Afternoon News Brief

A Genesee County Court jury has found a Corfu man guilty on all counts of sexually assaulting a child. 21-year-old Shawn Myers was found guilty Thursday of first-degree criminal sexual act, a Class B violent felony punishable by up to 25 years in state prison. He also was found guilty of misdemeanor counts of third-degree sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, both of which happened while at Target on Veteran’s Memorial Drive. Myers was found guilty of engaging in anal sexual conduct by forcible compulsion on Jan. 28, 2021 in Batavia. The victim was less than 17 years old. Myers is to be sentenced in September. The verdict came after a four-day trial that included the victim’s testimony.

 

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) has renewed his advocacy to allow judges to make the decision on a case-by-case basis, by rolling back the state’s bail reform law. This follows the recent series of violent incidents that occurred in the state over the last several weeks, including the attempted stabbing of gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Lee Zeldin. Hawley was concerned that Zeldin’s attacker was released from custody following the assault due to the state’s bail reform law, which considers assault in the 2nd degree, the crime Zeldin’s assailant was charged with, to be a non-violent felony. While the suspect was later arrested under a federal charge for assaulting a member of Congress using a dangerous weapon, if it weren’t for the federal action, state law would have allowed Zeldin’s attacker to continue walking freely today.

 

A Silver Lake woman was sentenced Monday in Wyoming County Court to state prison for possessing child pornography. Jordan McMurtry, who has an extensive criminal history that includes one previous stint in state prison, pleaded guilty in May to use of a child in a sexual performance, a felony charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison. She also pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and felony driving while high on drugs. McMurtry has an extensive criminal history. She has been arrested and charged with driving while high on drugs three times since 2014. She served a state prison term for a 2019 conviction for manufacturing meth and has been arrested numerous times for shoplifting and misdemeanor drug possession. The 2019 meth conviction came after she and three others were charged with manufacturing meth in a stairwell and balcony in two residences in the village of Warsaw.

 

Tom Turnbull has come out of retirement to serve as the interim president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce. This follows the departure of Erik Fix, who announced in June that he was leaving the position to become the City of Batavia’s Assistant Manager. Mr. Turnbull may be reached by calling 585-343-7440, extension 1029 or by email tturnbull@geneseeny.com

 

 

Three men are in some legal trouble after being arrested at the Garth Brooks concert at Highmark Stadium over the weekend. Officials say 45-year-old John Gugino, who is a former Erie County Sheriff’s Office jail deputy, was charged with harassment and criminal trespassing Saturday night. Gugino was fired from the department in the recent past after pleading guilty to a drug charge. Also, 30-year-old Steven Carnrike is facing charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct while 32-year-old Matthew Costello is charged with criminal trespassing. All three men were released on appearance tickets.

 

The Mega Millions jackpot continues to skyrocket, and New Yorkers are hoping to win one of the largest jackpots in the history of the lottery game. The prize that will go to whoever picks the winning numbers ahead of tonight’s drawing will be at least $810,000,000. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot was more than $1,500,000,000 (billion) back in 2018. A ticket to play is $2.00 dollars; the odds of picking all the winning numbers is roughly 1 in 302,000,000; this evening’s drawing will be streamed live at megamillions.com. Please play responsibly.

 

Another case of the virus that’s been spreading around the globe has been detected in Western New York. The Niagara County Department of Health says that an individual has contracted monkeypox, however officials determined that the risk of it spreading is very low. The incubation period for the virus is one-to-three weeks after exposure and the illness can last up to four weeks. Monkeypox is commonly spread through exposure to an infected person’s lesions or respiratory droplets.

 

The Monroe County Department of Public Health is now offering appointments so people can be vaccinated against monkeypox. An immunization clinic is being held Thursday at the Monroe County Sexual Health Clinic on West Main Street in Rochester and also on Friday at a clinic on Westfall Road in Rochester. In order to get a vaccination, people must meet certain criteria. Anyone who is interested in scheduling an appointment must do so online since walk-ins aren’t permitted: https://www.monroecounty.gov/health-monkeypox-vaccine

 

Memorial services are now set for a member of the Rochester Police Department who was killed in the line of duty. Calling hours for Anthony Mazurkiewicz are taking place Sunday from 1:00pm until 8:00pm at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home on Pittsford-Palmyra Road in Fairport and his funeral is happening Monday at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Mazurkiewicz died last week after being shot while on a detail on Bauman Street by 21-year-old Kelvin Vickers. His partner was injured but survived.