Friday News Brief

A high speed early morning chase started in Batavia when 32-year-old Kimberly Brodsky of Batavia and 35-year-old Tanner Wiley of Henrietta sped away during a traffic stop on West Main Street. It happened yesterday morning around 1:00am as the pair sped toward Pembroke. Police were able to get ahead of them and deploy spike strips, which caused their car to go off the side of the road. Wiley ran from the vehicle but was apprehended in the woods. Wiley and Brodsky are each charged with criminal possession of a weapon, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell. Wiley was additionally charged with unlawful fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, obstruction of governmental administration, aggravated unlicensed operation and various other traffic charges. Both were held at the Genesee County Jail pending CAP Court arraignment.

 

34-year-old Stacy Moss of Medina has been arrested in Batavia. He faces multiple charges, including criminal possession of a controlled substance and traffic violations. Moss was issued traffic tickets and was scheduled to appear in CAP Court.

 

 

 

Sentencing for the man convicted of killing a Rochester police officer has been delayed after prosecutors received a last-minute email that contained new information on the case. Kelvin Vickers was found guilty of killing Rochester police officer Anthony Mazurkiewicz and seriously injuring his partner, Officer Sino Seng, last year. An attorney for Vickers says the new information came from a potential witness that could affect Vickers’ sentencing. Attorneys have until mid-February to determine whether there is an issue with the case.

 

Despite overall crime dropping across much of the country, retail theft is on the rise, and in Western New York, more organized crime rings are targeting local stores. Shoplifting-related calls in Cheektowaga — home of the Walden Galleria and several large shopping plazas — went from between 800 and 900 per year from 2018 to 2021 to over 1200 a year in 2022 and 2023, spiking over the past two years. It’s unclear how much of that is due to organized theft, but authorities say that problem is worsening. The Retail Council of New York State says retail theft hit $4.4 billion last year, and a significant portion of that is attributed to organized groups.

 

Genesee County has reached a new agreement with the Deputy Sheriff’s Association. This 3 year deal will give raises of between 3 and 7.5 percent over the next 3 years and will have a budget impact of $480,546 for items such as overtime salaries, hourly on-call, holiday and special pay, social security and Medicare taxes, and retirement expenses. The agreement was negotiated with the county Legislature, Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. The Ways & Means Committee agreed to pass it onto the full Legislature for a final vote next week. More information is available in Joanne Beck’s detailed story in The Batavian: https://www.thebatavian.com/jfbeck99272012/genesee-county-strikes-three-year-deal-with-deputy-sheriffs-union-for-raises-of-3-to

 

The Sabres ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Bruins in Boston last night. J.J. Peterka opened the scoring early in the second period, while Tage Thompson doubled-up Buffalo’s lead later in the period. Brad Marchand lit the lamp for Boston before the middle frame ended, but Victor Olofsson put the game on ice with a goal in the third period. Devon Levi made 29 saves. The Sabres are seventh in the Atlantic Division with 24 points and host the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night; the puck drops at 7:00.

 

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has apologized for comments he made about the 9-11 terrorists during a team meeting. At a news conference yesterday, McDermott responded to a report from a former “Buffalo News” reporter who now writes an online newsletter. The report claimed McDermott called the 9-11 hijackers a — quote — group of people who were able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection. The incident is said to have happened during a pre-season team meeting four years ago. McDermott didn’t deny the comments yesterday and said he immediately apologized to the team after the meeting for using the 9-11 hijackers as an example. He said the initial goal of his comments was to get the players to understand the idea of good team communication.

 

ELSEWHERE…

The Pantone Color Institute is revealing the color it thinks will define 2024. Peach Fuzz has been chosen as the 2024 Color of the Year. The hue is described by Pantone as “a velvety gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body and soul.” This is the 25th anniversary of Pantone choosing a Color of the Year. Last December, Pantone named Viva Magenta as 2023’s Color of the Year.

 

 

Over $800 million is now up for grabs from the two big lotteries in the United States. Nobody won the latest Powerball drawing, so the jackpot will roll over to Saturday’s drawing when the grand prize will be worth an estimated $468 million. The Mega Millions jackpot, meanwhile, is up to about $395 million. Those numbers will be drawn Friday night. Please play responsibly.

 

More than 90 journalists have been killed worldwide this year while covering the news. The International Federation of Journalists said today that 94 journalists have been killed, and that the Israel-Hamas war has claimed more journalists than any conflict in 30 years. The group said 68 journalists have died covering the war over the past two months.

 

Today is Friday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2023 with 23 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.

December 8 in history…

 

…In 1979, Styx scored their first and only No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Babe.” The song was a No.6 hit in the UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

…In 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside of the Dakota building in New York City, where he lived with his wife, Yoko Ono, and youngest son, Sean. His 25-year-old killer, Mark David Chapman, initially approached the former Beatle for an autograph. At the time of his death, the 40-year-old musician was in the middle of a highly successful solo career, while he and Ono had released their fifth studio album, Double Fantasy, weeks earlier. The following day, the newly-widowed Ono publicly declared, “John loved and prayed for the human race. Please do the same for him.”

 

 

…In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the first treaty between the two superpowers to reduce their massive nuclear arsenals.

 

 

 

…In 2016, Sir Mick Jagger became a father again at the age of 73, after his 29-year-old girlfriend, American ballerina Melanie Hamrick, gave birth to a boy in New York City. The singer already had seven children, whose ages range from 17 to 45 and he became a great-grandfather in 2014. His oldest child, daughter Karis Jagger, was born in 1970.

 

 

 

 

 

…In 2008, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and four co-defendants told a military judge at Guantanamo Bay that they wanted to confess to all charges of murder and war crimes.