Afternoon News Brief

A Rochester man who led police on a high-speed chase through two counties in a stolen car has been indicted by a Genesee County grand jury. 37-year-old Zachary Hursh is charged with third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, obstruction of governmental administration, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer and reckless driving. The 2017 Honda Civic that he was driving was reported stolen from the city of Rochester and observed at Horseshoe Lake and Sanders roads in Stafford the night of December 1. Attempts to pull the vehicle over were unsuccessful, even the use of spike strips failed. Hursh eventually lost control and crashed the car. He and one of his passengers (27-year-old Alexander Scheg of Byron), attempted to flee but were soon found; a third passenger, 41-year-old Jason Schmeer was immediately taken into custody.

 

A Basom man who made a plea deal as long as he stayed out of trouble, was soon back in court charged with felonies. The initial charges against 29-year-old Jarrett Coniglio included DWI, forgery and criminal impersonation – he initially provided the name of his brother when police pulled him over. With the deal that he made, he would have served less time in prison but then, unprovoked, assaulted a neighbor. At sentencing, he said he wanted to be a better person, take care of his mother who apparently is having health problems, and also take care of his kids; something he has not done in the past and is court-ordered to stay away from the mother of his children . The judge did not believe Coniglio was the family man he said he was; he was sentenced to five years in prison for assault and up to four years for the DWI conviction. He had accepted 2-1/2 years in the plea deal.

 

Officers from the Genesee County Local Task Force have announced they arrested a Batavia resident for selling cocaine. Members of the Task Force, comprised of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office and Batavia Police Department, arrested 69-year-old Julious Murphy of Jerome Place, after an investigation into the transportation and sale of crack cocaine in and around the City of Batavia. Officers said Murphy was taken into custody on a sealed grand jury indictment warrant during a traffic stop. Officers added that He allegedly sold quantities of crack cocaine to an agent of the Genesee County Drug Task Force while in Batavia. Murphy is also known as ‘Fatboy’, and has been charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, both class B-felonies according to New York State Penal Law. The suspect was arraigned in Genesee County Court Tuesday and was released under supervision.

 

Orleans County officials don’t plan to suspend any of the sales tax on gas, this, from Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson. She noted that the funds are needed to improve bridges, emergency response and communication services, the county will become further burdened with fixable and unfixable problems in the absence of the gas tax. Out of the 62 counties in the state only 25 have suspended the gas tax when the price hits either $2 or $3 a gallon. In the GLOW region, only Livingston is waiving the sales tax – and that’s after $3 a gallon. Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming have not suspended the local share of the tax.

 

After an online ad campaign, billboards and television ads touting his innocence and a possible run for governor: Former Governor Andrew Cuomo has not filed paperwork to run and the deadline is now past. If he had wanted to run he would have needed a 45,000 signature petition to run as an independent candidate. Cuomo could still get on the ballot if his campaign had collected those signatures and put his petitions in the mail. Board of Elections spokesperson Jennifer Wilson says, “If that paperwork was to arrive by Thursday, bearing a postmark dated Tuesday or earlier, it would still count.”

 

The man accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo is expected to be back in court today. Payton Gendron has been indicted by an Erie County grand jury on several charges including domestic terrorism, murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors say that Gendron arrived at a Tops store May 14th and allegedly opened fire, killing 10 people and injuring three others in what officials have called a racially motivated hate crime. Gendron is behind bars without bail.

 

New data shows the spread of the coronavirus is continuing to slow down across our region. Right now, the 7-day average infection rate is just below 7.9%. Last week, the average infection rate was at 10.5%. Health officials are urging residents to take the proper precautions to protect themselves and others from getting sick such as being vaccinated against the virus and wearing a mask while indoors.

 

Genesee County is waiving fees for civil service exams. This is an effort to try to get more people interested in employment with Police, Sheriff, Fire, Probation and Dispatch service. Human Resources Director Anita Cleveland noted that since the 20 to 25 dollar exam fee was implemented the number of people signing up to take the exams has fallen. This led her to propose dropping the fees through December 31st a move that will cost the county approximately $3000. After passing the Ways and Means Committee, it goes to the county legislature for the final vote.

 

A popular fast-food chain is planning to add a fourth location in the Rochester area. According to WHEC, Chick-fil-A wants to build a new restaurant on Route 250 in Penfield that would seat 75 people and have a three-lane drive-thru. The other Chick-fil-A’s are located in Greece, Henrietta and Irondequoit. There’s no word yet on when the Penfield restaurant will open.

 

 

A Buffalo man has been sentenced for brutally beating a woman to death inside of her home Tonawanda. Prosecutors say 24-year-old Joshua Wilson attacked 71-year-old Diane Wolfe with a gardening tool at her residence back in May 2020. After killing Wolfe, Wilson left the scene with the victim’s vehicle and several items from her house. He will be spending the next 22 years behind bars after pleading guilty.