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Center Street parking lot to be closed for paving one day next week

By Press Release

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Press release:

Starting on August 10, 2021, sections of the Center Street lot will be closed for paving operations. This work will be performed during the business day between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. and is weather-dependent.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Bureau of Maintenance at 585-345-6400 option 1.

We appreciate your cooperation in advance.

Trial date set in Days Inn shooting for co-defendants

By Howard B. Owens
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Jacob Sponaugle Devon Wright

A Batavia man facing multiple criminal charges, many of them stemming from alleged acts after prior arrests, didn't show up in County Court this morning.

According to defense attorney Nathan Pace, his client, Devon Wright, called him this morning and said that last night he had dislocated his knee, couldn't walk, and was in much pain and so wouldn't be able to make it to court.

The court clerk then revealed that Wright had also called the court and said he wanted a new attorney so he wouldn't be showing up for court.

At the request of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Judge Charles Zambito issued a warrant for Wright's arrest.

Zambito then proceeded with setting a trial date for Wright on two of the charges against him, attempted criminal possession of a weapon 2nd and attempted criminal possession of a weapon 3rd, along with his co-defendant in that case, Jacob Sponaugle.

Sponaugle is charged with attempted murder, assault, 1st; criminal use of a firearm; aggravated criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd; criminal possession of a weapon, 2nd; and criminal sale of a firearm, 3rd.

Both men were allegedly involved in an attempted gun sale gone wrong on July 22, 2020.  A third person at the scene was shot and wounded in the lobby of the Days Inn in Batavia.

According to Friedman, Wright was the person attempting to buy the guns.

Details of what transpired at the Days Inn that night have not been released.

Soon after Zambiot set a trial date of Sept. 13, Wright walked into court (showing no signs of any injury).

Dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, he stepped to the defense table and informed the judge that he would like a new attorney.  His complaint about his attorney was that he didn't think he and his attorney were on the same page, that Pace had called up Wright and informed him they needed to meet, and that Wright needed to go to Pace's office. Because Wright's driving privileges are suspended, he said he couldn't drive himself there.

"I can't make somebody drive me there," Wright said.

Zambito denied Wright's request for a new attorney finding his reason this close to trial without merit.  He instructed Pace to work with his client to find a suitable time and place to meet,  Pace told Zambito that he needed a quiet and private place to meet with his client, which is why he asked to meet at his office. Zambito said that if Pace's office is difficult for Wright to get to, the courthouse has conference rooms they can use to meet. He told Wright it is unreasonable for him to expect Pace to come to his house to meet.

Among the other charges still pending against Wright are:

  • Larceny, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child from November 2019;
  • Attempted assault 1st and resisting arrest from December 2019 when he allegedly ran down a person on Highland Park; 
  • Sexual conduct with a person less than 15 years old and two counts of criminal sexual act from May 2020.

Wright remains free on bail set in the Highland Park case and Zambito has expressed frustration at his inability to set new bail in subsequent cases due to New York's bail reform law.

Previously:

National news site focused on criminal justice reform misses key facts in examining Genesee County

By Howard B. Owens

When reporters for a national publication focused on justice system reform looked for a county to illuminate the changes in jail population due to pandemic-related fluctuations, they settled on Genesee County and an inmate they thought illustrated the shifting priorities of the system.

The selection of Matthew Reed to help tell the story of a person who might have been mistreated by the system drew attention locally.  

Reed's name is familiar to anybody who regularly pays attention to published arrest reports.

In this case, Reed was highlighted for his conviction on a petty larceny charge -- he stole, as the story noted, $63 in bedsheets from Target. His example was perhaps colorful because his sentencing was delayed for months because of the closure of the Town of Batavia court during the pandemic. When he was eventually sentenced by Town Justice Andrew Young in May he was ordered to serve six months in the Genesee County Jail. (With good behavior, he should be out in about a month).

Reed told reporter Beth Schwartzapfel of The Marshal Project he thought the sentence under the circumstances was unfair.

Reed doesn’t understand the point of sending him to jail now, only further destabilizing his life. “They could have at least offered me drug court or some type of rehab or something,” he said in an interview from the Genesee County Jail last week.

While it's true Reed wasn't offered an opportunity for drug court or rehab, in Genesee County -- at least -- it's up to a defendant's attorney to ask the court to consider those options prior to sentencing, something Reed said his attorney didn't do even though he asked him to make that request.  Reed's attorney, Michael Guarino, told The Batavian after a recent court appearance on another matter that he did make that request, and it was rejected by the DA's office.

The Marshall Project story leaves the impression that stealing some bedsheets was Reed's only crime and he was given a harsh sentence after being left in limbo for months while awaiting his sentence.

That isn't the whole story, however.  In October 2020, Reed also admitted to a criminal charge of bail jumping in the third degree.  He was sentenced in May on both charges.  

While Young didn't give a reason for his sentence of six months for Reed, according to a recording of the proceeding obtained by The Batavian from the Town of Batavia Court, Young was made aware of the 38-year-old Batavia resident's prior criminal history, including multiple failures to appear and parole and probation revocations. 

These issues came up because Reed was requesting a delay in his sentencing over concern he wanted to collect one more disability check before going to jail so he could have some money on his books. This fact isn't mentioned in the Marshall Project story.

Assistant District Attorney Kaitlynn Schmit objected to the delay out of concern Reed wouldn't make a future court appearance.  She also brought to Young's attention a letter Reed had sent the court earlier asking that his case be expedited.  He was distressed by the COVID-related delay in his sentencing. 

While Reed's criminal history as an adult is lengthy, the prior arrests are all for relatively minor offenses, such as trespassing, harassment, and disorderly conduct.  His sentences over the years have included time in jail, community service, fines and probation. His longest sentence appears to have been 365 days in 2008 on a scheme to defraud conviction. 

Reached via email, Schwartzapfel said none of that -- not even the bail jumping charge included in his May sentence -- was relevant to the story she was writing.

The story's thesis is captured in the article's 28th paragraph:

The pandemic underscored what reform advocates have been saying for years: Cramped and filthy jails are the wrong place for most people who have been arrested.

In an email to The Batavian, Schwartzapfel wrote: 

To answer your questions, yes of course I did a criminal history search on Reed, and I knew he had also been charged with bail jumping, which is a very scary-sounding way of saying, he missed a court date. I could have included that, as well as the list of other priors (almost all years-old petit larcenies), but it wasn't really relevant to the point, which was, he stayed out of jail during the pandemic when he would have otherwise gone to jail; and now, months later, he's serving a delayed sentence.

While ADA Schmit is on leave, The Batavian reached out to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman for background on the case and the policies of his office on cases like this.  Asked about Schwartzapfel's characterization of her story, he said:

“Missed a court date” is a very nice sounding way of saying “bail jumping”.

Regardless of how old his priors are, they still factor in the determination as to what is an appropriate sentence.

Leaving out any other charge that was pending against him certainly misleads the reader about the nature of Reed's sentence, especially bail jumping.

I can’t understand the logic behind the contention that, because he hadn't been sentenced for so long, he shouldn't have been sent to jail.


AUTHOR DISCLOSURE: I first met Matthew Reed years ago while outside of our former downtown office and he asked me for money.  I gave him money then and two or three times in the next couple of weeks when he asked for money, usually with some story about his disability check being late or the funds not being available to pay his rent or needing money for food.  After three or four times of this, I told him I couldn't give him any more money.  Eventually, he stopped asking for money, including in the past year when I would see him almost daily in the area Ellicott Street and Liberty Street.


In the story, Schwartzapfel writes:

In the Genesee County Jail in New York, where Reed recently began a six-month sentence for petit larceny, there were, for a time, only 35 people jailed, down from 90 before the pandemic, according to data compiled by the Vera Institute. Defendants had court dates pushed off, and judges went to extra lengths to allow people to wait at home rather than in jail. (New York’s bail reform law also went into effect in early 2020 and reduced jail populations even further.) By March, there were 54 people jailed in the county lockup.

The numbers and actual events in 2019 through June of this year tell a more complex story, however.

It's true that prior to the pandemic, the Genesee County Jail inmate population did hit 90, and even higher at times, but the reduction in the jail population initially had nothing to do with the pandemic and the data doesn't suggest the pandemic had much impact on the inmate population other than delaying inevitable criminal convictions.  

The average number of inmates -- convicted and being held pre-sentence -- rather than "creep up" actually declined from April through June (The Marshall Project story was published in early June).

Long before any local judge had heard the term COVID-19, they were starting to obey a directive from the state court system to begin implementing bail reform.  The Assembly and Senate passed the new limits on bail for criminal defendants in the summer of 2019 and even though the law wouldn't officially take effect until Jan. 1, 2020, judges and town justices were directed to take the new guidelines into consideration when deciding on bail for newly arrested defendants.  Defense attorneys were well aware of this directive and were sure to remind judges of the new guidelines at every opportunity. 

The Genesee County Jail population started dropping around August 2019 when there were 85 inmates in the jail.  By December, that average daily count had dropped to 55.  In February of 2020, when the novel coronavirus was still a distant threat, the local jail population fell to 37 and would remain at or about that level throughout the regional height of the pandemic.

In December 2020, when the total new number of COVID-19 cases in Genesee County peaked on Christmas Eve at 101, the average daily number of inmates hit its highest number since the beginning of the year, 42.  As the number of new cases locally began to drop and more people were out and about, the average daily population of the jail did start to increase, hitting a total of 55 in April. 

March and April were the first months in the previous 10 when more than 300 crimes were reported in Genesee County in a single month.

The drop in crime in 2020 could be a factor -- as some local officials think --  of police reluctance to interact with people unless absolutely necessary.  But, perhaps, a lot of would-be criminals were equally reluctant to interact with other people, meaning fewer victims.  Or with less activity in the community, there were just fewer opportunities to do something wrong.  We'll never know for sure but the fact remains, the lower the number of crimes reported, the fewer people arrested, the fewer people held in jail (with or without bail reform), and the fewer people convicted of crimes.

The other factor was for much of 2020, most courts in the county were closed. That created a backlog of arraignments, plea agreements, trials, and sentencing. 

"We're still pushing to sentence people convicted from more than a year ago," said Friedman. "If you think about what happened here, no courts, no grand jury for four months last year, we're playing catch up."

One tangential result of the delay in court cases, Friedman said, is it is much harder to get defendants to accept a plea.  Why accept a plea, he noted, when you know the court calendar is jammed and you can put off going to jail just waiting for your case to get called before a judge?

Fewer people accepting pleas means fewer people in jail.

It's Schwartzapfel contention that she didn't intend to single out Genesee County as treating convicted criminals more harshly but to use Genesee County as an example of a national trend.

"I intended to use it as a county that was very much in step with how most other counties are handling jail populations post-pandemic," Schwartzapfel said.

This seems to indicate, then, that other counties nationally are not locking away many convicted criminals, which is counter to the narrative of the Marshall Project story, or, as the local data indicates, Genesee doesn't fit the national trend and wasn't a good example to use in the story.

The number of sentenced inmates being held in the Genesee County Jail dropped precipitously in 2020 and has remained relatively low. The highest average daily count of sentenced inmates in the Genesee County Jail in 2021 peaked at 11 in March, not even half of the lowest numbers of 2019.

The delays in sentencing have been the largest contributing factor to the drop in total inmate count locally (Schwartzapfel leaned on total population counts, not the different segments of pre-sentenced and sentenced inmates), so contrary to the impression left by the Marshall Project Story, Genesee County is not rushing to lock up new convicts.

But this isn't the doing of judges, as the Marshall Project Story states, it's the response of defendants that are leading to delayed jail sentences, Friedman said.

"Because of what has happened and we're still very slow in courts, people don't have the same incentive to accept a plea offer," Friedman said. "They think, 'let things go. Time is on my side."

Meanwhile, if your concern is bail reform, something Schwartzapfel said was not a focus of her story but does matter if your goal is to reduce the number of people held in jails, the local crime data offers little assistance to either side of the debate.

Crime dropped dramatically in 2020, the first full year of bail reform, but that almost certainly has more to do with the pandemic than anything else and the pandemic may have masked bail reform's full effect on crime.  On the other hand, crime rates in four of the first six months of 2021 exceed the rate of 2019 but dropped below both 2019 and 2020 in June. So it's a mixed bag with too little data -- and the available data is tainted by other factors -- to lead to any meaningful conclusions.

The headline-grabbing unintended consequence of bail reform is anecdotal, not statistical, such as the repeated arrests of Devon Wright and the frustration of County Court Judge Charles Zambito at his inability to hold him, legally, in jail.

One clear result of bail reform, Friedman said, is, again, people are less likely to accept a plea offer.

"If I'm out on the street, why should I go in and plead guilty and go to jail," Friedman said. "When people are already in jail, they're more likely to say, 'Let's get this done.'"

The other downside of bail reform, according to Kevin Finnell, Friedman's first assistant, is that when defendants don't show up for court, judges can't issue warrants like they used to. They first have to reschedule the hearing and give the defendant up to another month to appear.

Since judges started implementing bail reform, the number of people held in jail before sentencing has been cut roughly in half, if not less.  There are still 30 to 40 people a month held in jail who have yet to be convicted of the crime that led to their confinement.  Bail reform isn't benefiting as many defendants as the public seems to believe.

Friedman has a sense that there are at least some defendants who, because of bail reform, have used the opportunity to re-offend, and that concerns him.

"Anecdotally, we all know of cases involving people who have been on the street who wouldn't have been otherwise and they continue to commit criminal offenses," Friedman said. "I can’t give you statistics or how many would have been locked up before bail reform. But I don't think you can say, 'Well, people who have been released, they're not committing crimes anymore because obviously, that's not the case."


 

Photos: Semi loses rear tires from trailer at Oak and Main, Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

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A tractor-trailer turning left from Oak Street onto Main Street tonight had its entire rear wheel assembly detach from the trailer.

An officer explained that to keep a trailer from becoming a runaway vehicle if it detaches from the truck, the rear wheels are supposed to lock up. Tonight, the rear wheels on this brand new trailer locked up for no apparent reason.

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Rath calls on Cuomo to resign immediately

By Howard B. Owens

Press release from Sen. Edward Rath:

The findings of the Attorney General’s report are extremely concerning and downright disgusting.  The upsetting details of this report speak for themselves.  If the Governor does not resign, the State Legislature must act immediately.  Out of respect for the victims, further inaction regarding this matter is simply unacceptable.

Candidate for City Council calls on Cuomo to resign

By Press Release

Press release from Erica O'Donnell:

For too long, women working under and alongside men in power have had to silently endure harassment, abuse, and worse. Those days are over. No one, even those who hold some of the most powerful positions in the country, are above the law. It is long past time for Governor Cuomo to be held accountable for his behavior. He should save taxpayers the time and money involved in impeachment proceedings and resign immediately. If he refuses, I encourage my friends in the NYS Senate and Assembly to begin those proceedings without delay.

Sponsored Post: Know your rights, call Dolce Panepinto today

By Lisa Ace


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Hochul says she believes the women in sexual harassment claims against Cuomo

By Howard B. Owens

Press release from Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul:

Sexual harassment is unacceptable in any workplace, and certainly not in public service. The Attorney General’s investigation has documented repulsive and unlawful behavior by the Governor towards multiple women. I believe these brave women and admire their courage coming forward.

No one is above the law. Under the New York Constitution, the Assembly will now determine the next steps.

Because Lieutenant Governors stand next in the line of succession, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process at this moment.

Hawley calls on Cuomo to resign following AG report saying he sexually harassed women

By Press Release

Press release from Assemblyman Steven Hawley:

“What we heard today should sicken everyone at a human level, and we cannot allow the governor to continue as our executive knowing our worst fears about his actions are true,” said Hawley. “He must resign now, and if not, we must reject his leadership resoundingly to send a message that conduct of this nature will never be acceptable, by anyone. He has abused his power in the most horrific of ways, and the time has now come for the legislative branch to assert itself and do what is right in this critical moment.”

Liberty Pump expansion among items up for consideration by GCEDC board

By Press Release

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) Board of Directors will consider final resolutions for six projects at a capital investment of approximately $41.7 million at its August 5, 2021 board meeting.

The GCEDC Board will consider a final application for incentives for Gateway GS LLC.  Gallina Development of Rochester is proposing to build out a third 27,000 square-foot building at the Gateway II Corporate Park in the town of Batavia. Gateway GS LLC will invest approximately $2.36 million. The proposed facility is anticipated to be completed in 2022 and will create 21 new jobs with an average salary of $42,000 annually plus benefits.

Gateway GS LLC is seeking mortgage, sales, and property tax exemptions of approximately $386,000, and is estimated to produce $28 of investment into the local economy for every $1 of incentives. A public hearing on the proposed agreement was held on July 23.        

The GCEDC Board of Directors also will consider the approval of final applications for incentives for four community solar projects with a combined generation of 15.65 megawatts.

Trousdale Solar, LLC and Trousdale Solar II, LLC are proposing two projects totaling $14.8 million of investment on Ellicott Street Road in the town of Batavia. The projects would generate 5 MW and 4 MW of electricity and over $930,000 in future revenues to Genesee County and the Batavia City School District over 15 years. The proposed project agreement is estimated to provide approximately $2.5 million in property and sales tax incentives between the two projects. A public hearing on the proposed agreements was held on July 23.

Batavia Solar, LLC (YSG Solar) is proposing a $3.5 million project at the Upstate MedTech Park in the town of Batavia.  The project would generate 1.65 MW of electricity and over $150,000 in future revenues to Genesee County and the Byron-Bergen School District. The proposed project agreement is estimated to provide approximately $500,000 in property and sales tax incentives. A public hearing on the proposed agreement was held in September 2020.

NY CDG Genesee 1 LLC is proposing a $7.3 million project on Oak Orchard Road in the town of Elba. The project would generate 5 MW of electricity and over $518,000 in future revenues to Genesee County, the town of Elba, and the Elba Central School District. The proposed project agreement is estimated to provide approximately $1.2 million in property and sales tax incentives. A public hearing on the proposed agreement was held on May 17.

Finally, the Board also will consider accepting an application for consideration of incentives from Liberty Pumps.  If the proposal’s application is accepted, a public hearing will be conducted on the proposed agreement.

Liberty Pumps is proposing to make a $13.7 million capital investment to expand its manufacturing operations at the Apple Tree Acres business park in the town of Bergen.

The family- and employee-owned company is proposing to build approximately 107,000 square feet of new warehouse and manufacturing space to accommodate the continued growth of the business.  The project is expected to create approximately 30 jobs over 3 years while retaining its current employment of approximately 280.

The project has requested a $911,273 property tax exemption and a $578,160 sales tax abatement. The project is estimated to produce $29 of investment into the local economy for every $1 of incentives.

August 5, 2021, the GCEDC Board meeting will take place at 3 p.m. at 99 Med-Tech Drive.  The meeting also will be available online at www.gcedc.com.

Rogers: Housing project in the Village of Le Roy hinges on science-based stormwater retention plan

By Mike Pettinella

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Cold hard facts about a stormwater retention plan apparently will determine the fate of a Batavia businessman’s proposal to build a 60-unit senior residential complex off East Avenue in the Village of Le Roy.

“I’m looking for scientific information – I don’t want anybody’s opinion – that can tell me that the project is going to have no impact upon groundwater or, actually, will improve the situation that the residents are feeling now, including the (Le Roy) golf course,” said Le Roy Mayor Greg Rogers this morning.

“I still believe there is a need for that type of housing in the community … but the main thing is that the water issue has to be a non-issue.”

Rogers presided over a meeting on Monday night that was attended by about 50 village residents at the Town of Le Roy courtroom. The purpose of the meeting was for the board to conduct the State Environmental Quality Review for the project.

After the first two sections of the long form were completed, the SEQR then was put on hold, Rogers said.

When asked if the water issue was the reason for tabling it, he said “it had more to do with the overall project.”

When asked if the site plan submitted by Eric Biscaro, owner of Armor Building Supply in Batavia, was in jeopardy, Rogers said, “I wouldn’t say that, it’s just that we’re in the information gathering process.”

“I’ve always contended that the stormwater part of it – the stormwater plan -- was the deal breaker on the whole thing. If any of the properties get more stormwater than they’re getting now, that’s a deal breaker. Right now, for me, it’s all about the water.”

If photos provided by LeRoyan Tom Frew are any indication, standing water in yards in the Poplar Lane and Orchard Drive area as well as nearby Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club is a major concern that needs to be addressed.

Frew, a Poplar Lane resident, has been outspoken in his opposition to the project, claiming that the 30 duplex patio home rentals on a 20-acre parcel that runs east of East Avenue are not compatible with the neighborhood. He also is against the village spending money to improve East Avenue and is concerned about the increase in traffic.

Biscaro’s plan, estimated to cost around $9 million, also calls for the development and sale of eight single-family home building lots along an extension of that street.

Contacted this morning, Frew said that a heavy rainfall two weeks ago caused a foot and a half to two feet of standing water behind a neighbor’s home near the intersection of Poplar and Orchard (see photo above).

“That that took a few days to flow out through a buried pipe that goes down parallel with Orchard Drive and dumps into a creek which flows over to Mercy Grove and the golf course,’ he said. “The golf course had two holes under water.”

Frew said turbidity is another issue.

“You could only see about six inches down in the two feet of water, and (Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club owner) Jim Gomborone said that when the water recedes on the golf course, he has suspended solids all along the lower shore line that came from that water,” he added.

Frew agreed with Rogers that water “seems to be the tiebreaker.”

“He (Biscaro) will have to build a retention pond to hold and contain it, and then slowly release the water,” he said. “That was where the rubber met the road at the meeting last night.”

Rogers said the developer is on board with village officials when it comes to providing necessary and accurate information relating to water runoff.

“His engineer had sent the water remediation plan to CPL (Clark Patterson Lee) for review, but CPL didn’t feel that they had enough information at that point and time,” Roger said. “So, we’re going to do our due diligence among Biscaro, Clark Patterson and the DEC (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation) to get accurate information on the water remediation plan.”

The mayor said the next step is a public hearing at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Memorial Auditorium on Trigon Park in the village. The public hearing originally was to be held at Le Roy High School but the school is not available, Rogers said.

“After that and if all the information is in regarding the water, then we can go back and adopt Section 3 -- if that’s where it leads us,” he said.

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Photo at top: Poplar Lane resident Gerry Robinson in standing water behind his home. Photos at bottom: Standing water at Mercy Grove and Le Roy Country Club following a recent steady rainfall. Submitted photos.

Driver accused of creating 'grave risk of death' in high speed pursuit through Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

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A Batavia resident figures he missed being involved in a serious accident by one second with a car "easily going 100 mph" on Bank Street Road yesterday.

"(The car) had to swerve towards college road," David Austin told The Batavian in an email. "I thought for sure he was going to wipe out but he corrected and I could hear him accelerate. Scared me more than I have ever been. If I would have made that turn 1 second later I probably wouldn't be here."

The alleged driver of that car was James Matthew Lepore, 23, of Rio Grande Drive, North Chili.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Lepore failed to stop for a deputy who spotted his car exceeding the 55 mph speed limit on Route 33 in Stafford.  The deputy pursued and the car continued into the Town of Batavia and then into the city before heading north on Route 98.  There law enforcement successfully deployed a spike strip and the car was forced to a halt.

According to the arrest report, Lepore "recklessly engaged in conduct that created a grave risk of death by unlawfully fleeing a deputy in a motor vehicle and intentionally went into the opposite lane of travel causing other motorists to swerve out of the way to avoid a head-on collision, all while traveling at speeds in excess of 90 to 100 mph."

After the stop, Lepore was allegedly found in possession of an unregistered firearm and a controlled substance. 

Lepore is charged with:

  • Reckless endangerment in the first degree
  • Criminal possession of a firearm
  • Unlawful fleeing a police officer in the third degree
  • Criminal possession of a controlled substance 7th
  • Speed in excess of 55 mph
  • Plus, 21 traffic offenses.

Lepore was arraigned in Town of Batavia Court and under terms of bail reform released on his own recognizance.

The lead investigators in the case are Deputy Travis DeMuth and Investigator Kevin Forsyth.  Assisting in the incident were Sgt. Andrew Hale, Investigator Howard Carlson, Investigator Joseph Loftus, Investigator Ryan DeLong, Deputy Kyle Krzemien, Deputy Josh Brabon, Deputy Kyle Tower, Deputy Andrew Mullen with K-9 "Frankie," members of Batavia PD and the State Police.

Photo: A reflective moment on Center Street

By Howard B. Owens

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Lynn Bezon said she was driving on Center Street yesterday when she spotted the reflection of the mural at Glass Roots reflected in the window of Center Street Smoke House and had to stop and snap a picture.

Admin number for Sheriff's Office not working

By Press Release

Press release:

The administrative phone line, 585-345-3000, at the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office is currently experiencing an outage.  For any non-emergency calls, please dial

585-343-5000, and your call will be transferred to an internal extension.  Another option available is to utilize e-mail.  This issue is not affecting 9-1-1 calls. 

We apologize for any inconvenience and hope that this issue is resolved shortly.

Two-month art project at the Peace Garden, painted stones and shells, destroyed by vandals

By Howard B. Owens

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Peace Garden committee members spent numerous hours over two months painting and decorating 100 stones and seashells as an art project for the garden only to have it destroy in one night vandals.

Paula Savage, the founder and director of the Peace Garden, said the final installation of the stones and shells was completed on July 20. That was a Tuesday.  By Wednesday evening, every single painted stone and shell was missing, she said.

"Needless to say, we are saddened and disappointed that someone would vandalize the garden in this manner not to mention the time, effort, and expense that was put forth to acquire all of the materials and design this lovely artwork," Savage said.

Savage did not report the crime to Batavia PD.

"The reason I did not file with the police is that I assumed with the stones all being missing there would be none remaining for them to guard and we were not planning to replace them," she said. "Now I realize I was wrong to assume that."

Photos submitted by Paula Savage.

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Driver identified in crash Sunday on Route 98 in Alexander

By Howard B. Owens

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The Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate a single-vehicle rollover accident that occurred at 7:15 p.m., Sunday, in the area of 9822 Alexander Road, Alexander.

The preliminary investigation indicates that Timothy D. Johnson, 27, of Attica, was driving a 2014 black Jeep Cherokee southbound on Route 98 when the vehicle crossed the fog line and continued off the west shoulder of the roadway and hit a drainage ditch and a culvert causing it to become airborne. The airborne Jeep struck a utility pole, breaking the pole in half. Once the Jeep landed, it rolled over several times.

The cause of the crash has not been determined. 

Johnson was transported by Mercy Flight to ECMC with non-life-threatening injuries.

Assisting and the scene was the Alexander Fire and Mercy EMS.

Photos by Alecia Kaus/Video News Service.

Previously: Rollover accident reported on Alexander Road, Alexander

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Bowling league secretary meetings set for Aug. 10, 12

By Press Release

Press release:

The Genesee Region USBC Board of Directors has scheduled meetings for league secretaries to pick up supplies for the 2021-22 season for Tuesday, Aug. 10 at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen and Thursday, Aug. 12 at Mount Morris Lanes. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting in Bergen is set up for secretaries at the following bowling centers: Medina Lanes, Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion, Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, Legion Lanes in Le Roy and Rose Garden Bowl.

The meeting in Mount Morris is set up for secretaries from Mount Morris Lanes, Perry Bowling Center, Livingston Lanes in Geneseo and Letchworth Pines in Portageville.

Association Manager Mike Pettinella will have kits prepared for the secretaries and will go over different areas of the GRUSBC program, including changes for the coming season.  New President Mike Johnson also plans to be at the meetings.

League secretaries of record will be notified by telephone later this week.

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