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Law and Order: Elba man accused of vehicular assault, driving recklessly while impaired by drugs in car-into-house crash

By Billie Owens
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     Rodney Harmon

Rodney Lee Harmon Jr., 42, of Church Street, Elba, is charged with: vehicular assault in the second degree; driving left of pavement markings; moving from lane unsafely; reckless driving, and driving while ability impaired by drugs. At 3:16 p.m. on April 15, after the investigation of a motor-vehicle crash in which the car struck a house on Oak Orchard Road in Batavia, Harmon was arrested. Harmon and his passenger were allegedly involved in a domestic incident while Harmon was driving a Chevy Cruze southbound on Route 98. The vehicle crossed over the hazard warnings into the northbound lane of travel and exited the highway, crashing into the north side of a house. Harmon was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital and evaluated. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Town of Batavia Court on May 27. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy McClellan, assisted by Deputy James Stack.

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     Wesley Thigpen

Wesley Thigpen, 38, of Vine Street, Batavia, is charged with first-degree sexual abuse. He was arrested on May 1 after an investigation into an incident that occurred in December on Vine Street in Batavia. He turned himself in upon request, was arraigned in Batavia City Court, then released under supervision of Genesee Justice. He is due in court again at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 23. The case was investigated by Batavia Police Det. Thad Mart.

Christopher T. Sprague, 25, of West Main Street, Batavia, is charged with two counts of third-degree burglary. He was arrested on May 3 for allegedly attempting to burglarize the Salvation Army Thrift Store at 98 Jackson St. in the City of Batavia on Dec. 23. Also on May 3, he was charged with the same crime for allegedly burglarizing Bill's Auto at 101 Evans St. in Batavia. After his arraignment, he was released on his own recognizance but he is in GC jail on other charges. He is due in Batavia City Court on the burglary charges June 6. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Matthew Wojtaszczyk, assisted by Det. Eric Hill.

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Christopher Sprague

Jonathan Wayne Arce, 35, of Wyoming Street, Wyoming, is charged with: driving while intoxicated; DWI -- operating a motor vehicle while having a BAC of .08 percent or higher; moving from lane unsafely. At 7:11 p.m. on May 3 on Francis Road, Bethany, Arce was arrested on these charges. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Bethany Town Court on May 21. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Mathew Clor, assisted by Sgt. John Baiocco.

Donald G. Cooper, 35, and Christine A. M. Wark, of School Street, Le Roy, were arrested by Le Roy police on May 3 and each was charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor. Cooper was also charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. At about 10:30 p.m. on May 3, Le Roy Police Department received a complaint of two young children sitting on the side of the road on Route 19. When patrols arrived, they located two children, ages 8 and 10. Police were able to identify and locate the parents of the children. It was "discovered that the children were allegedly sent out of the residence to burn off some energy while retrieving a discarded item located on the side of the road approximately a half mile from their residence. During the investigation, an unsecured firearm and bullets for the firearm were located in the residence...in a location that was accessible to both children." Paraphernalia for smoking marijuana was also found in the residence, in a location accessible to both children. As a result of the significant disregard for both children's well-being..." both Cooper and Wark were arrested, without incident. After arraignment in Town of Le Roy Court, the defendants were released under supervision of Genesee Justice. They are due back in Town of Le Roy Court on June 4 to answer the charges.

Steven D. Smires, 23, no permanent address, was arrested on May 2 by the Le Roy Police Department and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor, and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. In the same incident, Leah M. Burrus-Stewart, also no permanent address, was arrested and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child. At about 11:30 a.m. on May 2, Le Roy PD received a complaint of a subject smoking marijuana in a vehicle with two small children inside. Upon arrival, patrols found Smires and Burrus-Stewart inside along with a 3-year-old child belonging to Burrus-Stewart and a 9-month-old baby that belonged to the couple. Police also allegedly located marijuana and paraphernalia for smoking it inside the vehicle. It was also discovered that the family did not have housing and had been living in the vehicle. Both adults were arrested without incident and Child Protective Services was contacted to assist with the children's care. The couple was arraigned in Le Roy Town Court and jailed in lieu of $750 bail each. They are due back in Le Roy Town Court on June 4 to answer the charges.

Jennifer L. Shaw, 33, of Bank Street, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Shaw was arrested at 3:10 p.m. on April 22 on West Main Street in Batavia after an investigation of an incident in which she allegedly left two children unattended in a running vehicle in a parking lot. She was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Batavia City Court on Tuesday, May 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Felicia DeGroot.

William G. Schultz, 45, of Maple Street, Batavia, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia. At 11:15 a.m. Schultz was arrested on Evans Street in Batavia on an unrelated charge. While being searched, he was allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. He was arraigned in Batavia City Court then jailed in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or bond. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Stanley F. Wenzel, 30, of Hutchins Place, Batavia, is charged with dog running at large. He was arrested on April 26 and is due in city court for arraignment on Tuesday, May 7. It is alleged that on April 7 at 4:28 p.m. a dog that Wenzel was in possession of got loose and attacked another dog on Hutchins Place. Wenzel was issued an appearance ticket. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay.

Tiesha Deon Doward, 32, of Prune Street, Batavia, was arrested on May 4 on a warrant out of Batavia City Court after police responded to an incident on Prune Street. They executed a bench warrant that was issued after she failed to appear in court April 24 on a petit larceny case from 2018. Doward was given an appearance ticket and is due in city court on Tuesday, May 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police officers Marc Lawrence and Peter Flanagan.

A 16-year-old who lives in Batavia is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation. The youth was stopped at 12:22 a.m. on April 20 on West Main Street in Batavia for vehicle and traffic violations. During the traffic stop, the youth was allegedly found in possession of marijuana. The youth was arrested and released to a parent and is due in Batavia City Court on Tuesday, May 7. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Marc Lawrence, assisted by Officer Peter Flanagan.

Paul W. Zeches, 30, of Oak Street, Batavia, was arrested on April 30 when he responded to Batavia Police Department for an unrelated matter. He had an active arrest warrant out of Batavia City Court for an unspecified incident that occurred on Feb. 28, 2017. He was arraigned, he pled guilty and was released. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Miah Stevens, assisted by Officer Marc Lawrence.

Anthony R. Piazza, 28, of Pratt Road, Pembroke, was arrested at 2:15 p.m. on April 30 on a bench warrant out of Batavia City Court. The warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court on a misdemeanor traffic ticket. He was released on his own recognizance and is due in city court May 30. The case was handled by Batavia Police Officer Christopher Lindsay.

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