Darien

On a clear night, on a straight road, at a time when none of the four people in her car were talking, cell phones weren't being used and the radio wasn't on, Rachel L. Enderle, with her hands on the wheel and her eyes straight ahead, didn't see Ronald J. Wendt's truck until a second before her Toyota Camry hit it.

Wendt, on trial for manslaughter and reckless driving, is accused of turning left on Route 20 at the location of My Saloon in Darien Center, right in front of 27-year-old Enderle's car.

Enderle's Camry plowed into the side of the Dodge Ram truck, and Enderle apparently neither hit her brakes nor swerved to avoid the accident.

Katie Stanley, 18, died as a result of the accident. She was a passenger in Enderle's car.

Alexander resident Wendt, 25, could serve up to 25 years in prison if convicted by the 12-person jury of aggravated reckless driving.

Enderle testified today that she wasn't distracted in any way prior to the accident, though she was probably going 55 mph in the 40 mph zone. The Dansville resident testified that she didn't see the lower speed limit signs when driving into the hamlet.

The only thing she remembers is seeing the maroon passenger side door of Wendt's truck just before hitting it.

"I didn't know where it came from," Enderle said.

She said she had no time to react.

"In my head and my heart, I do feel like I got my foot on the brake," Enderle said."I don’t know if pushed down on it."

While another witness testified that Wendt had his headlights on, Enderle said she didn't see the headlights of his truck approaching from the east. 

Two of the three witnesses who testified today could not recall with certainty whether Wendt used his turn signal.

Another witness, Amanda McClellan, who was standing on the recessed porch of My Saloon, and couldn't possibly have had a clear view of Wendt's truck as it approached the spot of the accident, said Wendt didn't have his turn signal on.

While Enderle said she had no time to react, another driver, Brian C. Fox, of Portageville, said he was two or three seconds behind Enderle's Toyota, managed to slam on the brakes of his pickup truck and stop five feet short of the collision.

Fox said he saw Wendt's truck -- with headlights on -- down the road before Wendt started his turn, but said Wendt turned quickly right in front of Enderle's car.

Asked by District Attorney Lawrence Friedman his opinion on whether the driver of the Toyota could possibly have had time to react, Fox said,  "There was nothing they could do."

Speed, of course, is an important factor in reaction time. 

Both Fox and Enderle testified that they couldn't say for sure how fast they were going, but there were driving with the flow of traffic.

Evidence indicates that Fox told investigators after the accident that he was going 55 mph. Today, Fox testified that he said he was going 55 because he thought that was the speed limit on that stretch of Broadway Road.

Today, he initially testified that he must have been going between 45 mph and 55 mph.

At a DMV hearing some months ago, Fox testified that he may have been going as fast as 60 mph.

McClellan testified that she thought Enderle was traveling at about the speed limit, or 40 mph. She estimated Wendt's speed to be between 30 and 40 mph as he went into the turn into the parking lot, though she admitted she didn't hear his tires squeal or see his truck fishtail.

Both Enderle and McClellan testified that beer cans and bottles flew from the bed of Wendt's truck at the time of impact. McClellan said there were as many as 20 beer containers on the ground near the accident scene. 

"A man had said let’s get these cans and bottles out of here before the cops get here," Enderle said.

Testimony in the Wendt trial resumes in the morning.

When court adjourned Monday night, there were 12 jurors sworn for the manslaughter trial of Ronald J. Wendt.

Now there are 11.

A juror was excused this morning for medical reasons.

About a dozen people from the original jury pool entered the court room today expecting to go through the interview process for the alternate jury seats, but now one of them will fill the 12th seat.

Then another juror sent a long note to Judge Robert C. Noonan this morning raising a number of concerns that he said came up over night related to his job. The juror also apparently discussed his situation with another juror.

After interviewing the juror who wrote the note, Noonan declined to dismiss him from service, saying that under New York statutes, once a juror is sworn the bar for removing a person from the jury becomes much higher.

Opening arguments in the case once all 12 jurors and alternates are seated.

By 6 p.m. today, the 12 jurors were picked who will decide the guilt or not of Ronald J. Wendt, accused of manslaughter, DWI and reckless driving in an accident that took the life of an 18-year-old Dansville girl.

In the morning, Tuesday, court will convene to select alternate jurors, with opening arguments to begin later in the day.

After the jury was picked, and the jurors and prospective alternates left, Judge Robert Noonan ruled that District Attorney Lawrence Friedman will not be allowed to use a PowerPoint presentation as part of his opening statement.

Noonan said there was no case law he could find allowing PowerPoint to be used in the opening summation, though there is case law to support its use in closing. Noonan said he would change his ruling if Friedman could find a prior ruling allowing its use.

The intense search for Jeffrey Fredericks is over, but the search goes on, according to Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

After three days of a multi-agency search of the woods and fields around Fredericks' Sumner Road home, efforts to find him -- or what happened to him -- have been scaled back.

Authorities are taking a more targeted approach, going after specific areas as leads indicate.

Bloodhounds were used Saturday and another "hot spot" -- as Dibble calls them -- was going to be searched today.

The 66-year-old Darien resident has been missing since Wednesday when he didn't show up for a 1 p.m. shift at his work, and his family came home and found all of his cars still parked at the house.

"We've had some calls come in that say maybe you should look here, or maybe you should look at that," Dibble said. "We've been talking to his fellow employees and trying to run down anybody who might have had recent contact with him to see if there's anything we're missing."

The presumption has been that Frederick left on foot, but Dibble said that especially at this point, all possibilities are being considered and examined.

While officials initially said Frederick may have been suicidal, Dibble said that certainly isn't the only scenario under investigation.

"Anything is possible," he said.

Every few years a case comes along that the national media hypes as “The Trial of the Century.”

Jurors are being chosen today in Genesee County Court for what may not even be the local trial of the year – that label might better be applied to the Scott Doll murder case – but for Ronald J. Wendt, it's his trial of a lifetime.

He is charged with 11 felony counts stemming from a fatal automobile accident on Aug. 12, 2009, including aggravated vehicular manslaughter. The charge alleges more than just drinking-and-driving. The indictment contends that Wendt drove recklessly, causing an accident that took the life of another person.

If convicted of all charges against him, and given the maximum sentence, the 25-year-old Alexander resident would be older, by the time he's released from prison, than 60 percent of the people reading this article are today.

The charge carries a maximum 25-year sentence.

But Katie Stanley had her entire adult life ahead of her. The Dansville resident was just 18 when she was killed on Route 20 in Darien that summer day.

One of the key issues in the trial will be -- was Wendt really responsible for her death?

District Attorney Lawrence Friedman will try to establish: that Wendt was legally impaired by alcohol at the time of the accident; that he was reckless when he made a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic in order to pull into the parking lot of My Saloon; and that his actions are a direct cause of Stanley's death.

Defense Attorney Thomas Burns will try to prove that Wendt was not over the legal limit at the time of the accident. He will argue that a .08 BAC recorded in a test more than an hour after the accident, represents a slight elevation in his BAC from his last drink, but not his BAC at the time of the accident.

Wendt reportedly recorded a .07 in a breath test at the scene. Field breath tests, however, are not admissible as evidence at trial, by either side. 

Wendt, who was helping a friend bale hay that day, has said he drank his last beer about 15 minutes before the accident. That drink may not have made it into his system at the time of the accident, but could have shown up in the later BAC test.

Also at issue are the actions of the other driver Rachel L. Enderle, 27. There were reportedly no skid marks at the scene, and prior to trial, it's not been publicly established how fast the car was going at the time of the accident. 

The spot of the accident is an area in Darien Center that is posted 40 mph along a stretch of Route 20 that is otherwise 55 mph.

Enderle along with Wendt was named in a lawsuit filed in Rochester earlier this year by Timothy L. Enderle, who was also a passenger in Rachel's car.

"Any time there are two cars in an accident, there is a certain percentage of fault with both drivers," said Timothy's attorney, Sheldon W. Boyce.

The key question in this trial is to what degree, if any, is Ronald J. Wendt at fault? And if found at fault to any degree, how much of his life should he be forced to give up?

For previous coverage, click here.

As a man we only knew as John Doe lay cuffed and prostrate in the back of a patrol car waiting to be arraigned on a trespass charge at Darien Town Court, Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble mused, "some people just shouldn't drink."

The night was still young, but already a handful of individuals had caused a mess of trouble for security and law enforcement at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center during the Aug. 28 Tom Petty concert.

Outside of two young guys busted for allegedly trying to sell hallucinogenic mushrooms, all of the night's law enforcement issues dealt with people drinking, and a little marijuana use, too.

"There are many more arrests we could make, but we try to arrest the people who need to be arrested," Dibble said. "We try to eject as many people as we can -- the people who can’t behave themselves. Usually the people who get arrested -- there’s just no other alternative."

Take the case of Jonathan Raymond -- a.k.a. John Doe:  When he was taken into custody, according to one deputy, even his friends were saying, "Get him out of here." 

Investigator Roger Stone, who was in uniform, was on patrol and served as my ride-along escort for the first part of the night. We encountered Raymond in the security trailer next to the concert venue where arrestees are first brought for processing. 

At about 5'-10" and 190 lbs, the 21-year-old Raymond had some strength to throw around if he wanted. He offered enough resistance and spit out enough verbal threats that deputies were clearly intent on keeping him under control.

In the trailer, two deputies kept Raymond cuffed in a chair and their arms on his shoulders.

He kept demanding to leave, cussed at anybody who came within sight and let everybody know that given a chance, he could and or would kill them.

As Raymond sat while Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello prepared his paperwork, a female security guard pushed into the trailer a cuffed 19-year-old Sara J. Cooper.

"Whoa, I'm so scared," Cooper yelled. "Just so you know."

Later Cooper would reportedly start calling a woman deputy a couple of choice female-specific slurs and allegedly fight back against a deputy, getting herself shoved against a wall and held there until she settled down.

When it came time to escort Raymond to Stone's cruiser, five deputies were on hand to lead him from the trailer to the car and then try to get him into the back seat. 

Raymond said he wasn't going to do it. He wanted to be let go.

Investigator Stone, whose smooth baritone could improve many doctors' bedside manner, said, “You seem like a good guy. Why don’t you just get in?”

“Who are you?

“Stone.”

“Stone who?”

“Roger Stone. I’m one of the deputies.”

Raymond didn't move. One of the deputies suggested picking up by turning him on his side and pushing him log-like into the backseat.

While Raymond verbally protested, his bit of wiggling and bucking was easily controlled by the deputies.

Once we were on the road, Raymond told Stone, "You're pro-Indian, so why do you act like a white man, mother f---ker?"

When Stone didn't answer, Raymond pleaded, "Stonehorse?"  No reply. Louder: "Stonehorse?"

"What?" Stone kind of whined.

“If you act like a white man, you are a white man.”

Raymond then started to cry.

“I want you to be on our side, Stonehorse.”

Pause.

“I’m going to kill you Stonehorse.

Stone: "No you’re not. Come on."

"Ok," Raymond said. "I won’t."

And a few minutes later, Raymond said again, "I'm going to kill you, Stonehorse."

I asked Stone, "Isn't that something you could charge him with?"

Stone shrugged. "Sure," he said, "But why?"

Roger Stone is clearly not a cop who relishes confrontation. When he drove Brett Tofil and Joseph Kulig to the Genesee County Jail following their arrests on drug charges, each getting $5,000 bail, one of the young men thanked Stone for "being cool."  

But that "coolness" doesn't deter Stone from understanding he has a job to do. He sees a lot of value in the drinking-related arrests the Sheriff's Office makes, and also in the underage drinking citations deputies issue.

He totally rejects the suggestion that these law enforcement efforts are just aimed at generating revenue for the county or are motivated by a cop's desire to ruin somebody's good time.

"We’ll never know when we’ve stopped somebody from getting too inebriated," Stone said. "We’ll never know when we’ve saved their lives or the lives of somebody else. To me, that’s the reason why we need to do it.

"It’s the same thing as getting drunken drivers off the road. We’re never going to know whether we stopped some accident or somebody from being injured or killed. But you know the fact that we’re going out there and reducing it now and then is a good thing, and I feel good about doing it."

The Sheriff's Office has only 25 patrol officers, including sergeants, according to Dibble, so when it comes to one of the 18 concert nights at Darien Lake, Dibble himself and investigators such as Stone help out with patrols.

The Sheriff's Office provides traffic control and law enforcement inside the venue, while the State Police also patrol the roads surrounding the venue, mainly targeting drunken drivers.

To help with the manpower inside the concert venue, this summer, Sheriff Gary Maha deputized off-duty Batavia police officers, who were paid by the concert promoter, Live Nation.

During the Petty concert, one of those deputized officers, Eric Hill, was hurt when 20-year-old Matthew J. Pasternak allegedly resisted arrest. Hill's finger was splinted and iced following the altercation and Hill was concerned that it was broken. A couple of days later, Hill said his finger was still sore, but didn't appear to have been broken. He didn't miss any duty.

The Petty concert on Aug. 26, as well as the one a couple of weeks earlier, had a number of violent confrontations with law enforcement. Deputies found it surprising, since Petty is an older act without much of a hard-rock edge, and they said Petty concerts weren't, in past years, rowdy.

But every performer brings it owns audience, Dibble said.

"Some are more aggressive," Dibble said. "Some bring in more drugs, some more alcohol and some bring in more kids sometimes."

Dibble said the Sheriff's Office works closely with Live Nation so deputies are prepared to deal with the type and size of crowd anticipated.

"It's a partnership for sure," Dibble said.

Live Nation actually pays for all of the law enforcement inside the concert venue, including about 100 of its own security personnel (including personnel in the parking lots), according to Pete Riedy, with Live Nation.

People pay a lot of money to attend shows at Darien Lake, and 99 percent of them have a good time, and even down a few beers, without causing a problem, Riedy said. They don't want to be bothered with unruly drunks.

"Unfortunately there’s always a few people who take it to the next limit and cause problems," Riedy said. "Alcohol is usually the reason. ... No matter how many rules and restrictions you put on people, there are going to be certain people who can’t control themselves."

And with booze being the chief cause of problems, Riedy said, it's important that both security and local law enforcement address the underage drinking issue. While some people criticize deputies for writing underage drinking citations, Riedy said it's an important part of keeping people safe.

"Nothing good comes out of kids drinking in the parking lot and drinking when they're under age," Riedy said. "If I could, I’d have 100 more Sheriff’s deputies out there."

And writing underage drinking citations isn't hard, Dibble said. The typical kid will walk right up to a deputy, or otherwise brazenly display a beer or wine bottle with law enforcement in the area.

Dibble recalled one time he was standing in the parking lot -- in uniform -- and a 17-year-old walked right up to him, beer in hand.

"I don’t know if it’s the effects of alcohol, if it’s a sense of entitlement, I don’t know," Dibble said. "I can’t explain that."

If not for the deputies enforcing the underage drinking law, Riedy said, the only other alternative would be to disallow tailgating, and Live Nation doesn't want to do that. It wouldn't be fair to the majority of people who can remain civil and obey the rules.

"(Drinking problems) don't make our venue look good," Riedy said. "It doesn't make any venue look good. It makes people not want to come back. My biggest concern running the venue is people’s safety and people enjoying the concert.

"People pay a lot of money to come here. My biggest concern is that people have a good time."

Photos: Top, Sara Cooper is escorted into the processing trailer; Inset, Jonathan Raymond being held in his chair inside the trailer; Bottom, Brett Tofil and Joseph Kuligafter outside Darien Court after being arraigned. Roger Stone, right, allowed them a chance for a smoke and to make calls on their personal mobile phones to friends and relatives to arrange for bail.

Richard J. Kubis, 30, of 25 Vine St., Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Kubis is accused of supplying cigarettes to two youths, ages 12 and 13.

Darlene McComb, 51, of 110 Bank St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. McComb was arrested on a warrant for an alleged Aug. 27 incident. McComb is accused of kicking UMMC emergency room staff.

Lawrence D. Williams, 50, of 15 Walnut St., Batavia, is charged with harassment, 2nd. Williams is accused of shoving a woman. Bail was set at $200.

Clinton J. Reese, 46, of 106 Ellsworth Ave., Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd. Reese is accused of threatening to kill another person.

Chelsie R. Dibble, 25, of Corfu, is charged with DWI and aggravated DWI. Dibble was stopped by State Police at 2:26 a.m., Sunday, on Akron Road in Corfu.

Carl F. Jenkins, 18, of Clarence Center, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Jenkins was stopped by State Police at 1:47 a.m., Saturday, on Route 238 near Route 20 in Darien.

Edmund Rogalski, 51, of Rochester, is charged with DWI, aggravated DWI, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Rogalski was stopped by State Police at 1:38 a.m., Thursday, on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation.

A minor-injury accident on the eastbound Thruway at mile-marker 400 is reported. Six people are involved.

Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments and Mercy EMS are responding. Darien fire is requested to respond to the Pembroke intersection exchange on the Thruway.

UPDATE (8:48 p.m.): There is one car off the road, no roll-over. Looks like a "back axel accident" with people suffering minor bruises.

UPDATE (8:51 p.m.): The individuals involved are all purportedly refusing medical evaluation/treatment.

The search for Jeffrey G. Fredericks resumed at nine o'clock this morning after going until 1:30 a.m.

The search for the 66-year-old man centers around his home at 1177 Sumner Road, Darien. This morning, the command post was relocated to that location.

The search continues to involve local law enforcement and volunteer firefighters.

Last night's search and rescue team was comprised of members from Cattaraugus, Niagara and Livingston counties.

So far, the search has covered about 200 acres.

Chief Gordon Dibble (pictured above, left, with Sgt. Steve Mullen) said search teams identified another "hot spot" and were about halfway through searching that area.

David P. Neibert, 23, of Albion, is charged with DWAI-Drugs, two counts of criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument, criminal possesion of a controlled substance and several vehicle infractions. Neibert was charged following a head-on collision on Route 98 near West Saile Drive on Wednesday. Neibert's pickup truck hit a Thruway maintenance truck driven by Nick Ciccarelli, 42, of Lancaster. Ciccarelli was uninjured in the accident. A passenger in the Thruway truck, Kevin Thompson, 40, of West Seneca, transported himself to Mercy Hospital for a possible neck injury.

Thomas John Bressinger, 42, of Countyline Road, Darien, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, and harassment, 2nd. After coming home from work on Thursday, Bressinger is accused of breaking a computer monitor, punching holes in the wall next to his wife's head, kicking her and threatening to kill her.

An unknown type fire has been reported off Sumner Road, between Fargo and Countyline roads.

The caller reports seeing flames and a glow in the sky.

Darien Fire is being dispatched.

UPDATE 9:59 p.m.: It's sounding like a controlled burn. Law enforcement requested to the scene. A chief said, "I explained to him the other day he can't just burn anything."

The Sheriff's Office has released the identity of a man missing for more than a day from his home in Darien.

He is Jeffrey G. Fredericks, 66, of 1177 Sumner Road. He is 5'11" and 180 lbs. with blue eyes and "salt and pepper" hair.

Anybody with information that might help locate Fredericks is asked to call the Sheriff's Office 585-343-3000.

UPDATE 8:23 p.m.: Photo added. The command center has been moved to the Darien fire hall. Erie County's search and rescue team is on scene. Pending Fredericks being found, the search will continue until midnight. By midnight, teams will have meticulously searched about 200 acres of woods, marsh, streams and fields.

Previously:

• Search for missing man in Darien is continuing
• Multi-agency search under way in Darien for missing man

Search teams remain on scene in the Sumner Road of Darien at this hour looking for a man missing since yesterday afternoon, and according to Emergency Management Coordinator Tim Yaeger, the search may continue into the night and into tomorrow, if necessary.

Yaeger said searchers will take a break shortly and then the search may be taken up by fresh teams from Erie County.

The missing man is described as 66 years old, but since nobody saw him leave his house, there's no description of clothing available.

His family reported him missing at about 9 p.m. yesterday after spending close to seven hours themselves looking for him.

There is some concern that he may have been suicidal, but that isn't clear, according to Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble.

"We just don't know," Dibble said.

Family members became concerned when they came home at 2 p.m. and all of his vehicles were still at the house. He was scheduled to report to work at 1 p.m., but there was a message on the answering machine indicating he never showed up. 

Family members searched the immediate surrounding area but couldn't locate him.

The multi-agency search began last night and included a State Police helicopter using infrared technology. 

What was described as  a "hot spot" by Dibble was found not far from the house, but nothing was found when search teams scoured the area just before midnight.

The search was halted for the rest of the night and resumed about 8:30 a.m. today. Personnel from the Sheriff's Office, State Police, the Darien Lake Park Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Office, the Darien Fire Department and Monroe County K-9 units have participated in the search.

Genesee County Emergency Management Services have provided scene support and a command post on Sumner Road just west of Route 77.

UPDATED 12:28 p.m.

Several law enforcement agencies have converged in the Sumner Road area of Darien in search for a man who didn't show up for work yesterday and hasn't been seen since yesterday afternoon.

The search began last night about 9 p.m., was suspended for a while overnight, and began again this morning.

There is some concern the man may be suicidal, but Chief Deputy Gordon Dibble said, "We just don't know." He could be out in the woods, he could have been picked up by a friend.

The State Police helicopter was used last night and this morning before weather grounded it. The search is also being conducted on the ground with ATVs, on foot, with K-9 and a cell phone tracking truck has been deployed.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office as well as State Police, the park police, Erie County law enforcement and the Genesee County Office of Emergency Management are on scene.

The man is not believed to be a danger to the public.

MORE TK

Kelly Jo Spenton, 37, of 6047 Transit Road, New York, is charged with petit larceny. Spenton is accused of stealing the contents of another person's mail. The alleged offense occurred at 39 S. Pearl St., Apt. 1, Oakfield on Aug. 24.

Zachary Ryan Morath, 19, of Summerfield Drive, Lancaster, is charged with DWI and failure to keep right. Morath was charged following a car accident on Route 5 in Darien at 7:40 a.m., Saturday. The investigation was handled by Deputy Jason Saile.

Larry S. Yoho, 38, of Batavia, is charged with criminal trespass, 2nd, harassment, 2nd, and aggravated harassment, 2nd. Yoho was arrested by State Police for an alleged incident at 10 Maple St., Batavia, at 9:23 p.m., Sept. 6. Yoho was jailed, but the bail amount -- if any -- was not provided. No further details available.

Valerie S. Wells, 44, of Medina, is charged with DWI, driving with a BAC of .08 or greater and moving from lane unsafely. Wells was stopped by State Police on Park Road, Batavia, at 5:35 p.m., Thursday.

A driver reportedly swerved to avoid a deer and hit a utility pole.

There are no injuries reported in the accident at 7 Day Road and County Line Road in Darien, but power lines are down.

Darien Fire is responding.

A brush fire is reported behind a barn at 516 Sumner Road, between Fargo and County Line roads.

Darien Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE (5:10 p.m.): A person on scene on Sumner Road reports heavy smoke is coming from down in Erie County. A firefighter says wind may have blown in the smoke reported by a passerby. They are investigating the area.

UPDATE (5:22 p.m.): Darien fire is back in service. It was found to be a bonfire at 526 Sumner Road. A person there was informed that it was illegal to burn some of the material being used to fuel the flames.

Electrical lines are reportedly sparking at 1076 Broadway Road, Darien.

Darien Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 9:09 p.m.: Darien Fire back in service.

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Alexander Agapii, 31, of Penfield, is charged with sexual abuse, 3rd. Agapii is accused of touching a 14-year-old girl without her consent while on the Lazy River Ride at Darien Lake. Agapii was jailed on $250 bail.

(name redacted upon request), 24, of Tracy Avenue, Batavia, is charged with two counts of criminal contempt. xxxx is accused of getting into an argument with his girlfriend. He allegedly "racked" a shotgun and pointed it at her. After the incident was reported, a warrant was issued for his arrest. He later turned himself in.

Bernard A. Buckenmeyer, 46, of Alexander, is charged with DWI and driving with a  BAC of .08 or greater. Buckenmeyer was stopped by State Police at 9:25 p.m., Sunday, on Hunn Road in Alexander.