Published: September 25, 2008 09:12 pm      

BLOTTER: Police reports published Sept. 26

NIAGARA FALLS

Most Wanted suspect nabbed with drugs, gun

Falls police picked up one of Niagara’s Most Wanteds Thursday night and caught him with a bag full of guns, ammunition and a loaded gun.

Anthony Brantley, 27, 2 Center Court Apt. D, was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-, fourth- and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, first-degree burglary, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of a child.

Police said they responded to a call that Brantley was in the area of Seventh Street and Pine Avenue about 6 p.m. Thursday. Officer Troy Earp said he spotted Brantley on the porch of a house in the 700 block of Eighth Street, with a backpack on his back.

As other officers moved into the area, Earp got out of his car and Brantley ran into the home. While Officer George McDonnell cut off the back of the house, Earp, Warrant Officer Bill Gee and Detective John Conti chased after Brantley.

Brantley was found hiding in a hidden room in the attic of the home. A short time later, officers recovered the backpack he had been wearing in a child’s bedroom in the home, and found a loaded .22-caliber revolver, 23 rounds of hollow-point ammunition, a scale and 70 baggies containing crack cocaine inside it.

Officers said they also found a prescription pain pill in Brantley’s pocket while he was being booked.

He was placed on the Most Wanted List on June 1 after Falls police detectives filed a criminal complaint charging Brantley with gang assault.



FORT ERIE

$1M seized after boat chase

Niagara police and provincial biker enforcement officers seized more than $1 million in U.S. currency and a cache of marijuana after a boat chase on the waters of Lake Erie, Wednesday.

Three men are now behind bars facing several criminal charges.

Niagara Regional Police say the arrests came at the end of a three-month investigation that involved various police agencies.

Local police contacted U.S. officials early Wednesday that a vessel suspected of being involved in criminal activity had entered American waters on Lake Erie.

U.S. border patrol located the 27-foot twin engine boat but it refused to stop and raced back into Canadian waters.

It came to shore at a public boat ramp in Crystal Beach where two of the three men jumped from the boat as it entered shallow water.

Several duffel bags filled with the U.S. currency were seized.



Niagara Falls

• THEFT: Police are investigating a theft from a hotel room in the 700 block of Rainbow Boulevard. A 63-year-old woman from Oregon told officers that sometime between 4 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Thursday, someone took a GPS system from a bag in her room.

• BURGLARY: Officers are looking into a burglary in the 100 block of 58th Street. A 29-year-old woman told police that sometime between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. Thursday, someone broke into her home through a window. The victim said two rings, a mirror and a picture frame were taken.

• BURGLARY: Police are investigating a burglary in the 1300 block of Ashland Avenue. A 47-year-old woman told officers that sometime between 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9:30 a.m. Thursday, someone broke into her home through a rear window. The victim said $100 worth of meat was taken from a freezer in the home.

Town of Niagara

• DWI: Jill S. Bartos, 55, 1532 100th St., Niagara Falls, was charged early Thursday with driving while intoxicated, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, illegal signaling and speeding. Deputies pulled into the Noco station at Niagara Falls Boulevard and Williams Road about 1:30 a.m. and saw Bartos standing outside the door in her bare feet. She told them, “I’m having a hell of a night, officer!” When deputies asked if she was intoxicated, Bartos replied, “I am self-medicated, to say the least.” When deputies asked if she had driven to the store, she said, “Do I look that stupid now?” Deputies went into the store to get a drink and noticed Bartos get into one of the parked cars in the lot and drive away . Deputies followed Bartos onto Niagara Falls Boulevard and Caravelle Drive, where she was stopped. Bartos refused to take field sobriety tests, but was slurring her words and had poor coordination, the report said.

City of Lockport

• ASSAULT: Officers responded to Urban Park Towers on Main Street early Thursday for a report of an assault. They interviewed a victim who said he had been jumped by three to four males at Washburn Street and Ashley Place about 1:45 a.m. The man did not appear to be injured and was reportedly intoxicated. He reportedly gave officers a cell phone he said belonged to one of the men who jumped him.

• STOLEN: Joseph A. Tagg, 19, 2747 Orchard St., was charged Thursday morning with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. An Oakhurst Street man reported Sept. 19 that someone stole scaffolding from the side of his building. The man said he’d found the scaffolding at a scrap metal dealer on Ohio Street. Tagg was arrested Thursday morning and held without bail.

Town of Lockport

• ID THEFT: A Lockport-Olcott Road man reported Tuesday that he received a call from a collection agency stating he owes $939 for a Consolidated Edison utility bill from a residence in Brooklyn. The man said he has never lived in Brooklyn, and the agency told him a woman had used his Social Security number and mailing information to co-open the account in his name.

Newfane

• VEHICLE FIRE: An Olcott woman told deputies she was driving her 1999 Dodge Durango on Transit Road about 1:29 p.m. when she noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood. When she pulled over, she saw flames coming from the engine compartment, the report said. The Miller Hose Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the blaze. The vehicle was worth $10,000. Deputies gave the woman a ride back to her home, the report said.

Royalton

• FIRE: A Gasport Road man reported Thursday that he’d been having trouble with his lawn mower overheating while in use. The man said he put the lawn mower in his wooden shed and went to the store, and when he came back about 15 minutes later, he noticed smoke coming from the shed. The man said he opened the door and found the inside of the shed engulfed in flames. Terry’s Corners Volunteer Fire Company responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. The shed and its contents were a total loss. Heat from the flames also damaged the siding on the back of the man’s garage, the report said.

Hartland

• LARCENY: A Ridge Road woman reported Wednesday that sometime between Sunday and Monday, someone stole a Dell laptop from her car. The larceny could have occurred at her home or while she was at Niagara County Community College on Monday, the report said. The computer is worth $1,800, the report said.

• FIRE: A Quaker Road man reported Wednesday that he was mowing grass when he noticed smoke coming from under the hood of his tractor. The man said he lifted the hood and saw flames near the battery. He attempted to beat out the flames with a tree branch, but was not successful, the report said. The Hartland Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire. An estimate of damage was not available.