Skip to main content

Drug busts in the city of Batavia lead to five arrests

By Philip Anselmo

A pair of Rochester residents were arrested in Batavia last Thursday following an investigation into the sale of crack cocaine, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Michael R. Ransear, 24, of Rochester, was charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Michael's aunt, April D. Ransear, 42, of Rochester, was charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and a felony count of tampering with physical evidence.

The two were located and arrested by the local drug task force in a parking lot near the intersection of Route 33 and Seven Springs Road in  the town of Batavia. The task force is comprised of sheriff's deputies, officers from the city of Batavia police department and the LeRoy police department. Genesee County's District Attorney office also asssisted in the investigation.

Both Michael and April Ransear were sent to Genesee County Jail; Micheal in lieu of $15,000 bail, April in lieu of $10,000 bail.


Also last Thursday, the local drug task force executed a search warrant at the lower apartment of 26 South Pearl Street n Oakfield, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. As a result, William G. Mosholder, 47, of Oakfield, was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child. Mosholder's two step-children, both under the age of 17, were at the residence when deputies allegedly located marijuana. Mosholder will answer the charges in court in February.


Another search warrant was executed at a Batavia apartment last night, where members of the local drug task force allegedly discovered crack cocaine with a street value of $1,500 and $2,371 in cash, Genesee County sheriff's deputies said. Both of the apartments residents were arrested and charged. Terrence D. Butler, 26, of 120 Jackson St., Apt: 3, Batavia, was charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Anthony Sanders, 27, of the same address, was charged with a felony count of third-degree crimial possession of a controlled substance and a felony count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Both Butler and Sanders were sent to Genesee County Jail without bail.

This photo (below), sent to us by the city police department, depicts the officers of the emergency response team as they left the scene of the raid at 120 Jackson Street last night.

ROBERT JOHNSON

NICE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT THESE SLUMLORDS RENT OUT TO.if you take a look at these characters would you rent to them? As long as people like this keep renting out to these drug dealers they keep coming to batavia.If any one is interested you can look up who owns these type of properties on the Batavia NY WEBSITE I THINK YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED.

Jan 29, 2009, 11:35pm Permalink
Kelly Hansen

Hello Robert,

You must have a gift I was not blessed with. You <s>think you </s>can apparently tell someone's potential to commit a crime simply by his or her appearance. The two men you are speaking about (the only two Batavia residents pictured) do not appear to have to signs tattooed on their foreheads (though your monitor may have more pixels than mine does). Perhaps the FBI is recruiting profilers and could use your services?

As to rental properties, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to someone because of how they look, what color they are, their sexual orientation, race, creed, national origin, sex, disability, age, marital status or familial status.

If I had a lot of spare time on my hands and nothing better to do than snoop into matters that do not concern me, I would look at who owns the properties as you suggested. Funny thing is, people have a right to own apartment housing and people have a right to have a place to live. Strange world we live in, right?

Good day to you and happy Friday!

Kelly

Jan 30, 2009, 8:59am Permalink
Russ Stresing

Maybe the properties have already been rented, but in perusing the "Apartments for Rent" classifieds, I failed to find any listings that specifically sold themselves as ideal for drug dealers.
And taking a look at "these characters", I realized that if the photos hadn't been accompanied by the text, I'd have no opinion, one way or the other.

Jan 30, 2009, 9:00am Permalink
Beth Kinsley

I'm not even going to address most of the ignorance in Mr. Johnson's post but, in defense of the landlords, these people were very possibly not even on the lease or rental agreement. As a paralegal, I have evicted hundreds of tenants and I heard the same story over and over again from the landlords. They rent to a nice girl, maybe with a few kids, and no sooner does she move in, the boyfriend or maybe a brother or friend starts spending more and more time at the apartment and that's often where the trouble starts. Hard to prove that he or she is actually living there or just visiting a lot so it is hard to evict them just based on that. Just because the address is listed in the police blotter, doesn't mean that that is who the landlord rented the apartment to.

Jan 30, 2009, 9:56am Permalink
Gabor Deutsch

I think it is a good sign. Its good that its a felony and its going to help clean up our city. What they dont tell you is that some of these people are habitual or repeat offenders that already used up their options for treatment.

Jan 30, 2009, 2:26pm Permalink

Authentically Local