Afternoon News Brief

FROM THE BATAVIA POLICE: 35-year-old John Saddler of South Main Street, Batavia is charged with burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, grand larceny and petit larceny. These charges followed an investigation into a violation of a court order. It’s alleged that Saddler violated a stay-away order of protection by entering the protected persons home and stealing property, including a New York State benefits card and then using that card at a local business. Saddler was arraigned in Batavia City Court and remanded to Genesee County Jail until he returns to court on March 22nd. ALSO: 22-year-old Rebecca Fugate of Woodrow Road, Batavia is charged with harassment. She was arrested after allegedly striking another resident at a residential care home. Fugate was released with an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Batavia City Court tomorrow. ALSO: 46-year-old Heather Armstrong of Ellicott Street, Batavia has been charged with harassment following an investigation into a disturbance at a local business. Armstrong was issued an appearance ticket to appear in Batavia City Court on Wednesday.

 

35-year-old Mark Bennett of Albion has been arrested for possessing images of children engaged in sexual performance. The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Troop A Computer Crimes Unit, investigated and determined Bennett possessed child pornography. He was issued an appearance ticket for the Town of Albion Court and scheduled to return to court next month. (The mission of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force – ICAC – is to identify individuals online who are attempting to lure children to meet for sex or those disseminating child sexual abuse material. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children.)

 

 

GENESEE COUNTY INDICTMENTS: A Genesee County Grand Jury has indicted 28-year-old Jason Neth of Corfu accusing him of the crime of unlawful imprisonment (a class E felony) and leaving the scene of an incident without ever contacting law enforcement (also a class E felony), after an incident on or about June 11, 2022. Neth allegedly restrained another person in the town of Darien and exposed them to the risk of serious injury. And then he allegedly failed to report the incident as soon as possible to police. ALSO: Delonta Curry of Batavia has been indicted and is accused of criminal possession of a weapon (a class C violent felony) in the City of Batavia on February 13, 2022, after knowingly possessing a loaded firearm with intent to unlawfully use it against another person. In a separate charge, Curry is accused of criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds (a class E felony), on the same date at 31 Washington Avenue, the parking lot of St. Paul Lutheran Church & School. The indictment alleges that Curry knowingly had in his possession a loaded firearm in or upon a building or grounds used for educational purposes without the written authorization from the educational institution.

 

From the GENESEE COUNTY SHERIFF: 53-year-old LeeAnne Krull of Batavia is charged with promoting prison contraband after she was allegedly found to be in possession of contraband inside the Genesee County Jail on March 1st. Krull was arraigned in court and held in jail. ALSO: 36-year-old Jeanna Hattaway of Batavia has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle following a traffic stop early last Friday morning on Lewiston Road in Batavia. She was allegedly operating a motor vehicle while her driving privileges were suspended and allegedly possessed multiple controlled substances. Hattaway was issued an appearance ticket for Batavia Town Court for March 14th.

 

 

18-year-old Josue Lubala of Cheektowaga has been accused of a pair of carjackings there. Last September, he pleaded guilty to all five felony charges against him, including robbery and attempted kidnapping. Lubala is being held without bail and faces a maximum of 40 years in prison when he is sentenced early next month. (Details: Prosecutors said the first carjacking took place at 11:00am, September 13th in Cheektowaga Town Park, where a woman baby-sitting a 2-year-old child said a man opened her car door, showed her a knife and ordered her into the passenger seat. He drove to an address on Wick Street in Buffalo, let the woman and toddler out of the vehicle and gave her $5 for a bus and drove away. The second incident occurred at about 9:30am, September 14th in Cheektowaga.)

 

 

Police in Rochester are trying to track down the suspects who were involved in shootings that happened over the weekend. A woman was shot around 12:30 yesterday morning on Weld Street and about 90 minutes later another woman was shot through the window of a home on Burlington Avenue. Then last night, a 24-year-old man was shot in the area of Diringer Place and a 23-year-old man was hit by gunfire on Delamaine Drive. At this time, no one has been arrested in any of these shootings.

 

One woman is dead and nine are injured — with two in critical condition — after a trampling incident that occurred during a concert at the Main Street Armory in Rochester. As a concert featuring GloRilla and Finesse2tymes ended, Rochester Police said that while audience members were heading out, the crowd began to surge and rush towards the exit. Three people were found with significant injuries inside the venue and were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital; one of them, a 33-year-old woman, was later pronounced dead. Seven other individuals were taken to the hospital in private vehicles with non-life-threatening injuries. While there were reports of gunshots fired inside the venue, investigators said none of the victims had injuries that were consistent with that of a shooting nor was there evidence of any shooting taking place at the Main Street Armory. The investigation continues.

 

The price of gas continues in the right direction – down. According to Triple A, the national average cost for a gallon of regular fuel is now $3.41. The State average is $3.43 and in Batavia, we’re paying $3.34, down 9 cents from a month ago and down 79 cents from a year ago today.

 

The Buffalo Sabres will be on the hunt for their second win in a row, as they finish this homestand. The Sabres host the Edmonton Oilers at KeyBank Center. On Saturday, Buffalo defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3, a victory that allowed them to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. The puck drops tonight at 7:30.