ALBION – A Carlton man was sentenced this morning to a year of weekends in the county jail plus five years of probation.

Benjamin T. Hayes, 26, was sentenced for two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.

He was charged by state police on Nov. 2, 2023 with numerous felony firearms charges. Hayes at the time was working in the county’s IT Department.

He was found to be in possession of numerous illegal weapons including a privately manufactured ghost gun, 3-D printed pistol receivers, pistols, unregistered SAFE Act rifles, high-capacity magazines, body armor, ammunition and electronics involved in private manufacturing of gun parts.

He was sentenced this morning by County Court Judge Sanford Church.

In other cases in court today:

• Edward Dunn, 38, of Middleport was sentenced to 2 ½ to 5 years in state prison for third-degree burglary.

Dunn, who was convicted of a previous felony of second degree assault, acknowledged in court he went to a laundromat in Lyndonville on March 13, and entered a room that is off limits to the public. Dunn said he broke into the room with the change machine to get that money, knowing it wasn’t open to the public.

As part of the sentencing today, he has to pay $980 in restitution.

Dunn  apologized for his actions and said he takes full responsibility.

Joanne Best, the public defender, said Dunn has struggled with substance abuse and would benefit from treatment.

• Anthony A. Maisano, 36, of Lockport pleaded guilty to felony driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the first degree.

Maisano admitted to drinking alcohol on Nov. 2, 2023, when he was stopped in Orleans County and registered a 0.21 BAC.

He faces 1 to 3 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 8.

• Joshua Ausman, 39, of Clarendon was arraigned for third-degree grand larceny for allegedly taking $4,976 without permission from another person from April 1 to May 17.

ALBION – Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church ruled last week that statements made by Noah Magee to State Police are admissible as his case heads to trial.

Magee has been charged with second-degree murder in a fatal Barre crash on Feb. 8.

Police say Magee, 19, of Brockport was driving a pickup truck the wrong way on McNamar Road on Feb. 8 when he hit Roger Kingdollar who was riding a dirt bike. Kingdollar, 24, died from the collision.

Magee’s lawyer Paul Vacca Jr. asked that the statements from Magee, made over a five-hour time line, not be admissible.

Church said the statements to Investigator Steven Papponetti were made voluntarily and after Magee was given a Miranda warning that he had the right to remain silent, that any statement he makes may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney.

Papponetti, during a Huntley hearing last week, said Magee was cooperative at the scene, during a ride to Medina Memorial Hospital for a blood drive, and then at the interview room at the State Police barracks in Albion. (The blood draw showed no signs of alcohol or impairment from drugs, Papponetti said.)

Papponetti said Magee said told the investigator he made a wide turn from Angevine to McNamar Road at about 4:05 p.m. Magee said he tried to overcorrect and the vehicle swerved towards Kingdollar, which the handlebar catching the front fender on the driver’s side of a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado.

Magee said he left the scene because he was scared someone told him they were going to kill him, Papponetti said in testimony. Kingdollar was operating a dirt bike while on a ride with two friends on four-wheelers.

Magee’s sister brought Magee back to the scene. Papponetti took him by state police vehicle to Medina Memorial and the State Police barracks. While in the police vhicle, Papponetti said he and Magee discussed “normal life stuff,” including some of Magee’s hobbies and what he likes to do in his free time.

Magee wasn’t under arrest when he went to the State Police barracks. Vacca asked Papponetti when the determination was made to charge him with a crime.

“Wouldn’t you say this was an automobile accident and not a murder?” Vacca asked Papponetti during the hearing. “I’m still puzzled how you could charge him with this horrendous crime.”

District Attorney Joe Cardone said a video from a neighboring house was a factor in the charges, which initially were reckless endangerment 1st degree (D felony), leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident (D felony) and other vehicle and traffic infractions.

The charge was elevated on June 12 to second-degree murder when Magee was arraigned in County Court.

Magee also gave police consent to search his cell phone on Feb. 8, and then recanted that permission. Papponetti said the phone was never searched by police. Papponetti said police wanted to check it to see if it would indicate why he left the scene or if he was on his phone during the collision.

A trial in the case is scheduled to start on Nov. 13 with juror selection to start that morning.

ALBION – Two people were sentenced to state prison today by Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church.

Gerald Bradley, 40, was an inmate in the Orleans Correctional Facility when he had fentanyl in the prison. He has since been transferred to Upstate Correctional Facility in Malone.

He was sentenced to an additional 2 ½ years in state prison. His attorney, James Egan, said Bradley is a good guy but struggles with a substance abuse problem.

Brandon Eldridge, 36, of Albion was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison for criminal contempt in the first degree for violating an order of protection. He allegedly got in an argument with a woman and shoved her. He wasn’t supposed to have any contact with her. The judge issued a new order of protection for the woman for the next eight years.

Also in the court today, two people pleaded guilty and will likely face incarceration when they are sentenced.

Sterling Carter of Monroe County pleaded guilty to attempted prison contraband for trying to bring ceramic razor blades into the Orleans Correctional Facility on June 12, 2023.

Carter is a second-felony offender and will face a maximum of 1 ½ to 3 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 8.

Jennifer Sportsman, 49, of Clarendon admitted to probation violations and could face up to eight months in the county jail when she is sentenced on Nov. 13. She has been on probation for criminal possession of stolen property. She admitted to having 2 ounces marijuana and bringing it to a state prison in Franklin County, where she is facing charges of promoting prison contraband.

MEDINA – A Medina man pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court today to criminally negligent homicide, admitting to driving at a high rate of speed and through a stop sign in an accident that resulted in the death of Gabriel J. Casanova, 19, on June 25, 2023.

Rashawn Bloom, 20, was driving a 2009 Lincoln Navigator with three other passengers at about 2:30 a.m. They had just left a bonfire on East Countyhouse Road when District Attorney Joe Cardone said Bloom drove off at speeds topping 85 miles per hour. He also went through the stop sign at Countyhouse Road and Route 98 and then lost control of the vehicle on West Countyhouse Road. The vehicle overturned multiple times.

Casanova died from blunt force trauma to the head and other parts of his body, Cardone said in court today.

Bloom was charged by State Police in April for first-degree reckless endangerment, a D felony with a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison.

Bloom agreed to a plea deal today with the District Attorney’s Office, where he will face a split sentence of six months in the county jail and five years of probation. He will be sentenced on Nov. 25.

County Court Judge Sanford Church went over the meaning of criminally negligent homicide, where a person creates a substantial risk by being reckless, inattentive or careless, leading to the death or another person. The defendant faces this charge shows a “gross deviation from the standard of care by a reasonable person,” Church said.

Bloom was released on his own recognizance at the town court level, before the case was moved to County Court. Judge Church decided to set bail at $1,000 cash or $2,500 bond.

ALBION – A Batavia woman pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court this morning to attempted assault in the second-degree.

Katelyn Jimenez, 31, admitted in court to having a machete on June 2 and attempting to cause physical injury with a machete. She could face a maximum of 1 to 3 years in state prison when she is sentenced in about two months.

Jimenez was charged on June 2 when a man, age 32, was unconscious and bleeding from a laceration to the back of the head at Heritage Meadows Apartments in Carlton.

Jimenez was charged with second-degree assault, criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree and criminal impersonation in the second degree.

She pleaded guilty to a reduced charge today in court. As part of her sentencing, Judge Sanford Church said he would consider a treatment court option for Jimenez. She remains in Orleans County Jail on bail of $10,000 cash, $50,000 bond and $100,000 partial secured bond.

In other cases in County Court today:

• Andria Meiers, 51, of Medina pleaded guilty attempted insurance fraud in the second degree. She allegedly claimed a burglary caused $7,800 in damages to her residence and attempted to file a proof of loss statement with an insurance company for $7,800.

She will be sentenced on Nov. 6 and faces a maximum of 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.

• Mitchell Gardner, a former inmate at Orleans Correctional Facility in Albion, was arraigned for aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate.

Gardner, 22, allegedly threw urine at a corrections officer in the Albion prison on Dec. 20, 2023. He is now an inmate at the Attica Correctional Facility.

• Caitlyn Collins, 33, was arraigned for second-degree assault. Collins was an inmate at the Albion Correctional Facility on Feb. 20 when she allegedly struck a corrections officer in the face, and that officer then fell into a wall. Collins is now an inmate at Beford Hills Correctional Facility.

Two people also were sentenced in County Court last week on Sept. 4:

• Christian Strickland, 25, of Medina was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated. He was charged on Dec. 21.

Strickland also will have his driver’s license suspended for six months and must use an inter-lock ignition device that measures his blood alcohol content for three years when he is released from prison.

• Edward Ruckdeschel, 62, of Batavia was sentenced to 3 to 6 years in state prison for a string of break-ins in Carlton.

The time for third-degree burglary will be served concurrently as part of a sentence in Genesee County for car thefts.