Published: September 16, 2008 09:55 pm      

BLOTTER: Police reports published Sept. 17

ONTARIO

Elderly man stabbed repeatedly

A 15-year-old youth is behind bars after an 85-year-old man was stabbed several times while trying to stop a shoplifter.

Niagara Regional Police say the youth entered the Apple Tree Variety Store on Main Street West in Grimsby around 3:30 p.m., Monday and was seen pocketing a small quantity of items when he was confronted by a female clerk and her 85-year-old father.

When the elderly man tried to stop the male from leaving on a bicycle, he was stabbed four times in the chest and arm.

Police located the suspect a short distance away. He was arrested following a brief struggle with police. He was charged with robbery and assaulting a police officer.

The victim was taken to hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.



TOWN OF TONAWANDA

Man caught with underage girl

A 26-year-old Town of Tonawanda man found himself in a jail cell after police said he used an Internet site and text messages to entice a 14-year-old girl into his car.

Richard A. Andres was charged with endangering the welfare of a child at 7 p.m. Monday after police found him parked with the girl in the area around Lincoln Park, according to police reports.

Police located his car after being given a description by the girl’s family and proceeded to question Andres. He told police the girl was his new friend, but denied knowing her name or where he picked her up. The girl initially told police she was 21, but when another officer arrived on the scene with a photograph to positively identify her, she told them her real age.

The girl also told police that the conversation inside the car quickly turned to sex, and that Andres has touched her waistline and tried to remove her pants, according to reports.

Andres and the girl communicated through text messages after meeting on an online profile Web site similar to MySpace.



Niagara Falls

• ARREST: A Falls woman was arrested after a shoplifting incident. Julie Ann Graci, 35, 3045 Monroe Ave., was charged with petit larceny. Police said Graci was stopped after an employee of a business in the 8400 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard identified her as taking items from her store at 5:40 p.m. Tuesday. Officers said they recovered two packages of bracelets, two Halloween costumes and two Halloween bags from a baby stroller that Graci was pushing.

• THEFT: Police are investigating an SUV break-in in the 6000 block of Girard Avenue. A 19-year-old man told officers that sometime between 11 p.m. Monday and 9:30 a.m. Tuesday someone broke into his 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee by prying open the door. The victim said amplifiers and sub-woofers were taken from the vehicle.

• THEFT: Officers are looking into a theft from the 600 block of 25th Street. A 60-year-old man told police that sometime noon Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday someone stole an antique tub off of the back porch of his home.

• BURGLARY: Police are investigating a burglary in the 2500 block of Welch Avenue. Witnesses told officers that around 9:37 a.m. Tuesday they saw three juvenile suspects leave a home in the area. The home owner told police that the suspects appeared to enter the house through a broken window. The victim said clothing, an XBox 360 game system and video games were taken.

• THEFT: Officers are looking into a SUV break-in in the 2700 block of Falls Street. A 46-year-old woman told police that sometime between 11 p.m. Monday and 10:17 a.m. Tuesday someone broke into her 2003 GMC Envoy by smashing the driver’s-side window. The victim said a DVD player/TV, a digital camera and a CD case with CDs inside were taken.

• THEFT: Police are investigating a car break-in in the 500 block of Fourth Street. A 21-year-old man told officers that sometime between 2 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Tuesday someone broke into his 2007 Chevy Cobalt by smashing the driver’s-side window. The victim said some CDs, an i-Pod, a GPS system and $220 was taken.

City of Lockport

• LARCENY: Kenneth W. Houghton Jr., 27, 283 High St., Apt. 1, was charged Monday night with two counts of petit larceny. A Lock Street woman told police Houghton had helped her move and was staying at the house with her and another man. She said they told Houghton to leave after he told them he was wanted by police, the report said. Houghton allegedly left the house carrying a plastic grocery bag. After he left, the woman said they discovered several items were missing, including a PlayStation 2, PlayStation games and eight DVDs. Houghton allegedly told police he’d taken some of the property and sold it to a family member, but he denied taking the rest of the property. He was released on his own recognizance and is due today in Lockport City Court.

Newfane

• ASSAULT: A Transit Road man reported Monday that he went to a friend’s house on East Avenue about 11 p.m. Sunday. He told deputies he sat down on the couch and knew something “was not right,” the report said. The man said his friend “jumped” on him, followed by two others who came in from another room, the report said. The three people reportedly punched and kicked him while he was on the ground. The man said the next thing he remembers is being pushed out of a car at a friend’s house on South Transit Road in Lockport. He was treated at Lockport Memorial Hospital for a concussion, a right orbit fracture, contusions to his face and lips and lacerations to his face. The incident is under investigation.

Middleport

• LARCENY: A Francis Street woman reported Sunday that overnight, someone entered her husband’s unlocked car and stole the owner’s manual, worth about $50.