crime

A dog has been struck on Colorado Avenue.

The driver did not stop.

No description of the hit-and-run vehicle is available.

A person is on scene awaiting police in order to help identify and notify the owner.

A 35-year-old Batavia man reported being shot and his wallet stolen as he walked down what he thinks was Indian Falls Road about 5:30 p.m., Saturday.

After being shot and robbed, Carlos Torres called a friend for assistance, who drove him to UMMC. He was transferred from UMMC to Strong Memorial Hospital by Mercy Flight, according to the Sheriff's Office.

He was in surgery at the time the Sheriff's Office released information on the incident at 11:23 p.m., Saturday.

Torres told officials, according to the release, that he believes he was walking on Indian Falls Road when a car pulled up behind him and somebody demanded his wallet. He was then shot in the back and his wallet was taken.

After the suspects left, he continued walking to Route 5, where he called a friend for help.

The Sheriff's Office says Torres was shot twice with a small caliber weapon. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 345-3000.

Police have responded to a report of a fight at the carnival in downtown Batavia.

When the first unit he arrived, the officer reported "quite a fight." He immediately called for an ambulance for a person having a seizure.

A subject was reportedly seen fleeing west on Ellicott Street and crossing the street toward Della Penna's. Police are looking for two white males, with one wearing a white T-shirt.

UPDATE 10:04 p.m.: One of the subjects who fled reportedly dropped a knife. A second fight has reportedly broken out. Two State Police units have been called in to back up Batavia Police.

UPDATE 10:11 p.m.: Mercy EMS was requested to check on a male down behind Alberty's. He reportedly has a head laceration. There is also a report of "all suspects are black males." It's unclear if that's related to all fights or just one of the fights.

UPDATE 10:29 p.m.: One patient transported to UMMC. Police units going back in service. 

UPDATE 8 a.m. Sunday: Reader Adam Lowder submitted the photo above. His description of events follows after the jump:

Adam Lowder's description of events:

I was at the carnival when the fight took place, and I have attached a photo of the aftermath.

First off I would like to say that this carnival was just plain disgusting. The majority of the ride attendants I witnessed were interacting with the patrons; using foul language, leaving their stations for minutes at a time, and one was even smoking a swisher sweet style cigar that he passed to a young patron to hold onto and smoke for a few minutes.

There were groups of unsupervised middle-school aged kids all over.

We were getting ready to leave around ten o'clock when I saw the ride attendant from the “vehicles that go in a circle” kids' ride (black male 20's red hat with goatee) wrap his arms around a black male, belly to belly, and slowly but forcefully push him across the grounds. The attendant was making statements along the lines of, "just leave" and the male being forced back was saying, "did you hear what he said" repeatedly.

After a minute of this and after a few other people involved yelled towards the two men, the ride attendant in red let go of the male who took off towards Jackson St. Seconds later a group of people (prominently if not all black males) took off running in the same direction.

Ten to fifteen seconds later a few more males ran passed me in the same direction. That is when I saw a crowd of observers gathering on Jackson St. and people screaming and yelling.

As I approached the area, I could see a large group of people involved in physical actions (some jumping around, some swinging their arms, some taking pictures with their phones) in the middle of the street.

An officer in a SUV pulled up with his lights flashing and the group quickly scattered. A few more police cruisers quickly arrived on the seen. I did not see the police apprehend any of those involved, or really even attempt to do so. They all came to the man that was left lying in the middle of the street.

A few minutes later, two of the cruisers rushed over towards Rt. 63, and one stopped next to the Salvation Army.

One thing that I am certain of is that some of the ride attendants were involved in this. The one that I mentioned earlier who was smoking the cigar was in the group that ran past me. He was a black male wearing a Kobe Bryant Lakers jersey, and he was running the “Rio Grande Train” kids’ ride.

I stopped to snap this photo as I walked back to my car parked across from O’Lacy’s Bar.

At this point, the injured male was still lying in the road, paramedics had arrived, there was a crowd of people watching, and a couple of officers were standing near the victim watching.

A Batavia man with at least five arrests for various alleged crimes in the past two years now faces a burglary, 2nd, charge for allegedly participating in a home-invasion burglary March 18.

Brandon C. Dodd, 23, who police say does not now list a permanent address, is accused of forcing his way into the home on Vine Street, wearing a bandanna to cover his face, with an accomplice.

Police at the time said the residents of the home fought back, and investigators did not believe the home was selected at random.

Dodd was arraigned and jailed today on $25,000 bail.

His alleged accomplice, Robert D. Wright, 18, of 149 Ross St., was arrested March 26 and charged with burglary, 2nd. At the time of his arrest, he was jailed without bail. His current status is not immediately available.

Dodd's previously reported arrests:

• Aug. 27, 2008: Alleged DWI.
• Feb. 10, 2008: Alleged promoting prison contraband.
• Dec. 23, 2009: Accused of stealing video games from a roommate.
• April 19, 2010: Accused of going to a woman's house and threatening her.
• March 5, 2010: Accused of hitting another man on the side of his head.

David J. Balonek, Jr., 34, of 209 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with criminal mischief, 4th, harassment, 2nd and endangering the welfare of a child. Balonek is accused of getting in a fight with a family member while a child was nearby.

James Edward Brown, 29, of Oakfield, is charged with failure to obey court order, coercion, 2nd and petit larceny. Brown is accused of stealing a mobile phone as part of a domestic incident at 2 a.m., Thursday. He also allegedly violated an order of protection.

Robert R. Richmond, 46, of 250 Ross St., Batavia, is charged with petit larceny. Richmond is accused of stealing money from the cafeteria at UMMC.

Mykeal Bryan Myers, 20, of Alexander, is charged with criminal trespass, criminal mischief and petit larceny. Myers is accused of stealing fuel from the U.S. Gypsum facility at 2754 Pike Road, Alexander.

Daryl Duane Scott, 29, of Rochester, is charged with criminal contempt and aggravated harassment. Scott is accused of calling and texting an ex-girlfriend, violating an order of protection.

Eric D. Johnston, 31, of Batavia, is charged with conspiracy, 6th, and petit larceny; Matthew J. Long, 20, of Le Roy, is charged with conspiracy, 6th, petit larceny and violation of probation. Johnston and Long were arrested by State Police earlier this week in connection from an unspecified incident on March 9. No further details are available.

Jillian A. Schmidt, 19, of Byron, is charged with unlawful possession of alcohol by a person under 21. Schmidt was arrested by State Police for an incident on March 12. No further details are available.

Sherry L. Lewis, 25, of Alabama, is charged with conspiracy, 6th, petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child; Shannon L. Amidon, 30, of Akron, is charged with conspiracy, 6th, petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child. Lewis and Amidon were arrested at 5:40 p.m., Wednesday, on Veterans Memorial Drive. No further details available.

Le Roy Police are looking for leads in two residential burglaries on East Main Street in the village over the weekend.

In the first, case a burglar broke into a house while the residents were sleeping. He apparently fled the scene when the residents awoke, but did manage to grab a purse before leaving.

In the second break-in, on Sunday night, the owners were not home. The burglar stole paintings, sports cards and jerseys.

The Le Roy Police are investigating a possible link between these burglaries and a burglary in the town of Williamson in Wayne County and are coordinating with the New York State Police in Wayne County. Evidence and manner of the crimes have led law enforcement to link the burglaries.

Two vehicles were seen in the area that may have been involved. They are a black pickup truck with a cap and a gray minivan seen sitting in the area earlier in the week with two occupants.

Witnesses who have information to share should contact the Le Roy Police Department.

A 45-year-old Holley man is accused of assaulting and robbing a Byron resident of three long guns while in his home at 3:30 a.m., Saturday.

Taken into custody yesterday was Darrell Bruce Reid, of 4 N. Main St., Holley.

Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster said the victim had met Reid a short time before Saturday and the two men were talking in the victim's apartment when Reid allegedly assaulted the victim.

The victim suffered a broken nose and cut above his eye that required stitches.

While the victim had met Reid, he didn't know his full name, which led to the Sheriff's Office taking a couple of days to track down the suspect, Brewster said.

Reid, who was jailed without bail, is charged with robbery, 2nd, assault, 2nd, and three counts of grand larceny.

He is scheduled to return to Byron Town Court at 5 p.m., May 17.

A 19-year-old man is being accused of participating in nine burglaries in Le Roy over the past two months.

Michael J. Hilton, who reportedly has no permanent residence, is charged with one count of burglary, 2nd, two counts of petit larceny, three counts of burglary, 3rd, criminal mischief and attempted petit larceny

The alleged break-ins occurred on Myrtle Street and in two apartment complexes on West Main Street.

The investigation by Det. John Condidorio began in March after a computer, game system and military clothing were reported stolen.

The break-ins apparently took place in the basements of buildings.

Several items have been recovered, according to village police, and the investigation is ongoing. Police are attempting to match the recovered items with the proper owners.

Hilton was jailed on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.

Jacob James Meinhold, 19, of 2537 Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with two counts each of petit larceny, criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Meinhold is accused of trespassing on the property of U.S. Gypsum, 2754 Pike Road, Alexander, and on two separate occasions, of breaking a lock and stealing fuel. The first alleged incident was on March 23 and the second on March 28. On April 16, it was reported that Meinhold was involved in an alleged burglary.

An Elmira woman accused of killing a toddler from Batavia has been indicted by a Chemung County grand jury on a charge of murder, 2nd.

Melissa S. Englehardt, 24, is also charged with manslaughter, 1st.

Twenty-one-month old Andrew John Cianfrini died while allegedly in Englehardt's care. He was found dead Nov. 10, 2009.

Englehardt is his stepmother, and she allegedly slipped methanol into his drink cup, causing his death.

The grand jury indictment says Englehard showed "a grave indifference to human life" as part of the murder, 2nd count.

She remains in a Chemung County jail and her bail has been increased from $20,000 to $100,000.

Andrew lived with his mother, Kristen Cianfrini, in Batavia.

The child's father is George Englehardt.

Joshua Cordero McIver, 22, of 130 Third Ave., Apt. 18H, Brooklyn, is charged with criminal trespass, 3rd. McIver is accused of entering Pine Hall at College Village after being banned from the premises. He was jailed on $1,000 bail. Last week, McIver was arrested for allegedly trespassing at College Village. At the beginning of April, McIver was arrested for allegedly trespassing at College Village. In January, a Joshua C. McIver was arrested at College Village and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.

Devonte Andreas Rolle, 18, of 136 Bank St., Batavia, is charged with aggravated harassment, 2nd, and harassment, 2nd. Rolle allegedly made a threatening phone call to a person. After the phone call, Rolle allegedly punched that same person in the face several times. Rolle was arrested by Deputy Frank Bordonaro on Haven Lane in the Town of Batavia at 6:40 p.m., Saturday.

Ryan David Wood, 18, of 6 Prospect Ave., Batavia, is charged with unlawful dealing with a child. Wood is accused of hosting an underage drinking party at 8219 Prole Road Extension, Stafford. He was arrested at 1:04 a.m., Saturday by Deputy Jason Saile.

Kyle Ramone Lewis, 23, of 253 Albermarle St., Rochester, is charged with aggravated unlicensed operation, 3rd. Lewis was turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office by Erie County Correctional Dept. to answer charges out of the town of Batavia and Byron. Following arraignment in Byron, he was arraigned in Batavia. Byron Court set bail at $250 and Batavia set bail at $100.

Andrew John Rock, 23, of 7 Fisher Park, upper, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th, unlawful possession of marijuana, and controlled substance not in the original container. Rock was stopped by Deputy Patrick Reeves at 8:06 p.m., Friday, on Route 33, Stafford. Reeves found Rock allegedly in possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms, hydrocodone and marijuana.

Jacob Edmend Lamberston, 21, no permanent address, is accused of being a fugitive from justice. Lamberston was arrested by Le Roy Police after being found in an apartment by Sgt .Michael Hare, who was investigating an unrelated matter. A check of records found that Lamberston is allegedly wanted in Seminole, Fla., for a violation of probation.

Jesse Eric Reidel, 18, of 2605 Dodgeson Road, Alexander, is charged with burglary, 3rd. Reidel is accused of using force to enter the Oil Doctor, 4003 W. Main St. Road, Batavia, where he allegedly stole vehicle-inspection stickers. The alleged break-in occurred on Dec. 7 around 10 p.m.

Michael J. Walters, 49, of Lackawanna, is charged with DWI and driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Walters was stopped by State Police at 9:46 p.m., Saturday, on Angling Road in Pembroke.

Lindsey L. Palmeri, 20, of Rochester, and Richard L. Jackson, 22, of Rochester, are both charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Palmeri and Jackson were stopped by State Police on Route 77, Pembroke, at 4:05 p.m., Friday.

Accidents from the State Police blotter:

5:50 p.m., April 24, Sandpit Road, Alexander, one vehicle; Driver 1: Melissa Sachanowski, 26, of Alexander. No injuries reported.

10:59 a.m., April 23, Batavia-Oakfield Townline Road, Batavia, two vehicles: Driver 1: Aken V. Wariebi, 44, of Rochester; Driver 2: David M. Baran, 44, of Williamsville. One injury reported.

6:16 p.m., April 24, mile marker 401.5, eastbound Thruway, Pembroke, one vehicle; Driver 1: Thomas A. LaBelle, 41, of Wynanstkill. No injuries reported.

12:23 a.m., April 25, mile marker 384.4, westbound Thruway, Stafford, one vehicle; Driver 1: Mark A. Halla, 53, of Amherst.

Because state law already regulates the residency of convicted sex offenders, Batavia cannot legally enact its own residency restriction, City Attorney George Van Nest informed the City Council this week.

In a memo included in the agenda package for Monday's City Council meeting, Van Nest said that because state law gives the Division of Parole and Division of Probation the responsibility of establishing residency restrictions, local governments are preempted from establishing their own rules.

The state Constitution specifically prohibits local governments from passing laws that are already covered in New York statutes.

Van Nest cited several cases that have invalidated local laws for sex offender residency, and noted that none of the cases have been heard by an appeals court.

"Based on the foregoing," Van Nest writes in the conclusion, "although passage of a local law may be viewed in isolation to have merit, a comprehensive scheme of New York State statutes already exist in this area and such State legislation will be viewed as a basis to find preemption. In addition, there are significant constitutional challenges that might be brought against a local law adopting residency restrictions.

"Therefore, in the event the law is passed, enforcement action is taken by the City and a third party challenges the law, it is likely that the City will be forced to expend resources defending a local law that will ultimately be deemed in effective by a reviewing court."

A man with a lengthy criminal record will need to come up with $250,000 if he wants to get out of Genesee County jail while waiting for his criminal case on a stolen truck charge to proceed.

Judge Robert Noonan said grand larceny, 3rd, charge normally warrants a chance for a defendant to make bail, but given the criminal record of Carl Rivers, a pretty stiff bail or bond is in order.

Rivers can either post $250,000 cash or get a bond for $500,000, Noonan said.

The tall, lanky defendant, dressed in orange jail garb and shackles, was clearly not pleased in court today when Noonan issued the bail order. He flipped his head and shoulders back and made a kind of clucking sound.

Prior to imposing bail, Noonan read a bit of his criminal history -- five felony convictions in New York and criminal convictions in four other states, Noonan said.

Assistant District Attorney Kevin Fennel said Rivers has a history of not following release orders when he has been let out of jail.

On March 19, a pickup truck in Oakfield was reportedly stolen and Rivers is the suspect.

Today, a jury took less than 30 minutes to decide the case of Leon C. Bloom, 27, of Batavia.

The jury found Bloom guilty of grand larceny, 4th.

According to District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, Bloom cashed two checks, and attempted a third, from a closed HSBC account at Tonawanda Valley Federal Credit Union on March 17, 2009.

The checks came from a closed account belonging to Jessica Langmaid-Culver, who distributed the checks to friends. Langmaid-Culver pled guilty last week to grand larceny, 3rd. The cashed checks that came from her account exceeded $6,000.

A total of 10 checks were cashed from the closed account.

Langmaid-Culver's husband, Thomas Culver, is charged with grand larceny, 4th. His trial is set for July, with a plea cutoff date of May 14.

Friedman said that Bloom entered the credit union three times on March 19, dressed slightly differently each time, and presented checks in numerical sequence, 164, 165 and 166. On this third attempt, a teller became suspicious and went to get a manager, at which time Bloom left the building.

This is Bloom's second felony conviction. He faces a possible prison term of one-and-a-third-to three years, or a two- to four-year term.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 3.

Julie B. Wescott, 27, of 335 Bank St., Apt. B3, Batavia, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of marijuana. Wescott was arrested at 3:50 p.m., Tuesday, by Officer Matt Baldwin after an investigation revealed Wescott allegedly failed to provide adequate supervision for two children.

Keith Joseph Lyman, 36, of 217 Bank St., Batavia, is charged with criminal contempt. Lyman is accused of violating an order of protection. He was arraigned in Town of Oakfield Court and jailed on $500 bail.

Genesee County's two elected state legislators applaud the get-tough-on-drunken-driving provisions in Leandra's Law, even while saying they need to work toward making the new law less burdensome on local government.

While county officials raised a number of objections to a provision of the law that will require all drivers convicted of DWI to install an ignition interlock device, both Sen. Mike Ranzenhofer and Assemblyman Steve Hawley said that was an aspect of the new law they fully supported.

Razenhofer pointed to the county probation's chief, Julie Smith, who said interlock devices are effective at stopping drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.

"I knew it (the provision) was in there and I thought it was a good idea," said Ranzenhofer. "It's supposed to be a deterrent to keep drunks off the road. The point is to keep the person off the road so he doesn't kill, maim or harm other individuals."

Hawley said if people are going to drink and drive, when they're convicted, the need to "pay the price."

"The alternative," he said, "is to go to jail, and that is an alternative."

Both Ranzenhofer and Hawley said they are talking with Genesee County officials and trying to find ways to address their concerns, but Hawley also said of all the counties he represents, only Genesee is raising vocal objections. The other counties, he said, indicated they can find a way to accommodate the provisions of the law.

Hawley said he wants to see if it's possible to delay implimenation so counties with concerns can find ways to get them addressed.

Neither Hawley nor Ranzenhofer expressed a lot of sympathy for the spouse of a person convicted of DWI who might also be required to start blowing into a tube to start his or her car.

"My sympathies lie with the victims, the people who are hurt or killed by drunken drivers," Ranzenhofer said.

As for the cost, Hawley said the county shouldn't pay for these devices if someone convicted of DWI can't afford it.

"If they can afford the alcohol, and they can afford the insurance, and they can afford the car, then they can certainly afford the device," Hawley said. "If not, they have to get rid of their cars."

Two women who are charged with endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly having a 2-year-old living in squalor are apparently being given a chance to clean up their act.

A neighbor says the child appears to be still living at the home on 3181 Dodgeson Road, Alexander, which yesterday had a Dumpster filled with trash parked in the driveway.

The home is owned by Lynda Rae Morrill, the 44-year-old grandmother charged in the case. She purchased the 1,288-square-foot home from Habitat for Humanity in October, 2003, according to public records. The home, which sits on more than an acre of land, is assessed at $131,900.

A neighbor, who said the yard was quite a mess before the clean up started -- she doesn't know what it was like inside -- said she believes six adults have been living there. She said she was told that Morrill and her daughter, Lisa Rene Richmond, 22, have been given 30 days to clean up the residence.

Eileen Kirkpatrick, commission of the Department of Social Services, said she can't discuss the specific case, but she did talk about general practice in child-welfare cases.

She said when a complaint comes in, there is an investigation, with Child Protective Services trying to determine whether the issue of the complaint -- such as a child not showing up for school -- is the extent of the problem, or if there are other issues in the home, such as abuse.

Child Protective Services does try to work with parents to correct problems, she said, rather than just take the child away.

"It's our job to try and fix the problem," Kirkpatrick said. "We make all attempts to try and keep the child in the home. We try to keep families intact."

If the problem isn't fixed, then the issue can be brought to Family Court.

Jessica M. Maguire-Tomidy, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Genesee County, said prospective Habitat home recipients go through an extensive background check. Not only must the applicant meet financial requirements, but references -- including landlords -- are checked.

"After their application is taken, we do a credit check, a criminal background check, a home visit, and send out landlord and employment references to be completed by individuals the family works for and has rented from," Maguire-Tomidy said in an e-mail. "We review all of the above to determine need for decent housing, and willingness to partner with us. Should we feel that they would be a good match for our program, we ultimately take our recommendation to the Board of Directors for a voted approval as a Habitat partner family."

Home recipients do more than pay for the house, they must also work 300-500 hours on the construction of the building.

She said she couldn't discuss any specific recipient.

"We try very diligently to pick the right families, and this is a stringent screening process," Maguire-Tomidy said. "For about every 15 families that come to apply to our program only one will ultimately qualify for recommendation to the Board of Directors."

Joshua Cordero McIver, 22, of 130 Third Ave., Apt. 18H, Brooklyn, is charge with criminal trespass, 3rd. McIver was reportedly barred from College Village on Feb. 22. He was reportedly arrested for trespassing on April 1. Then, on Monday, Mciver was allegedly found again at College Village, this time hiding under a desk covered by a bed comforter in Pine Hall.

Nicholas A. Darrow, 19, of 13192 Broadway Road, Alden, is charged with petit larceny. Darrow is accused of shoplifting from The Rez Smoke Shop.

Starting in August, any driver convicted in New York of driving drunk will have to install a device that prevents the car from starting if he or she can't pass a breathalyzer test.

The new requirement was apparently a provision in Leandra’s Law, the legislation passed and signed into law last fall in less than 30 days following the death of a young girl who was a passenger in a car driven by a drunken driver.

Not only will the device be required in the primary car of the convicted drunken driver, but also any car that the driver might even occasionally drive, or have access to drive (work vehicles are exempted).

That means, husband gets convicted of DWI, both his wife's car and his teenage daughter still living at home will need to have the devices installed. The interlock-ignition device is designed to prevent a car from starting if the driver blows a .02 or higher. It will also randomly require a driver to blow in the device as the person is driving to help ensure a friend didn't blow in it to get the car started initially (example photo here).

"Since when do we start punishing innocent people?" said Assistant County Manager Frank V. Ciaccia during the Monday meeting of the Public Safety Committee. "These are people who weren’t convicted of anything. Now every morning they get in a vehicle they’ve got to blow into this thing to get the car to start?"

County officials are most concerned about the additional costs associated with the legislation, which could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There are some 360 DWI convictions in Genesee County each year, according to County Manager Jay Gsell. Only about 40 percent of those drivers convicted are placed on probation. The rest are given a conditional release.

While those on probation will mean additional supervisory responsibility for the county's probation department, the other 60 percent on conditional release will now require additional supervision for which there is little provision in the county budget to provide.

Additionally, judges will be asked to make a determination -- based on state-provided guidelines -- on whether a convicted drunken driver can afford the device. If he can't, the county will pick up the tab.

Each device costs $100 to install and $100 per month to maintain.

In Genesee County, there could be as many as 450 to 500 of these devices installed, and nobody can estimate at this time how many will be paid for by taxpayers.

Funded or not, all will need to be monitored by county probation, Genesee Justice or some other county agency (the new law doesn't specify who will be responsible for monitoring compliance).

Gsell said Assembly and Senate representatives throughout the state are crying ignorance of these new provisions -- they just thought they were cracking down on drunken drivers with kids in the car.

"What apparently most of the legislators did not know is that this law went beyond just DWIs with a 15-year-old or younger in their car," Gsell said. "It applies to all DWIs. None of the legislators we've talked to understood when we've asked them to please look at this. They were clueless almost to a statewide unanimous number."

It's hard to believe, though, that legislators in Albany weren't fully aware of these provisions. The bill, Govenor's Program Bill 204 (pdf), is only 25 pages long with all of the new provisions conveniently underlined. Most of code section being amended deals with ignition locks and the new language clearly specifies both the "owner or operator" aspect and numerous times the additional phrase "conditional release" is added. The only way to miss its full scope, is to not read the bill at all.

Even if a legislator just read the cover memo (pdf), the first paragraph clearly states, "In addition, this bill requires all individuals convicted of a misdemeanor or felony DWI offense to install and maintain an interlock device."

Julie Smith, director of County Probation, said the devices are effective deterrents to drunken driving -- there are a few in use in the county now -- but it's unclear how much of an extra burden the revised law will put on her department. She also pointed out that all enforcement action the courts and probation take are based on statistical evidence about risk levels and the nature of the crimes. This new law doesn't make those distinctions.

“Here we have something that uses no evidence based practice," Smith said. "Whether it’s your first DWI or your fifth, you’re getting it.”

Gsell said that while there may be complaints about spouses being required to blow into a machine to start their cars, the loudest complaints will when somebody who was supposed to be prevented from driving, manages to drive drunk anyway.

"When someone doesn’t get the notification (the device manufacturer may not be able to notify the county of a device failure for five to 10 days), and two days after it failed to operate, disables the device and goes out, still gets drunk, still kills someone -- that’s when all hell is going to break loose," Gsell said.

The committee asked that a resolution asking for the law to be amended be presented at Wednesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting.

Such a resolution would mirror what is happening elsewhere in the state, where county legislatures, as they learn about the law, are taking steps to oppose some of its provisions. Examples can be found in Greene County and Essex County.

Legislator Jay Grasso, a former Sheriff's deputy, said he made more than 300 DWI arrests in his law enforcement career, but he doesn't see the need to put these devices in the cars of first-time, misdemeanor DWI offenders.

“I have no objection, in theory, to an interlock device for the multiple offender, for the felony offender," Grasso said. "To do this for that first-time offender – and I’m not excusing them, because I certainly locked them all up – who goes to the wine tasting, who goes to the carnival, and has a few too many and gets arrested, he's not gong to be your repeat offender. But that multiple guy, yeah, let’s put the interlock device on him."

Legislator Ray Cianfrini wanted to know if there was any way the county could just not enforce this "unfunded mandate," but, he was told, there's probably no way around it.

“This is a perfect example of a good law gone wild," Cianfrini said. "I’m so angry when I hear this now."

Pictured are Julie Smith and Frank Ciaccia