Published: April 21, 2008 07:58 pm            

BLOTTER: Police reports published April 22

NEWFANE

Fake jury board call reported

The Niagara County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a report of fraudulent call by someone posing as a jury board representative.

A Lockport-Olcott Road woman reported Friday that she received a call from a man claiming to be an employee of the Niagara County Jury Board. The man told the woman she had been scheduled for jury duty and did not respond to her summons.

The man provided the woman with some future jury dates and told her she would have to sign for a certified letter the jury board would send her. He reportedly knew the woman’s name and address.

The man ended the conversation by saying the judge was on the other line and he had to go, the report said.

The woman told deputies she suspected the call may have been a bill collector trying to get her to sign a certified letter in reference to debt collection. She also thought it may have been a family member, referencing some litigation she and her husband are involved in.

The call was blocked and untraceable, the report said.



RANSOMVILLE

Man catches burglar trying to steal chain saw

A Ransomville Road man reportedly found a burglar on his property early Sunday after a neighbor alerted him of suspicious activity in his garage.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the home about 12:40 a.m. for a report of a burglary in progress. The homeowner told deputies he was sleeping when a neighbor called to tell him he’d seen a lighter flame in his detached garage.

The man got out of bed and went to check the garage, where he found a man holding his chain saw and sawsall. He described the suspect as a young white male, in his early 20s, with red hair and wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt.

The suspect reportedly tried to run with the items, but he dropped them after a short distance.

The homeowner and his neighbor tried to chase the suspect, but they could not keep up, the report said.

The chain saw and sawsall were recovered, but the man reportedly said he is missing another chain saw, worth about $200.



CITY OF TONAWANDA

Church vandalized

The Grove Street Christian Church was vandalized sometime over the weekend, police reported.

James Girling, the church’s pastor, told police Monday morning that the window on a church door was broken out, and there was graffiti written on the front brick date stone.

Police report that the damage to the building is extensive, because the door was made of lead and the front stone will have to be blasted.



TOWN OF LOCKPORT

Tractor rollover sends man to ECMC

A 70-year-old man was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center after the tractor he was driving rolled over on top of him Monday morning.

A sheriff’s deputy was on patrol on Sunset Drive about 9:56 a.m. when he saw the tractor roll over near the side of the road.

The driver, Stanley Kulak, was driving the tractor on the lawn at the crest of a large drop-off when the tractor started to roll, the report said. Before it came to rest, it rolled over Kulak.

Kulak suffered rib, hand and back injuries, but the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. He was conscious and alert on the scene, the report said. He was transported to ECMC.



Niagara Falls

• THEFT: Police are investigating a car break-in in the 3900 block of Pine Avenue. A 39-year-old man told officers that sometime between 9 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. Sunday someone broke into his 1999 GMC Savana van. The victim said a quantity of copper pipe, a power drill and some hand tools were taken.

• BURGLARY: Officers are looking into a burglary in the 900 block of Niagara Avenue. The manager of an apartment complex told police that sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 a.m. Monday someone took all the copper pipe connected to the washing machines in the complex’s laundry room.

Pendleton

• LARCENY: An Oakwood Drive woman reported Sunday that overnight, someone entered the stairwell outside her apartment and stole a finder scope and an LED scope from her telescope. The items are worth $100.

City of Lockport

• HARASSMENT: Angela M. Berardi, 34, 158 South St., front, was charged Sunday afternoon with second-degree aggravated harassment. Berardi allegedly called an Oliver Street man Friday and threatened him, saying, "You called the police on me and I wanted to get your back. I'll see you dead and I'll burn that (expletive) house down with you in it." The man told police he had bailed Berardi out of jail before and she had not shown up for court, causing a warrant to be issued, and he'd turned her in to get his bail money back. Berardi was arrested at Lockport Memorial Hospital.

• BURGLARY: Joseph D. Lobczowski, 41, 185 Saxton St., rear, was charged Monday morning with third-degree menacing, second-degree burglary and second-degree harassment. A South Street woman told police Lobczowski, her ex-boyfriend, came to her apartment highly intoxicated on April 16. Lobczowski allegedly entered the apartment using an old key and began yelling at the woman, who told him to leave several times, the report said. Lobczowski allegedly grabbed a bottle of vodka from the counter and began drinking it, then threw a Tupperware container of crafts all over the floor. He allegedly grabbed the woman's phone, pulled out the batteries and threw it on the ground. The woman got the phone back together and called her boyfriend, who was at work. He flagged down a patrol car at South Transit and Willow streets, and officers responded to the apartment. Lobczowski was arrested in the Woodlands about 12:56 a.m. Monday.

• DWI: David J.H. Balcom, 21, 249 Willett St., upper, Buffalo, was charged Monday morning with driving while intoxicated. Officers stopped Balcom at a roadblock on South Transit Road about 12:07 a.m. He allegedly failed several field sobriety tests. Balcom was held in lieu of $500 bail.

• DWI: Justin D. Northrup, 19, 374 West Ave., was charged Sunday night with DWI and equipment violations after a traffic stop on West Avenue. Officers reportedly detected the strong odor of marijuana inside Northrup's car and asked if he had been drinking or using drugs. Northrup said no to both questions, but then allegedly admitted to smoking marijuana a half hour earlier. He allegedly failed several field sobriety tests and was taken to LMH, where a blood sample was taken. Northrup was released on his own recognizance and is due April 28 in Lockport City Court.

• DRUGS: David S. McCanty, 38, 2297 Hartland Road, Lot 5, was charged Monday morning with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, driving without valid inspection and possession of a controlled substance outside its original container. Officers stopped McCanty's car on South Street about 2:25 a.m. after a database check revealed his license was suspended, the report said. McCanty was searched, and officers reportedly found an unmarked prescription bottle containing two different brands of hydrocodone. McCanty reportedly said he had a prescription "for the yellow pills but not the white ones." He was held in lieu of $100 bail and is due April 30 in Lockport City Court.

Town of Lockport

• LARCENY: Jennifer M. Centeno, 18, 93 Oliver St., was charged Friday with petit larceny. Centeno, an employee at Tops on South Transit Road, allegedly walked through the EZ scan with $2.60 worth of food without paying. She then asked another employee for “paid” stickers, the report said. Centeno was released on an appearance ticket and is due today in Lockport Town Court.

• VANDALISM: An employee of On Stage Dance Studio on Lincoln Avenue reported Monday that overnight, someone shot through a window at the business with a pellet gun. Damage was estimated at $225.

Gasport

• BURGLARY: A Hartland Road woman reported Friday that someone stole a plastic pretzel jug containing about $220 in loose change from underneath a desk inside her home.

Royalton

• LARCENY: A Chestnut Ridge Road man reported Friday that someone stole 25 radiators, worth $150, from his backyard.

Middleport

• LARCENY: A North Hartland Street woman reported Saturday morning that overnight, someone stole eight $100 bills from inside her purse, which was in her unlocked car.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.