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Evan Vanskiver	Adam Montes

Two Monroe County men are again out of custody, released within the same 24-hour period that their alleged crime spree started, apparently because a local judge had no authority to set bail.

Evan Jacob Vanskiver and Adam John Montes were arrested early Monday morning and, in accordance with New York's current bail law, released on appearance tickets. A short time later, they were allegedly spotted in a stolen car, leading to a Batavia PD pursuit through multiple jurisdictions. 

That led to more charges, but at arraignment on Feb. 27, the date of all of these events, they were released on their own recognizance. 

It's impossible to say that they would still be in custody without bail reform, but local officials say the ease with which they regained their freedom is a product of bail reform.

For charges under a certain level, police officers can't bring a suspect before a judge for arraignment. The officers must write an appearance ticket.  And a judge, at arraignment, must set release conditions that are the least restrictive option available. That's the law.

District Attorney Kevin Finnell said if there had been an arraignment in pre-bail reform days, his office would have requested cash bail or bond be set.  It would have been up to a judge, who may also have heard a counter-argument from a defense attorney, to weigh the flight-risk factors in order to decide if bail was necessary to ensure the defendants would reappear in court as ordered at a later date.

"Prior to bail reform, the decision of whether to set bail would have, of course, rested with the judge, so I cannot advise you with any degree of certainty if these defendants would have been held on bail," Finnell said. "I can tell you that prior to bail reform, knowing the circumstances of this case, my office would have requested that bail be set, and we would have been optimistic that our request would have been granted."

Even though holding the defendants in jail after their initial arrest on Feb. 27 isn't a given, Batavia PD Chief Shawn Heubusch does see the case as a failure of bail reform, primarily because no judge was given a chance to make a decision. An appearance ticket was mandatory. 

The incidents involving Vanskiver and Montes began at 4:14 a.m. on Monday when dispatchers received a complaint of a theft from a vehicle on Church Street in Elba.

When Deputy Jeremiah Gechell arrived on scene, two men were spotted. They fled the area.  Deputy James Stack and K-9 Rayzor responded and commenced a search. A short time later, Vanskiver and Montes were located. They were allegedly in possession of a cache of stolen items. 

Both men were also accused of damaging a vehicle on Church Street while trying to gain access to it.

Deputy Travis DeMuth assisted in the investigation.

Vanskiver is 31 with a listed residence of Viking Way, Sweden, and Montes is reported by the Sheriff's Office not to have a residence. Batavia PD place Vanskiver's residence in Brockport and Montes in Hamlin.

In the Elba incident, the two men were both charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, a Class C felony, 14 counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a Class E felony, criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, a Class A misdemeanor, and criminal mischief in the fourth degree, a Class A misdemeanor.

In pre-bail reform days, not everybody charged with felonies was held.  In this case, however, the extenuating circumstances that a judge could have considered under the prior bail guidelines is that one of the defendants doesn't have a permanent residence and neither is from the local area. 

In an attempt to get a defense attorney's perspective on bail reform and its impact on this case, The Batavian emailed Public Defender Jerry Ader two days ago, and he did not respond.

According to Batavia PD, the two men were released from custody at the Genesee County Jail at 2:15 p.m. on Monday.

They were spotted in the allegedly stolen vehicle at 2:41 p.m. that same day on Ellicott Street near Liberty Street.

A patrol officer chased the vehicle down Route 5 to Wortendyke Road, where Vanskiver managed to avoid spike strips. 

The vehicle then started traveling in a southerly direction through the towns of Batavia, Alexander, Pembroke, and Darien. 

Further attempts to use spike strips to impede the vehicle were unsuccessful. 

According to a Batavia PD statement, the vehicle entered the Village of Attica on Route 238, then turned into an apartment complex on Sokol Drive, where it struck a garbage Dumpster.

Vanskiver allegedly fled on foot. He was taken into custody following a brief foot pursuit. The passenger was apprehended in the vehicle.

They were arrested by Batavia PD and charged with:

Evan J. Vanskiver

• Criminal Mischief 3rd (Felony)
• Grand Larceny 3rd (Felony)
• Conspiracy
• Unlawful Fleeing of a Police Officer
• Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 2nd
• Multiple Vehicle and Traffic Law violations

Adam J. Montes

• Grand Larceny 3rd (Felony)
• Conspiracy

Following this second arrest, Vanskiver and Montes were held pending arraignment in the new Centralized Arraignment Court. They were arraigned later that same day, according to jail records, and ordered released on their own recognizance.

The incident prompted Assemblyman Steve Hawley to call on New York to revisit its current bail law.

“The revolving door of crime that has been established by bail reform continues to hinder and harm law-abiding citizens while giving career criminals a free pass,” Hawley said. “It’s high time for the Majority in the Assembly to help bring an end to this era of crime New York is continually besieged by. To continue to ignore it makes them part of the problem.”

Elba beat Finney on Saturday 47-31 to advance to the semifinals of the Section V Class D2 tournament.

Sydney Reilly scored 13 points, Lydia Ross 11, Mariah Ognibene, eight, and Kennedy Augello, seven.

"The team is playing well and defense is starting to look better," said Head Coach Charlie Pangrazio. "We're looking forward to the next challenge on Tuesday night."

The Lancers play Scio/Friendship at Mount Morris on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

In their opening round Section V playoff game, Elba had no trouble with Hinsdale on Thursday, winning 79-24.

Sydney Reilly scored 24 points, along with seven rebounds and seven steals. Lydia Ross scored 13 and had six steals. Halie Scouten scored eight points.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here

Traveling to Lyndonville on Tuesday, the Elba Lancers came away with a win, 68-55, in Girls Basketball.

Sydney Reilly scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Halie Scouten scored 15 points and 15 rebounds. Lydia Ross scored 10 points. Kennedy Augello scored six and had six assists.

The Lancers evened the team's season record at 10 and 10.

Girls Basketball on Tuesday:

• Notre Dame beat Wheatland-Chili, 66-20. Amelia McCulley scored 26 points, had 10 rebounds and five assists and five steals. Emma Sisson scored 15. Avelin Tomidy scored 14.
• Alexander beat Kendall, 57-17.  Alyssa Kramer scored 19 points and Melanie Pohl scored 11.
• Pavilion beat Perry, 52-35. Karlee Zinkievich scored 27 points. Lauren Kinglsey scored 16 and had eight rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals.

Boys Basketball:

• Byron-Bergen beat Kendall, 63-44. David Brumsted scored 18 points and had eight rebounds. Colin Martin scored 10 points.

Photos by Kristin Smith

Click here to visit Oliver's Candies. Click here to visit the Sweet Life Country Store.

The Elba Lancers won their sixth straight in Girls Basketball on Friday, beating Attica 47-31.

Sydney Reilly scored 11 points, had five assists and four steals.  Halie Scouten and Lydia Ross scored eight each.  Scouten had five steals and 10 rebounds. Kennedy Augello scored six points. 

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Press release:

The Town Board, typically meet the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7 p.m., with the exception of Feb. 4

Meeting dates:

• March 10
• April 14
• May 12
• June 9
• July 14
• August 11
• September 8
• October 13
• November 10
• December 8
• December 28 (Year End Meeting)

Zoning Board
FIrst Monday of each month at 7 p.m.
Holiday Accommodations – Jan. 9, July 10th & Sept. 11th

Planning Board
Third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. 

Caitlin Ryan, with 25 points and eight rebounds, helped lead Oakfield-Alabama to a 56-53 win over Elba on Elba's home court in Girls Basketball on Thursday night.

MacKena Reding added 10 points and seven assists and Alea Groff scored nine, for O-A, while Brooke Reding and Emma Ray added five a piece. 

For the Landers, Sydney Reilly scored 21 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Halie Scouten scored 15 points and snagged 14 rebounds. She also blocked five shots.  Lydia Ross scored nine points.

The Hornets are now 8-1 and Elba drops to 2-6.

Photos by Kristin Smith.