Afternoon News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on March 5, 2024
New details are coming to light on stalking charges filed against the St. John Fisher University student who was arrested in a separate case last week following an hours-long campus lockdown. According to a felony complaint, 19 year old Shalom Mathews of Brighton is accused of sending hundreds of graphic and disturbing messages through different social media accounts to a former Brighton High School student and a school staff member over the course of several years. One of the victims told police she was still receiving messages as recently as last month. Mathews is now facing two counts of stalking, in addition to the separate felony charges stemming from an attempted stabbing, kidnapping and sexual assault at St. John Fisher last week. He was released from custody on an appearance ticket.
Police are investigating after two homes were hit by gunfire late Monday night. The first house on Flint Street was hit just before 8:45 p.m. When police arrived at the scene, they found evidence of shots being fired, as well as damage to the home. Inside at the time was a 34- year-old female who did not have any injuries. Police then got a call about a home on Pullman Avenue hit around 9:30. They found evidence of shots being fired as well as damage to the residence. No one was hurt. No suspects have been found.
The Erie County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that a joint surveillance operation led to multiple arrests and the discovery of drugs, cash and guns. Among those arrested and charged on Friday was 59-year-old Michael Jackson. Sheriff John Garcia said he runs The Groove Nightclub which now operates as a “private club” on Broadway. 38-year-old Antonio Broadus was also arrested and charged. Multiple guns and large amounts of Cocaine were seized from both their homes and from Jackson’s girlfriend’s home. Broadus and Jackson face multiple charges that can result in a minimum of 15 years to life or a maximum of 20 years to life.
The Erie County DA’s office has announced that 2 people have been charged with dog fighting. 23-year-old Aveon Lockhart and 24-year-old James Jackson, both of Cheektowaga, were arraigned late last month in Erie County Court. They are both charged with 3 felony counts of animal fighting, 4 counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals and failing to provide proper food for them, and 1 count of possession or sale of animal fighting paraphernalia. Lockhart and Jackson are accused of training three pit bull mixed breed dogs, two males and one female, for the dogs to engage in animal fighting for amusement or gain. They are also accused of intentionally depriving the dogs of food and medical treatment.
You’re not alone if you were recently kicked out of Meta’s Facebook and Instagram social media platforms. Hundreds of thousands of users reported that they were kicked off the platforms this morning. According to downdetector.com, more than 315,000 reports about Facebook being down were made around 10:40 a.m. Over 30,000 users reported outages for Instagram and more than 8,000 were made for Messenger. Meta’s newest social networking service, Threads, also experienced an outage. Facebook’s X account had a post saying they knew about users having difficulty accessing their services and were working on it.
A veteran and Pastor is taking a hike for homeless vets in Niagara Falls. John Cooper Jr. is both the executive director of Niagara Gospel Mission and a 6-year Army veteran. In honor of his own unit, the 2nd Battalion 22nd Infantry Regiment, he is rucking, the practice of hiking with a heavy pack on his back, 222 miles for local homeless men, women and veterans. He started on 2/22, in hopes of raising $2,222 to expand add six more rooms to the Niagara Gospel Mission’s RECON (emergency shelter/rehabilitation) program. He is just one-third of the way into the ruck, but already surpassed his fund raising goal by over a thousand dollars, with the total now $3,500. You can donate to John’s mission by following the link at wbtai.com he asks that anybody donating write “222 Ruck” in the memo line on the website.
https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/niagara-gospel-rescue-mission/working-ngm-giving-form
