Police Log Sept. 2 Suspect in Hamburg bank robberies now in custody
Since the Evans National Bank on South Park Avenue in Hamburg was robbed on July 3, Town of Hamburg detectives and police officers have been working with various agencies to apprehend the person responsible.
On Aug. 13, members of the New York State Police, the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in Syracuse apprehended Timothy J. Ernle, 48, in Bridgeport on two warrants for violating his state patrol. He has previously served prison time for bank robbery and had been staying at one time in the Town of Hamburg.
According to Town of Hamburg Detective Capt. Kevin Trask, Ernle became a person of interest in this incident within days of the July 3 robbery.
“We have been working with other agencies and we contributed to this arrest in August,” Trask said.
Ernle, who is now in police custody, is a suspect in four area bank robberies, one in Kenmore, one in Niagara Falls and the two robberies at the same bank in Hamburg that occurred within 10 days of each other.
“We are working with the District Attorney’s Office and we hope to be able to make an arrest in this case soon,” Trask said.
Arson plea gets suspect one to three years prison
Curtis Vail, 19, of Evans was recently sentenced to serve one to three years in prison following his guilty plea of third-degree arson, a class C felony, in connection with a house fire on Lake Shore Road in the Town of Evans, which occurred at 5:02 a.m. on Monday, May 17.
According to Town of Evans Police, another suspect, Daniel Kenyon, 20, of Evans, pleaded guilty to a D felony criminal mischief plea and is scheduled to be sentenced soon.
DWI with children in the vehicle gets felony charges
At 8:51 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, Town of Evans Police reported that a vehicle being operated in an erratic manner with three young children inside was headed into the Town of Hamburg on Lake Shore Road.
Within a short time Town of Hamburg Police Officer Jeffrey Lavelle observed the vehicle in question weaving over the lanes of traffic and almost left the road after crossing over the fog line.
The driver, Richard F. Landow, 34, of Buffalo, was charged with six counts of felony aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger under 16 and three counts of acting in a manner injurious of a child less than 17.
Evans man faces multiple charges including unlawful imprisonment
Town of Evans Police have charged Michael Penvose, 30, of Evans with multiple offenses from several incidents that occurred on Thursday, Aug. 26, and Friday, Aug. 27.
According to police, at 6:44 p.m. on Aug. 26 Officer Brian Kauzala responded to a domestic call that Penvose allegedly physically abused a female victim, threatened a 26-day-old baby and threatened to kill the woman. Penvose was charged with second-degree unlawful imprisonment, third-degree menacing, second-degree harassment and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17.
At 10 p.m. that night Kauzala was called back to the area, where there was a suspicious vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence under construction on Dawn Avenue.
He was told by the vehicle owner it had been taken from the driveway of a Silver Creek home without the owner’s permission.
The front door of the house was also found forced open and the garage door was damaged and unlocked.
According to police, it is alleged that Penvose is known to break into the garage and residence and spend the night there on occasion.
At 1:52 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 27, Officer Joseph LaRosa located Penvose at the Dawn Avenue location and he was in possession of a 14 kt. gold necklace, a woman’s watch, a gold ring with gemstones and three earrings with gemstones. Estimated value of the items was set at $825.
Penvose was charged with fourth-degree felony criminal possession of stolen property of a vehicle, and two charges of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
At 12:25 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27, the owner of the stolen vehicle came to the Evans Police station and reported that Penvose punched him on the left side of his head while he was sitting inside his vehicle that day.
He then claimed that Penvose grabbed a shotgun out of a woodpile and pointed it at him while he was in his vehicle.
While at the police station the victim began receiving phone calls from Penvose allegedly threatening him and his family members.
Penvose was charged with second-degree menacing with a weapon, second-degree aggravated harassment with a phone and second-degree harassment, physical contact.
He was arraigned before the Brant Town Justice Court and was sent to the Erie County Holding Center in lieu of $1,200 bail.
Metal and battery theft
Town of Hamburg Police report they have charged a Buffalo man in connection with the theft of metal building supplies and vehicle batteries from a Hamburg business.
According to police, at about 2:20 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 27 Richard J. Moran, 32, of Buffalo allegedly removed six 12-foot long gutter guide aluminum strips and two vehicle batteries from a Willett Road business and placed them inside a vehicle.
A witness had heard some noises and called police because there had been some recent thefts in the area.
Officer John Bluman responded to the call and found the vehicle with the stolen items with keys in the ignition but nobody around.
Bluman contacted the vehicle owner who claimed she was unaware the vehicle had been taken from her driveway.
Upon further investigation, the vehicle owner admitted to making up the story the vehicle was missing and said her boyfriend, Moran, was using it.
Also additional stolen property was located behind her house.
Moran was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief and petit larceny.
DWI arrest in Evans
At 4:15 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, Town of Evans Police Officer Brian Kauzala stopped a vehicle being driven erratically and with no headlights on.
After failing several field sobriety tests and refusing to take the data master test, the vehicle operator, Brittany Alberta, 20, was charged with driving while intoxicated, operating an unregistered motor vehicle on the highway, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely and operating a vehicle without at least one head lamp in operation.
DWAI arrest in Hamburg
At 10:36 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 24, while on patrol, Town of Hamburg Police Officer Robert Paas observed a vehicle being driven in an erratic manner on Lake Shore Road.
According to police, the vehicle operator said he had recently taken his prescription medications, clonazepam and dextroamphetamine and that he has bad knees, a bad back and is legally blind in the right eye.
He failed several field sobriety tests, took a field breath test that showed a 0.0 percent blood alcohol content and consented to a blood and urine test at the Erie County Medical Center.
He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs.
More marijuana plants found in Town of Evans
At 2:48 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, Erie County Sheriff’s Department Air One piloted by Capt. Kevin Caffery reported sighting marijuana plants growing in the woods behind some homes on Versailles Plank Road in the Town of Evans.
Town of Evans Police Officer Luke Fioretti located three potted marijuana plants in buckets and took them to the police station.
The Evans Detective Bureau is continuing its investigation.
Hamburg man charged with theft of video games
At about 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 27, Town of Hamburg Police Officer Dennis Horrigan responded to a larceny call at the Sears store at the McKinley Mall.
According to police, Edward P. Clark, 21, of Hamburg, allegedly attempted to leave the store after concealing 18 video games in a bag from another store without paying for the items, valued at $479.82.
Clark was charged with petit larceny and was arraigned before Hamburg Town Justice Gerald Gorman, who set bail at $500. Clark was sent to the Erie County Holding Center in lieu of the bail.
Radio Shack ripped off
At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 22, Town of Evans Police responded to a call from the Radio Shack on Erie Road in Derby.
According to police, three black males entered the location and one began a conversation with the store employee about purchasing a Gigaware cassette adapter while the remaining men stood off in one corner of the store.
The suspect brought the item to the counter and spent about 15 minutes with the employee asking questions and requesting it be tested.
The suspect purchased the item and then all three men left.
Right after they left, the employee found that several items were missing from the store where the two other men had been standing.
Approximately $1,110 worth of items was taken, including several cameras and other electronic items.
The store manager was contacted and an alert was sent out to all area Radio Shacks regarding the three suspects.
According to police, while they were at the store a call came from the Dunkirk store alerting them that all three suspects had entered their store and tried to return the cassette adapter.
According to police, the Detective Bureau is continuing their investigation.
I’m not my sister... really
At around 12:30 a.m. back on Jan. 14, Town of Hamburg Police thought they had stopped Jennifer Burns, 20, of North Tonawanda for operating a vehicle with a loud muffler.
When the ticket was never addressed, Burns’ New York State driver learner’s permit was suspended.
According to police, Jennifer Burns-Delavern has now reported that she never obtained a traffic ticket in the Town of Hamburg and has never driven the vehicle in question (owned by the ex-boyfriend of her sister, Melissa F. Burns, 22, of Tonawanda.)
Burns said her sister had taken her driver’s permit, which had her maiden name listed on it and used it to operate the vehicle.
A check with the Department of Motor Vehicles showed that Melissa Burns’ license had been suspended at the time of the traffic stop four times on three dates for failure to answer or pay fines.
On Aug. 23, Melissa Burns was charged with second-degree criminal impersonation of another person.
Marijuana possession
At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 26, while on a road check on Versailles Plank and Pontiac roads, Town of Evans Police Officers Nathan Miller and Ralph Maslach stopped a vehicle where the two occupants were not wearing their seat belts.
According to police, the two were acting extremely nervous.
When asked if the police could search the vehicle, they were given permission and when the passenger was asked if he had anything on him, he said he had a needle.
Further investigation uncovered two marijuana “blunts’ and five small bags of a white powdery substance, suspected cocaine, in one large bag.
Ruben Rivera, 46, of Gowanda, was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana and no seat belt.
He was arraigned before Angola Village Justice Dennis Glascott and was remanded to the Erie County Holding Center in lieu of $1,000 bail.
