Three suspects were arraigned this afternoon in Genesee County Court for crimes stemming from a May 17 incident on Central Avenue in Batavia in which one man was stabbed to death and another man shot with a handgun. All pled not guilty to the charges.
Nathaniel D. Wilson Jr., 30, was ordered held without bail. He is charged with second-degree murder, which carries a maximum prison term of 25 years to life, and criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
He was in court represented by criminal defense attorney Fred Rarick, who made routine demands for discovery of evidence and the "bill of particulars" for the crimes alleged.
Motions in the case are scheduled for July 19; answers July 26; oral arugments at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 6.
Wilson made no statement in court.
He is accused of stabbing 41-year-old Jerry J. Toote to death in the confrontation between a group of people on Central Avenue.
Jennifer Urvizu-Hanlon, 48, was granted $50,000 cash bail or bond by Judge Charles Zambito.
She allegedly handed her revolver, which she is licensed to carry, to 17-year-old Samuel Blackshear that night and he, in turn, allegedly shot Wilson in the leg. The owner of La Mexicana store in the Valu Plaza is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, both Class C violent felonies.
The District Attorney's Office asked that no bail be granted in her case and First Assistant District Attorney Melissa Cianfrini told the judge the defendant was harboring Blackshear in her home at the time of his arrest.
Urvizu-Hanlon's counsel, public defense attorney Marty Anderson, told the court his client is a 20-year resident of Genesee County and has been a small business owner here for six years. He noted further that she has no substance abuse issues and no criminal history.
Wearing bright lemon-lime jail clothes, Urvizu-Hanlon smiled wanly as she entered the courtroom with hands shackled at her waist. Petite, about 5' tall, she softly pronounced her name for the judge when prompted to do so.
Anderson asked that she be released into the custody of Genesee Justice.
Zambito said he would not release Anderson's client to Genesee Justice but allowed that bail was appropriate and he asked the people what bail they would prefer for Urvizu-Hanlon. The people suggested $50,000 and the judge agreed to that sum.
The judge also ordered Urvizu-Hanlon to surrender her gun(s) and informed her that her license to carry a concealed weapon in New York State was suspended.
"My client's ex-husband was in possession of a gun, both their names were on the permit, and he sold it," Anderson said. "I will provide documentation to the court as soon as possible."
Motions are set in the Urvizu-Hanlon case for July 19; answers July 26; oral arguments at 2 p.m. Aug. 6.
Blackshear is charged with attempted assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, and two counts of criminal possession in the second degree. He facees up to 15 years in prison.
A private attorney hired by his sister appeared with Blackshear in court, James Hinman.
Hinman asked for "reasonable bail" to be set for his client. He said he received the bail evaluation from Genesee Justice, provided to him by public defense attorney Michael Locicero, and noted that Blackshear has a misdemeanor case (criminal possession of a controlled substance) pending in Batavia City Court and two failure to appear citations.
Blackshear, tall and lanky with a prematurely furrowed brow, has extended family here and is a lifelong resident, his attorney said. About eight family members were in the gallery in a show of support for their kin.
Hinman disputed Cianfrini's claim that Blackshear was being harbored by Urvizu-Hanlon and said his client had been staying with his mother for a couple of days at a motel at the time of his arrest.
The teenager, if he is able to bail out of custody, would live with his father, Hinman said.
"He has no violent history," Hinman told Zambito.
The District Attorney's Office suggested bail be set at $100,000 and said Blackshear actually failed to appear on the misdemeanor in city court on three occasions not two -- March 28, April 17 and May 11 -- and the current charges are way more serious.
Hinman said his client witnessed the individual he is accused of shooting, stab his uncle, Toote, to death so "his behavior is not as egregious as Mr. Friedman would have the court believe." He suggested bail should be set at $25,000.
Friedman said it's not a matter of what he believes -- he reviewed the evidence and viewed the video of the incident -- and maintains there is "no valid self defense claim here."
Zambito said he is concerned about where the youth would live, his young age, his failure to appear three times on a misdemeanor charge.
The judge agreed to set the higher bail as requested by the people of $100,000 cash or bond.
Motions are due by July 20; answers by July 27; oral arguments at set for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 13.
I don't know what happened...
I don't know what happened... but I do know one thing. I would never have expected that Jennifer Urvizu would ever be charged with any crime. She is the sweetest lady ever. I fully believe that someone took advantage of her kind nature. I've never even heard her raise her voice or use any swear word. She made the best treats for the church bake sales and was always super honest, moral, ethical, and respectful. Her kids are wonderful! She is the hardest working woman! To suggest that she would go from her calm responsible nature, straight to handing a gun over, completely absurd! Whatever caused her to do that, must have been truly awful or really convincing. I believe that she must have trusted the wrong person, or thought someone was in extreme danger. That woman has always done everything she can to help people in need, help the community, help mentor local kids and I could never have a negative thought about her.