Two city men arrested on weapon's charges following shooting incident on Jamestown's northside...
Two Jamestown men have been arrested for allegedly firing gunshots toward another person after city police responded to a report of a disturbance on the northside last weekend. Officers were called to the scene in the area of 518 No. Main St. shortly before 3 a.m. last Saturday, and heard multiple gun shots when they arrived. Police found three individuals running from the area... and, one was detained, but, the other two continued running. The pair... 21 year-old Stephon Thomas, and 19 year-old Xavier Ramos... were later stopped and arrested. Thomas was found with a 45-calibur revolver in his backpark... and, Ramos did not have a gun. However... they later found his 9-mil. pistol -- which had a 30-round high capacity magazine on it -- in some brush. The Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force... and, Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department K-9 unit assisted at the scene. Both men were found to have fired the guns... and, are charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Ramos is also charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, and unlawful possession of a high-capacity feeding device. The third person was not charged. No one was hurt in the incident.
Georgia woman indicted for fatal, wrong-way crash on I-86 last July...
A Chautauqua County grand jury recently indicted a Georgia woman on charges stemming from a fatal wrong-way, head-on crash on Interstate 86 in the town of North Harmony last July. A court clerk confirms that 32-year-old Heather Capell was arraigned in County Court last Tuesday on charges of second degree vehicular manslaughter, manslaughter-reckless and Driving while under the influence of drugs. The crash claimed the life of Bradley Wakefield of Cattaraugus. Capell is being held in the County Jail on $50,000 bail.
Borrello confirms "gifting" of marijuana issue in NYS...
There's still no legal way to buy recreational marijuana yet in New York state... however... there are ways to obtain pot using current "gray area" in the law approved a year-and-a-half ago. That from State Senator George Borrello... who confirmed for us that people are being "gifted" certain amounts of marijuana in certain places when they purchase something else. That's reportedly been happening on indian reservations across the region, now that marijuana possession is no longer illegal. He says he's heard about people selling T-shirts for $50, and then they are "gifted" a certain amount of marijuana with that T-Shirt. Borrello says the "gap" between marijuana being legalized... and, establishment of places to legally buy pot has allowed growth of what he calls a "black market" situation that's been seen in other states where recreational marijuana is now legal. The Sunset Bay Republican says there were 15 other states that New York could have observed and learned from their mistakes. However... he says the push to legalize pot quickly was too great. Borrello made his comments for last weekend's "Community Spotlight" program on the six Media One Radio Group stations.
State Police pot plant seizures plummet in past year...
New York State Police seizures of marijuana plants have plunged this year. The Albany Times-Union reports this has happened as the state legalized possession of small amounts of pot... and, some local law enforcement agencies backed off efforts to root out marijuana crops. For years, state police have deployed helicopters to help local police and sheriff's departments spot and seize pot grown in large quantities. The Times Union reported Friday that state police aviation unit has seized 1,628 plants and made four arrests in the first nearly 10 months of this year. That compares to 4,242 plants and 152 arrests last year. The state police say they will keep working to eradicate large, illegal marijuana-growing operations.
Two city men arrested in separate Child Porn cases...
Two Jamestown men were arrested recently for allegedly possessing child pornography. State Police in Jamestown say they arrested 53 year-old Kevin Caffoe for allegedly uploading eight images of child porno to his Skype account. Troopers obtained a search warrant for Caffoe's home... and, seized several pieces of evidence. Police say he also allegedly discussed the images with an underage girl. He faces eight counts of possessing an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child. Late last month... troopers arrested 42 year-old Amos Wright after getting information that he had uploaded thousands of images and videos of child porn. He was taken into custody, and charged with 15 counts of Possessing an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child. Both men were issued appearance tickets for Jamestown City Court.
City of Dunkirk looking for new dir. of Planning and Development...
City of Dunkirk Planning and Development Director Jill Meaux has left her position... effective the end of last week. During this past week's Common Council meeting... Mayor Willie Rosas announced that Meaux was resigning from the position. According to Rosas... Meaux stated in her resignation letter that the stress of the city's politics is more than she can deal with... and, it was causing her more stress than she "wanted to shoulder." Rosas says Meaux has done an "excellent job" working for the city. She also said in her letter that she has been offered another opportunity elsewhere that she has accepted. She was appointed as interim Planning and Development Director in January, and was later approved by the Common Council as full-time in May. Rosas says the city has already begun the process of finding a new planning and development director.
