetta Simmons is and quite frankly they don't care to know who she is."

After the hearing, Simmons was led by a deputy from the court room (top photo) and toward a probable eight months in jail, but outside of court Key made clear the case is not over.

Noonan has awarded more than $2,000 in restitution be paid to Grace Suozzi. Today, Noonan ordered that Simmons begin paying the restitution at a rate of $100 per month beginning in 30 days.

Key said he's going to appeal Noonan's restitution ruling.

"She has to pay restitution for things like high blood-pressure medication and things of that nature," Key said. "For a woman who admittedly never went to the doctor for years prior, one of our arguments is you don't know if she had high-blood pressure before this incident. She wasn't seen by a medical professional, so we definitely plan to appeal the restitution."

The Batavian first broke the story of the Simmons case in 2011. For a complete archive of our coverage, click here.

A motor-vehicle accident is reported in the area of 379 W. Main St., Batavia.

Unknown injuries.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 5:29 p.m.: It's reported as a T-bone accident.

The city's proposed 2014-15 budget holds the line on taxes while helping foster programs City Manager Jason Molino said will help improve the quality of life in Batavia.

The $16.6 million spending plan calls for a 3-cent decrease in city property taxes, lowering the rate from $9.30 per thousand to $9.27 per thousand.

At the same time, city spending will increase 4.4 percent, or $675,000 over 2013-14.

City Council President Brooks Hawley said he doesn't yet have a feel for how the rest of the council will respond to the proposed budget, but he's looking forward to the budget discussions, which begin with a budget presentation by city staff at tonight's meeting.

"We just received this budget on Friday, so I'm very excited to talk with other City Council members and see what they think," Hawley said. "I'm looking forward to the budget meetings and seeing where we go from there. Right now, this is just a starting point. We are excited, just by looking at the first couple of pages, that what council wanted, this budget lays out, such as neighborhood revitalization, addressing quality of life and keeping the tax rate down."

The budget proposal brings back the position of assistant city manager, which was eliminated years ago as a cost-saving measure.

Molino said it's needed now to help the city move forward on several projects that will mean lower costs for both the city and for residents.

One of the primary duties of the new assistant city manager will be to get the city participating in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Working out of a 600-page book of guidelines, it will be up to the new assistant city manager to implement plans and programs that will mitigate flood issues and help improve the city's flood insurance rating.

The city's rating is currently a Class 10 -- the highest rating because the city doesn't currently participate in NFIP -- and for each point the city can shave off the rating, the cost of flood insurance for property owners in the city will drop 5 percent.

The rating can improve by doing simple things such as ensuring certain kinds of public information be available to complicated matters like moving buildings. There are, in all, 18 different topics the city can study, and possibly address, to improve Batavia's flood insurance rating.

Currently, the average cost of flood insurance in the city is $900 annually, based on the price of the home.

"That's more than your average City of Batavia tax bill -- city property taxes for that property on a home that's assessed at $90,000," Molino said. "How do we combat that? If we can lower those premiums by 5, 10, 15, 20 percent through actions we can take through the community-rated service program, we're going to be able to provide relief to our residents."

Molino believes that high cost is one reason some residents won't invest more in their homes, or buy houses that are worthy of restoration if not for their location in a flood plane.

The new assistant city manager will also handle risk management for the city, which can help reduce the city's annual $2 million expenditure on various insurance policies.

The new position will pay in the range of $63,000 to $77,000 and whomever is hired will be required to move to the city if not already a city resident.

"When the position was eliminated several years ago it was because the city was in a finanical position that warranted making cuts, scaling back on services, which it did," Molino said. "I think that now when we're on more stable footing, we're in a position now where the council is looking to take on initiatives that are going to help progress the community forward. We're talking about quality-of-life initiatives, neighborhood initiatives. In order to provide these services, you've got to have staff to do it."

A big part of the city's focus the past couple of years has been the implementation of a strategic plan, which calls for neighborhood improvements, revitalizing commercial areas, converting brownfield locations into once-again useful and productive properties and addressing quality-of-life issues, such as abandoned homes and high-crime neighborhoods.

One of the biggest initiatives planned by the city for the spring and summer are what Molino calls "neighborhood sweeps."

The sweeps will involve closing down a neighborhood for two or three hours so nobody gets in or out and the police, parole and probation officers, along with code enforcement officers, will endeavor to contact every person in the neighborhood. Individuals who cause problems might be identified and dealt with appropriately under the law and residential units that don't meet code standards will receive notices and have deficiencies documented.

There will be no prior notice to neighborhoods subject to a sweep.

"It's a way of trying to do several things," Molino said. "One, working with the residents who might be able to provide information about what's going on in their neighborhood; combating some of the issues that we're seeing, some of the increased activity; addressing property maintenence and criminal activity, all in one shot. It's taking our resources and focusing on the areas that need that assistance."

City leaders from Buffalo met with local officials a month ago to discuss how that city has implemented a similar program.

"It's taking what they're doing (in Buffalo) and applying it in a way that's a better fit for our community," Molino said. "It's taking these nuisance areas and addressing quality-of-life complaints and trying to combat them, either working with the landlords to get these problem tenants out of the neighborhoods, or working with the residents to identify the problems in the neighborhood."

Over time, perhaps, those residents who are generally content to do more harm than good will find Batavia inhospitable enough that they will leave the city, if not Genesee County, Molino said.

"It's not a hostile position," Molino said. "I would say it's a position of being a nuisance to nuisance individuals. If it's people who are engaging in criminal activity, if it's people doing things they shouldn't be, we're going to be addressing those.

"Keep in mind, when you're addressing little issues like nuisance and quality-of-life issues, minor issues, if you address those with a hard-line approach, it's going to be a deterrent to undesirables who are in those neighborhoods," Molino added. "They're not going to want to be bothered with that and it's going to have them disperse elsewhere."

The program is designed to empower people to take their neighborhoods back so they're once again a safe place for children to play outside, Hawley said.

Chief Shawn Heubusch said he's hopeful the program will help the community address some of the kinds of criminal activity we've seen recently in the city, such as shots fired on State Street, shots fired on Jackson, and the recent armed robbery on Jackson.

"This will hopefully get us to a point where we can address some of those issues before they occur," Heubusch said. "It allows us to get into the neighborhoods and get a more personal look at things and get the neighbors comfortable with us and being more willing to contact us. Do I think it's going to solve everything? Absolutely not."

The proposed 2014-15 budget also takes a couple of small, but potentially significant steps, in the technology region.

Working with National Grid, the city is planning a recharging station for electric cars located somewhere Downtown. The recharging station will handle two cars at a time that can plug into the power grid for free.

The hope is the station will attract electric car drivers from the Thruway into Downtown for shopping and dining.

The annual cost to the city, even if the stations are used to capacity every day, would be no more than a few hundred dollars.

"It's a marginal cost to the municipality, but it's an attraction to get visitors Downtown," Molino said.

The budget also calls for a few Wi-Fi hotspots to be installed at Downtown locations, such as Jackson Square. The pilot project will help the city evaluate the need and benefits of providing wireless Internet connectivity to smartphone and tablet users.

One of the biggest expenditure hits the city has taken over the past several years is the skyrocketing cost of funding pensions through the state's retirement plan. Each year, the state sets what the city will have to pay into the fund. For the first time in five years, the city is being told to contribute less than the previous year.

Another important component of the city's plan for neighborhood improvement is trying to obtain title to vacant and abandoned homes, and working with nonprofit agencies to renovate the houses and turn them over to responsible owners who will reside in the homes they acquire.

There are currently as many of 50 such abandoned houses in the city.

The city will use $229,000 from equipment reserve funds for police, fire and DPW vehicles and machines.

On the reserve fund front, $50,000 is being set aside for an anticipated renovation, or replacement, of the police headquarters building. A consultant is currently evaluating the current station and the needs of the department.

The police budget is up 4.1 percent, or $158,505 for additional personnel costs.

The city plans on spending $7,500 on "a neighborhood video surveillance camera," but no word on where the camera might be installed.

Union contracts dictate raises for CSEA members of 2 percent and for police of 2.75 percent. Management employees will receive a 2.5-percent pay increase. The fire personnel contract is currently under negotiation.

The city's part-time parking enforcement/recycling officer and the part-time ordinance enforcement officer will be combined into a single, full-time job.

There is a proposed 9-cent increase in the city's water and sewer rate to $4.71 per thousand gallons. There is also a proposed $12 annual fee to fund capital projects to replace aging infrastructure.

The city will replace 1,950 feet of sewer line on Trumbull Parkway. The project includes sidewalk replacement, road restoration, and upgrades on water service and fire hydrants.

A grant request to reconstruct Summit Street was rejected by the state, so in the meantime, the city will resurface the street.

In all, more than $1 million will be spent on sidewalk and street repairs and replacements.

Photo: Jodie Freese prepares copies of the 2014-15 proposed city budget for distribution to members of council and other members of the community.

A two-car accident is reported on Richmond Avenue near Oak Street, Batavia.

One person is complaining of back pain.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:49 p.m.: One patient being transported to UMMC with a complaint of neck pain.

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries is reported at West Main Street Road and Kelsey Road in the Town of Batavia. East Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy medics are responding, with two ambulances. One person has a back injury and three others have minor injuries, according to a medic at the scene. The vehicles are blocking traffic.

UPDATE 10:39 a.m.: A third ambulance is requested.

UPDATE 10:58 a.m.: Three patients are being taken to UMMC. They are an 81-year-old male who was a back seat passenger and he has a four-inch cut on the back of his head, a 65-year-old female with unspecified injuries, and an 82-year-old female with chest pain.

UPDATE 11:10 a.m.: The East Pembroke assignment is back in service.

Bruce J. Brade, 33, of Galloway Road, Batavia, is charged with identify theft, 2nd, and grand larceny, 4th. Brade is accused of fraudulent use of a debit card. Brade allegedly used the card to purchase items over the Internet. Following arraignment in Batavia City Court, Brade was released under supervision of Genesee Justice.

Douglas Robert Brown, 45, of South Main Street, Elba, is charged with criminal possession of a weapon, 4th. Brown was arrested following an investigation into a complaint of an irate truck driver who made a delivery to Automotive Corp., Inc. Brown was allegedly found in possession of a billy club.

Thomas James Rose, 18, of Ford Road, Elba, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, criminal use of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of marijuana. Rose was found to allegedly possess drugs and paraphernalia during an investigation by Deputy Joseph Corona and Deputy Howard Carlson of an incident at a residence in Byron at 2:30 a.m., Saturday.

Arthur Mack Osborne, 47, of West Main Street Road, Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Osborne is accused of violating a complete stay away order by going to the residence of the protected person and being in contact with that person.

Paul Joseph Kirch, 27, of Angling Road, Corfu, was arrested on a warrant out of the Town of Amherst related to a disorderly conduct charge. Kirch was located when a deputy checked on a vehicle parked on the shoulder of a roadway. Upon investigation, Kirch was identified as a suspect with an active arrest warrant.

Cynthia Louise Reschke, 50, of Transit Road, Stafford, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely. Reschke was stopped at 1:36 a.m. Sunday on Morganville Road, Stafford, by Deputy Joseph Corona.

Stephen A. Getty, 43, of Gilbert Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, moving from lane unsafely and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle on a highway. Getty was stopped at 5:11 p.m. Friday on Main Road, Pembroke, by Deputy Kevin McCarthy.

Louis Levon Wooden, 28, of Salina Street, Rochester, is charged with petit larceny. Wooden is accused of shoplifting at Walmart. Also charged with petit larceny is Tymekia T. Gaskin, 39, of Champlain Street, Rochester.

Ann Lee Cox, 42, of Main Street, Attica, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, driving while ability impaired by drugs, driving while ability impaired by combined drugs and moving from lane unsafely. Cox was arrested following an investigation by Deputy Kevin McCarthy into a single-car accident on Route 98, Alexander, at 4:22 a.m. on Oct. 20.

Emily Grace Lemen, 19, of Lake Street, Le Roy, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .18 or greater and moving from lane unsafely. Lemen was allegedly driving a vehicle at 4 p.m. on Jan. 6 that went down an embankment at the 490 off-ramp at Route 19. The accident was investigated by Deputy Matthew Butler.

It's an established pattern for the Blue Devils so far this season: doldrums in the fourth quarter make it hard for Batavia close out a game.

Last night against Odyssey, the home squad turned a double-digit lead into a one-point deficit with 56 seconds left in the final period.

Clutch free throws in those closing seconds sealed a 57-55 victory for Batavia, but not without a few fingernails getting whittled down among the faithful.

"It's what happens every game," said Head Coach Buddy Brasky. "In the fourth quarters we can't score. We had a number of easy opportunities in that fourth quarter in the first four minutes or so, so we can maintain that lead or extend it and we missed them."

Fatigue late in the game for Jeff Redband and Justice Fagan, and defenses designed to thwart the two most consistent scores on the team, are the issues. Typically, the two standouts play nearly every minute of the game. Defenses run either a box and one (putting a man, typically, on Redband combined with an otherwise zone defense) or triangle and two(man on both Fagan and Redband and a three-defender zone).

It's a challenging puzzle for Brasky to solve.

"It's kind of hard because I can't afford to take Jeff and Justice out of the game for very long," Brasky said. "I don't have an answer to that, quite honestly. Other guys have to step up. They keep playing that triangle and two, and other guys are getting opportunities and they have to knock down some shots. That's the answer."

Batavia scored 17 in the first quarter, 20 in the second, 13 in the third and a miniscule seven in the fourth.

Last night, it was Jarrett Laskett who stepped up and took advantage of a lax defense in his vicinity. Laskett finished with 15 points, one more than Fagan's 14.

"Jarrett's capable of scoring," Brasky said. "He hadn't done it much, but he's starting to get a little bit of an opportunity now."

Redband led Batavia with 21 points, including three threes and eight free throws. He and Malachi Chenault had eight rebounds.

As the seconds ticketed away with the Blue Devils down a point, it was Redband the team turned to once again to sink the winning shots.

This time, the offense set Redband up on the near-side wing with a look at a three-point jumper. As he got the shot off he was fouled by an Odyssey player, sending him to the line with three opportunities to at least tie the game, if not give Batavia the lead.

Redband missed the first shot.

Were you nervous? Brasky was asked after the game. He smiled. "Yes," he said, "of course."

But with the game on the line, the ball in Redband's hands is never a bad thing. His shooting stroke as sweet and smooth as honey from the comb consistently delivers results.

"Jeff's clutch," Brasky said. "I really anticipated he would make all three. I would have been shocked if he didn't make at least two out of the three. Yeah, I was nervous, but he's clutch, so I didn't really doubt he would make two out of the three."

Two shots made and Batavia is up by one with 18 seconds left in the game. Odyssey fails to score on its possession and then Tyler Crawford is fouled.

Crawford came through at the line.

"Crawford's free throw, that was a big one, too," Brasky said. "That put us up two. All they could do was tie it. We're weren't going to give them a three at that point, so worst case scenario, unless we took stupid pills, it was going to be an overtime game."

Odyssey got the ball back with seven seconds left on the clock. Plenty of time to score. A dash down the court, a scramble under the board, shoot and miss, shoot and miss, and the final buzzer blares and the Blue Devils jump for joy.

Brasky-coached teams are drilled on defense and taught to never give up more than 13 points in a quarter.

Odyssey scored 16 points in the second quarter, but those final three points came on a prayer of a jumper from 20 feet out that hit the backboard and banked into the basket. Braskey said it was almost like it didn't count from a 13-point and under calculation.

"We held them to six or eight in the third (it was eight)," Brasky said. "So it was 57-55. That's three points more than we want to give them, and that's that banked three in the second quarter, so I was happy with the defense."

For Odyssey, a player Brasky said hasn't gotten a lot of playing time this year and has done very little scoring, Jamie Magone, came through big for the visitors, leading his team with 20 points. The only other player in double figures for Odyssey was Jacob Dixon, who had 14.

The win puts Batavia at 6-3 on the year and 2-1 in league play. The Blue Devils next play Eastridge on the road and come home again Jan. 17 for a game against Greece-Arcadia. Game time is 7:45 p.m.

Top photo: Jeff Redband is fouled as he takes a three-point shot in the closing seconds of the game.

Jeff Redband drives to the basket in the first quarter.

Justice Fagan looking for a lane to the basket in the first half.

Tyler Crawford grabs a loose ball during the second quarter.

Cheerleaders during their routine at the half.

Jeff Redband Inbounding the ball in the fourth quarter to Malachi Chenault.

Jarrett Laskett

Victory celebration

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