Morning News Briefing

Batavia woman facing a litany of felony counts following arrest in Alexander.
The female counterpart accused of stealing property in a string of thefts from vehicles in Alexander is now facing a litany of felony and misdemeanor counts for attempting to falsify documents after being taken to Genesee County lock up.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, as 26 year old Haley Merrill of East Main Street in the Batavia entered the Genesee County Jail last weekend she allegedly provided false information and a false identity on written statements and records.
Haley and her counterpart, 33 year old Mitchell Merrill were arrested in Alexander on Saturday for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property with items apparently taken from vehicles around the village.
Haley added 10 felony counts of Forgery and 10 counts of Offering a False Instrument for filing along with 10 misdemeanor counts of Criminal Impersonation and was remanded back to jail without bail.

A squirrel scurrying along a high voltage utility line apparently triggered a power failure in Batavia affecting more than 5,000 customers of National Grid.
The outage occurred just before one yesterday afternoon.
Batavia city firemen were called to put out a transformer fire on a utility pole near city hall.
At about the same time, a high voltage line came down on Evans Street causing a further outage.
National Grid reported more than 5,300 customers were without power in spots across Batavia and south into the Town Alexander.
Full service was restored by 3 o’clock and the squirrel paid the ultimate price for his antics.

Troopers in Batavia bust a man in Bergen with a half pound of pot.
State Police made a stopped 48 year old Mark Spath of Rochester on Route 19 in Bergen for no seat belt.
While Troopers were speaking to him they detected the odor of marihuana emanating from the vehicle.
Spath was taken into custody after officers searched the vehicle and found approximately 7.76 ounces of marihuana.
Spath was charged with Criminal Possession of Marihuana in the 4th degree, no seat belt, and uninspected motor vehicle.
After being transported to the State Police barracks in Batavia he was issued an appearance ticket for the town of Bergen Court for a later date.

State Police warn public of phone scam in Western New York.
Troop A in Batavia is alerting residents that State Police have received reports that an individual is contacting the people across the Western New York region, identifying themselves as the New York State Police and requesting personal information such as social security numbers.
The caller ID appears to be from a State Police station, although the calls are not originating from there.
Troopers say they would never ask for this information over the phone and are investigating the matter.

With Josh Allen sidelined due to an elbow injury, the Buffalo Bills are making another change at quarterback.
Coach Sean McDermott announced yesterday veteran Derek Anderson will get the start against the Indianapolis Colts instead of Nathan Peterman.
Anderson was signed earlier this month to serve as Allen’s mentor.
Anderson has started games for the Panthers, Browns and Cardinals and has a 20 and 27 record.