Weekend News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on February 23, 2024
Multiple staff were injured at Attica Correctional Facility in three separate attacks that sent injured officers to local hospitals last week. The first incident was in the rec yard when an inmate approached an officer and punched the officer in the face. In the ensuing attempt to wrestle the inmate to the ground and put them in handcuffs another officer was injured. In the second incident 3 officers and a sergeant were injured when an inmate charged at officers who were standing at the entrance of his cell and attempted to stab them with a piece of sharpened plastic. The third incident ended with 7 officers and a lieutenant injured when an inmate barricaded himself in a cell block and then attacked officers with a mop handle.
Warsaw Police are looking for a man charged with murder who they believe fled into Mexico. 41 year old Michael Bellaire is charged with murder in the second degree, strangulation in the first degree, tampering with evidence, and 2 counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree in relation to the killing of 53 year old Warsaw resident Cheryl Cook who was discovered strangled to death in her home on November 7th. Bellaire’s last known location was crossing the border into Mexico in Cook’s 2012 Toyota Corolla. The US Customs and Border Protection and Homeland security are assisting.
Nearly six months after a 16-year-old Rochester girl went missing, police have made an arrest in connection with her death. Jakarah Lopez-Moore was reported missing Aug. 29, two days after leaving her home on Weld Street. Fishermen found her body Oct. 14 in the woods behind an industrial park on Vanguard Parkway. Police said her body had been in the woods for more than a month. They ruled her death a homicide. Police announced Friday that 27 year old Reign Tapiato, is charged with Lopez-Moore’s murder. U.S. Marshals arrested Tapiato Friday morning on State Street. Police said he was found in possession of 9 mm Glock handgun loaded with 15 rounds. Tapiato, who police said worked as a security guard, is also charged with criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held in Monroe County Jail.
The Genesee Orleans Health Department is looking for a dog that bit a person in Albion. The incident occurred on Wednesday around 8pm on Holley Rd near Rich’s Corners Road. The dog is described as a medium sized dog about the size of a labrador retriever with patches of black and white on its fur. The Health Department is trying to find out if the dog has rabies and if the person who was bit needs rabies shots. If the dog can’t be found the person will have to go through the treatments. If you have information about the location of the dog and its owner, please contact the Orleans County Health Department at 585-589-3278.
