Afternoon News Brief

Le Roy PD is looking for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in multiple car break-ins. Most occurred in the early morning hours yesterday; surveillance video obtained by police from local residents shows a male subject in a white hoodie and wearing a black backpack attempting to open the doors of vehicles parked in residential driveways. Chief Greg Kellogg said investigators are asking area residents to check their own camera video to see if they captured any suspicious activity and if so, please share the footage with Le Roy PD.
Police believe there may be more than one person involved. The suspected criminal activity took place between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Anyone with information should contact Le Roy Police at 585-345-6350.

 

There is an elevated risk of wildfire spread today; despite all the rain we had over the last several weeks, conditions are dry. The combination of relative humidity values dropping to between 15 and 25% this afternoon, with northeast winds gusting to 15 mph, and full sunshine on such dry days leads to an elevated wildfire risk across Western and North Central New York. The annual statewide burn ban is in effect until May 14. No burn permits are issued.

 

County and local agencies continue to look into the cause of the fire that destroyed a Market Street home in Attica on Monday afternoon; at this time, no preliminary determination has been made on the cause of the fire that started on the porch on Market St. in Attica on Monday evening. The two people who lived there, John Lavarnway Sr and his son John Lavarnway Jr. are receiving Red Cross assistance for the short term to help them meet immediate, essential needs, as they search for a new place to live.

 

 

The Batavia City School District announced this morning that Batavia High School has earned high national and metro-area rankings on the 2022 Best High Schools list from U.S. News and World Report. BHS earned a national ranking in the top 40% of United States-based public high schools out of nearly 18,000 schools. Batavia High also ranks in the top 50% of public high schools in New York State and has a 92% average graduation rate (2017-2021). According to U.S. News and World Report, “The 2022 edition of Best High Schools includes a numerical ranking of nearly all public high schools nationwide. There are rankings within each state and within each census-designated metropolitan area that has three or more high schools and the Best STEM Schools ranking and comprehensive Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools rankings. Also published are rankings of high schools within each school district with three or more high schools.” Batavia High School previously received this honor in 2014.

 

A person of interest in the disappearance of Brittanee Drexel of Chili, is currently in custody in South Carolina. According to reports, Raymond Moody has been behind bars since last week after he was arrested on an obstruction of justice charge. Drexel was 17 at the time she went missing in 2009 while on vacation during Spring Break in Myrtle Beach. Police had no leads until 2016, when it was announced that a prison inmate had told them that Drexel had been abducted and killed. The man accused by the informant denied knowledge of any alleged crime. Based on that information, the FBI considers the case a homicide, although it has not identified any suspect. Police are not saying if Moody’s arrest is connected to the Drexel case. Additional information:
On the night of April 25, 2009, 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel of Chili, near Rochester, NY, left the Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where she had been staying with friends on a spring break trip that she had taken without her mother’s knowledge or permission. Drexel walked to another hotel a short distance away, and from there, texted her boyfriend to say that she was going to see another friend at another hotel. She has not been seen since. Raymond Moody is a registered sex offender.

 

Attorneys will be seeking to have a mental health examination done on a former Attica Correctional Facility inmate who allegedly tried to murder an officer in October. 45-year-old Theodore Brown appeared this week in Wyoming County Court. A grand jury charged Brown with attempted aggravated murder of an officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of promoting prison contraband. District Attorney Donald O’Geen said a not guilty plea was entered for Brown and a mental health exam is likely to be conducted. Brown is now at Auburn Correctional FacilIty and serving a life sentence for a 1998 murder, assault and robbery conviction in Suffolk County. On Oct. 8th, Brown used a sharpened metal tube to attack corrections officer. Brown had just left his cell to receive medication when he grabbed the officer’s arm and repeatedly stabbed him in the chest. A spokesman for the officer’s union said that two pens in the officer’s breast pocket saved his life, a spokesman for the officer’s union said at the time. He said the pen’s blocked the officer’s heart. The officer was treated at Erie County Medical Center and released.

I’m glad you’re reading this right now. I’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty…you’ve heard that before and you’ll likely hear it again. A recently published study indicates that the average New Yorker receives 17 spam calls and 11 spam texts each week. One of every five people knows someone who has had their identify stolen and the average amount lost to scammers and identity thieves is over $3800. Experts say the most likely to get scammed are people over 65 who tend to be more trusting and not want to be rude to a caller. They recommend if you know someone who might be at risk review with them how to recognize a scam and just hang up. One of the best tips from experts is to just tell the caller you don’t do business over the phone and never give out personal or financial information to someone calling you that you don’t know.

 

The New York Lottery goofed. They report that human error resulted in the incorrect input of winning numbers from the May 10th drawing, which resulted in incorrect publishing of the Mega Ball number. They are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the Lottery has temporarily suspended prize payments for all Mega Millions tickets and anyone with a ticket from last night’s drawing should hold on to it until the issue is resolved. The correct winning numbers for the May 10, 2022 drawing are: 15-19-20-61-70 and Mega Ball 9

 

The cost of gas keeps rising and Western New York drivers are paying more than ever to fill up their vehicles. According to Triple A this morning, the average price for a gallon of regular fuel has reached a record high of $4.49. That’s up 17 cents in the past week, is 19 cents more than this time last month and is one-dollar 53 cents higher than one year ago. The state average is currently $4.57 a gallon while nationally it’s $4.37. In Batavia, the average price today is $4.53 per gallon, up 13 cents from yesterday and 27 cents from a week ago today.

 

After serving for nearly 12 years, Western New York Congressman Tom Reed has resigned from office. The Republican, who represented the 23rd District, said yesterday he will now be working with Prime Policy Group, which is a public relations and government relations agency in Washington, DC. Reed had previously said he was going to retire at the end of his current term. A special election will need to be held to fill his seat but there’s no word yet on when that will happen.

 

New York State is making a 35-million-dollar investment to provide direct support to abortion providers in anticipation of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Governor Hochul said yesterday that 25-million-dollars will go to providers to help them expand capacity and ensure access for all patients who seek abortion care in the Empire State. Also, ten-million dollars in grants will be available to implement security measures at abortion care facilities. Governor Hochul says New York has always been at the forefront of the fight for abortion rights and she won’t let the state go backwards.

 

The Buffalo Sabres are going to have the ninth overall selection in the upcoming NHL Draft. The Sabres have missed the playoffs for 11 consecutive years and finished this season in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 75 points. Last year, Buffalo had the top overall pick and used it to select defenseman Owen Power. This year’s draft will take place July 7th and 8th at the Bell Centre, which is the home of the Montreal Canadiens.

 

 

A comedian who has performed in front of sold-out crowds during his career is making a return to the Erie County Fair this year. Event organizers say Gabriel Iglesias will take the stage on Friday, August 19th at 8:00pm. This will be the second straight year Iglesias is appearing at the fair, which is going to run from August 10th through the 21st in Hamburg. Tickets for the Iglesias show go on sale June 10th and will cost between $40 and $70 each.