Afternoon News Brief
Written by Doug Thompson on January 10, 2023
The surviving dog that had been abandoned by Searight and Scarbrough – photo provided by law enforcement
37-year-old Robert Williams of LeRoy has been sentenced to six months in Genesee County Jail and five years probation. He was found guilty in November of two counts of cruelty to animals for putting bleach in the eyes of two dogs. The dogs were treated and have since recovered. In a separate case, 35-year-old Andrew Searight and 24-year-old Jerrtonia Scarbrough, each pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after admitting to abandoning two dogs in their Bank Street apartment after they moved to Niagara County. They were placed on probation for one year. One of the dogs died and the other has since recovered.
The City Council has approved a new three-year contract with the Police Benevolent Association Union. The agreement includes a 3% salary increase for the first year 2.5% salary increases for the second and third year. A one-time payment of $1500 will be made to union members using American Rescue Plan Act funds. Also, health care premiums will increase from between 15 and 30%. The detailed story is available on the website of our news partner, The Batavian. Here is a direct link to the story:
Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the lineup for their sixth Rockin’ the Downs concert series, which will take place outside on the racetrack, with eight Friday dates, starting in June and extending into August. The shows will kick off with Almost Queen and Get the Led Out returns this summer, too. Until February 8th, tickets purchased online for the General Admission section will only be $10. And concertgoers will still receive $10 in Free Play on show day with this ticket. Concerts are held Rain or Shine. Additional information may be found at:
Jeremiah Thomas
36-year-old Jeremiah Thomas of Albion has been sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation for reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. He drove his car into another vehicle at McDonald’s in Medina after a dispute. No one was injured in the other car, which included a young child. Thomas is on the Sex Offender Registry for a 2005 conviction for felony sex abuse of a 7-year-old boy in Oregon. He was also convicted on similar charges for abusing a 17-year-old girl in 2014, also in Oregon.
Patrick Casanova
A parolee faces up to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman, the mother of his brother’s child. 29-year-old Patrick Casanova punched the woman in the face, breaking bones around her eye. This sparked a confrontation with the assault that involved his three brothers. His parole followed time served for weapons possession. Medina Police report that he had been angry at the woman for filing harassment charges against him a week earlier.
Multiple Rochester City School District employees have been suspended after video of a recent shots fired incident was made public. The footage showed students rushing into the entrance of a building at the Franklin Educational Campus last week to avoid being hit by gunfire. Thankfully, none of the students ended up getting hurt. All of the affected workers are on paid administrative leave as an investigation into how the security video ended up being shared moves forward.
Governor Hochul (file photo)
Governor Hochul will be outlining her priorities for the year ahead during her State of the State address today. Among the issues the governor is expected to discuss include making housing more affordable and additional ways to improve the safety of New Yorkers. Hochul will be speaking at 1:00 in the Assembly Chamber at the State Capitol in Albany. The address will be streamed online at governor.ny.gov.
Damar Hamlin
Just days after suffering cardiac arrest during a game, Damar Hamlin is out of a Cincinnati hospital and has returned to Buffalo to continue his recovery. Hamlin collapsed last Monday night after taking a hit during a contest between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. He was originally in critical condition, but his doctors said it was safe enough to fly him back to this area and he’s currently stable. But they also say it’s too early to tell if he’ll be able to resume his football career.
Craig Anderson
The two game winning streak of the Buffalo Sabres has been snapped after the team suffers a tough loss at home. No Sabres were able to score in last night’s 4-0 shutout defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers at KeyBank Center. Buffalo goaltender Craig Anderson struggled in net and was only able to stop 34 of the 38 shots he faced in the contest. The next game for the Sabres is tonight when they host the Seattle Kraken; the puck drops at 7:00.
Please play responsibly.
Someone could be just few hours away from boosting their bank account by winning the third-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history. The top prize for tonight’s drawing is going to be at least $1,100,000,000 (billion). There have been over 20 drawings since someone last won the Mega Millions jackpot on October 14th. The largest prize in the game’s history was more than $1,500,000,000 (billion) in 2018. Please play responsibly.
