Wassell found guilty on weapons charges...
The north county man accused of selling an illegal assault weapon to an undercover state trooper has been found guilty. Time-Warner Cable News in Buffalo reports jurors in the Benjamin Wassell trial delivered a verdict early this afternoon. The jury began deliberations last Friday. Wassell was indicted last year on five counts of possessing and selling illegal weapons... stemming from the alleged weapon sale in January of 2013. The judge dismissed two of those five counts before the jury got the case. He was found guilty of all three remaining counts, and will be sentenced in May. Wassell was initially charged with violating the state's SAFE Act. However... that charge was dropped prior to his indictment.
Local group announces acquisition of Junior Hockey franchise in Michigan, will begin play in North American Hockey League next season...
A group of prominent, local businessmen and community leaders has announced that junior hockey will be returning to Jamestown for the 2014-2015 season... and, beyond. During a press conference at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena this afternoon... the new Jamestown Area Hockey Associates announced the new team would be part of the North American '3' Hockey League. JAHA President Dr. James Cirbus says it's a "top level" Tier 3 league in the North American Hockey League association. The JAHA is buying a franchise from Michigan that will be part of the NA3HL. Cirbus says it's "a great geographical fit for the new Jamestown team, whose immediate rivals will be teams in Cleveland and Pittsburgh." Cirbus adds that -- "today's announcement represents the culmination of many hours of hard work with a dedicated group of local guys sharing a common vision of promoting hockey at all levels in the Southern Tier." New arena General Manager Brian Cersosimo says they're "very pleased" that hockey will be returning to the arena. The local group also announced a "Name the Team" contest that runs through Mar. 24. For more information... contact the arena at 484-2624.
