City Prepares for changes in State Laws

MORNING NEWS BRIEFING

Changes in state law about when and how defense attorneys receive evidence in criminal cases are going to create a greater burden on police and drive up costs for the City and the County, members of the City Council were told Monday night.
City Attorney George Van Nest and Police Chief Shawn Heubusch made about a 40-minute presentation on changes to the rules around what is called “discovery” — the prosecution turning over evidence and information to the defense — and bail reform.
Both the compressed time frame of gathering and preparing the evidence for dissemination and the greater volume of information and evidence will consume more time for law enforcement and the DA’s office.
In the case of traffic tickets — the city issues about 1,500 a year — all evidence must be turned over within 24 hours of the issuance of the ticket.
As for bail reform, Heubusch said starting Jan. 1, people accused of misdemeanors or Class E felonies will no longer be arraigned in City Court. The arresting officer, instead, must issue an appearance ticket. The officer must also issue appearance tickets, rather than taking the suspect in for arraignment, for burglary 2nd and robbery 2nd, all other violent felonies are still eligible for a bail review by a judge.

There is a potential plea offer pending for Guillermo J. Torres-Acevedo, the 23-year-old Batavia man facing 10 criminal charges locally for allegedly having sex with an underage girl and taking her to Pennsylvania, his attorney told Judge Charles Zambito in County Court yesterday. Torres-Acevedo is charged locally with: four counts of second-degree rape, a Class D violent felony; four counts of criminal sexual act in the second degree, also a Class D violent felony; second-degree kidnapping, a Class B violent felony; and second-degree criminal contempt

New information has been revealed in the case of an Allegany County teenager accused of killing his parents.
Prosecutors say 17-year-old William Larson Junior told police his father William Larson Senior killed his mother Lisa before throwing a knife at him. Larson Junior admitted to shooting his father in the driveway of their Clarksville home, but denied hurting his mother.
The bodies of the victims were found following a fire at that residence last week. An autopsy showed they suffered stab and gunshot wounds.

Don’t mean to spoil your party, but local lawmen will out in force tonight.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, City of Batavia and the Village of LeRoy Police will participate in a special enforcement effort to crackdown on impaired driving over the over the holiday weekend.

For the first time since 1994, the Buffalo Bills are playing football on Thanksgiving Day. They’ll be on the road to take on the NFC East leading Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Bills are coming off back-to-back wins over the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos. They’re currently sitting at eight-and-three, two games behind the New England Patriots for first place in the AFC East. Kickoff for today’s contest is set for four-30 p-m.