Botello

ALBION – A judge raised the bail from $250,000 to $2.5 million for a Kendall man charged last week with attempted murder of a state trooper.

Carlos J. Botello, 42, of Kendall was charged with second-degree attempted murder of a state trooper following a traffic stop on Sept. 3. Botello was stopped by Trooper Dan Metz. Botello allegedly attempted to back over the trooper. Metz avoided being struck, but Borello smashed into a state police vehicle.

Botello then fled the scene by vehicle. Metz pursued the suspect until Botello entered into a farmer’s field and became disabled, police reported.

A Yates town justice set Botello’s bail at $250,000. In Orleans County Court on Monday, Judge James Punch increased the bail to $2.5 million.

District Attorney Joseph Cardone noted in court that Botello has twice attempted to harm law enforcement officers. The previous incident occurred in 1994 when Botello fired six rounds into the home of a deputy who lived in Kendall.

ALBION A Rochester woman was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison today for driving while intoxicated with two children, both age 4, in the back seat.

Kizzie E. Ford, 29, was charged with DWI on Sept. 13 in the village of Albion. She was stopped by police after she nearly struck an unmarked Albion police patrol car. She faced charges of felony DWI, first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, two counts of aggravated DWI (Leandra’s Law), two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of improper child restraint devices and improper right turn.

Ford was operating the vehicle with her two 4-year-old children in the rear seat without child restraint seats. Orleans County Court Judge James Punch sentenced Ford today, calling her actions “an appalling crime.”

In another DWI case, Julie M. Makowski, 50, of Rochester pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Albion on March 31. She will be sentenced Dec. 9 and faces 1 to 3 years in state prison.

Makowski was charged with felony DWI, criminal possession of a controlled substance, speeding and inadequate headlights. She has a prior DWI and prior charge of driving while ability impaired.

Makowski admitted in court today she had been drinking prior to driving. She took a breath test two hours after being arrested on March 31 and registered a 0.15 blood alcohol content, nearly double the legal limit for driving drunk.

Frederick Miller is accused of killing girlfriend

Frederick Miller

ALBION Orleans County Court Judge James Punch today set Jan. 13 as the tentative starting date for a murder trial.

Frederick Miller, 61, of Carlton is accused of killing his live-in girlfriend on March 4. Miller allegedly bludgeoned and stabbed Rachel Miller several times. He has been charged with second-degree murder.

The couple allegedly had a fight on March 4 at a home they shared on Oak Orchard River Road. Rachel Miller, who was formerly married to Miller’s cousin, was 53 when she died as a result of blunt force trauma combined with multiple stab wounds, according to an autopsy.

Miller’s body was discovered early in the morning on March 4 by an Albion school bus driver.

Punch also set Oct. 23 for a Huntley hearing to determine which of Frederick Miller’s statements made to police will be admissible at trial.

Botello

YATES – A Kendall resident has been charged with second-degree attempted murder of a state trooper following a traffic stop on Tuesday night, state police reported.

Carlos J. Botello, 42, of Kendall, was stopped by Trooper Dan Metz. Botello allegedly attempted to back over the trooper. Metz avoided being struck, but Borello smashed into a state police vehicle.

Botello then fled the scene by vehicle. Metz pursued the suspect until Botello entered into a farmer’s field and became disabled, police reported.

Metz took Botello into custody without further incident and transported him to the State Police barracks in Albion. Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone was consulted and recommended charging Botello with attempted murder 2nd.

Botello was arraigned in the Town of Yates Court and remanded to the Orleans County Jail on $250,000 bail.

The incident began at approximately 8:20 p.m., when Metz was dispatched to a suspicious vehicle/erratic operator on Route 18 in the town of Yates. Metz located the vehicle and attempted to effect a traffic stop.

Botello did not stop immediately and a brief pursuit ensued. The vehicle eventually pulled over and Metz cautiously approached the vehicle. The operator looked back at Metz, put the vehicle in reverse and accelerated directly at him, state police reported.

The Daily News of Batavia is reporting that Botello 19 years ago fired six shots into the home of a sheriff’s deputy. Botello has spent three terms in state prison, and is currently on post-release supervision.

Botello faces several charges in addition to attempted murder. Police charged him with two counts of driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation, failure to keep right and unlawful fleeing from a police officer.

ALBION – A Rochester woman pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court today to selling cocaine.

Raquel T. Torrez, 34, of 256 Ave. D, Rochester on June 19 was charged with four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree. She pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. As part of her plea, she will be sentenced to no more than six months in jail on Nov. 18.

Torrez was among eight people arrested in June by the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force, following an eight-month investigation into the sale and distribution of cocaine in the Albion area.

Torrez apologized to County Court Judge James Punch in court today, saying her use of cocaine led her to make bad decisions.

District Attorney Joseph Cardone said Torrez was involved in at least four drug sales.

Torrez said she sold cocaine for money so she could support her own drug habit.

ALBION – A Lyndonville resident was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison today for driving while intoxicated, his second DWI.

Jeremy H. Boyce, 30, of 32 Maple Ave. was charged on March 31 with DWI. He also faced charges of failure to keep right, drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle, failure to use an interlock device, aggravated unlicensed operator, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

In addition to his prison sentence, Boyce was fined $2,500 by County Court Judge James Punch. Boyce has a year to pay the fine. He also lost his driver’s license for a year and must use interlock ignition device for three years once he’s released from prison.

Boyce told the court he will work hard to change his life and make better decisions in the future.

In other cases in county court today:

Robert W. Tetrault, 32, of Albion pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree assault and third-degree attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 2 to 4 years in state prison or a minimum of 1 ½ to 3 years.

Tetrault had a knife when he was fighting with his brother Chris Tetrault on May 23. Chris’s wife Wendy attempted to intervene in the fight and suffered “a severe laceration across her hand” from the knife, District Attorney Joe Cardone said.

Tetrault said he didn’t intend to hurt the victim. He said he was trying to injure his brother. Tetrault has a prior conviction of criminal mischief from November 2005 in Orleans County.

He will be sentenced at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.

An Albion woman told Judge Punch she violated her Probation in June by using cocaine and possessing drug paraphernalia.

Dawn M. Stachewicz, 41, of Albion pleaded guilty to a Probation violation today and could be sentenced to up to a year in jail at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21.

DeRoller

ALBION – A village resident pleaded guilty in Orleans County Court today to selling prescription drug narcotics from his residence at 130 West Academy St.

Vance R. DeRoller, 45, could be sentenced to a maximum of 5 ½ years in state prison when he is sentenced Nov. 18 by Judge James Punch. DeRoller pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree, a C felony. He remains free on $25,000 bail.

He faced 21 counts of either criminal sale or criminal possession of a controlled substance after being arrested in June. DeRoller sold hydrocodone pills that were mixed with acetaminophen, a pain reliever. Hydrocodone and acetaminophen combined are considered a narcotic, said District Attorney Joseph Cardone.

DeRoller said he sold of the prescription drugs that were prescribed to him to an undercover police officer. DeRoller was selling the drugs for profit, he told Judge Punch. As part of his plea deal, DeRoller won’t be sentenced to more than 5 ½ years.

MEDINA – A Medina resident admitted in court he broke into the Orleans Ford dealership in December, stole a truck and threatened a clerk at a gas station.

George Brown, 36, of Bernzomatic Drive could be sentenced to a maximum 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison on Oct. 21. He pleaded guilty on County Court on Monday to third-degree burglary and third-degree attempted robbery.

Brown on Dec. 15 stole a truck from Orleans Ford. He then attempted to take gas from a gas station by threatening a clerk, the Orleans County District Attorney’s Office said.

After stealing the truck, Brown led Medina Police and state troopers on a multi-county pursuit. He had two children with him. He was stopped after driving over spikes deployed by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

ALBION A 58-year-old Medina man was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in state prison for driving while intoxicated.

Earl Anderson of 11089 Maple Ridge Rd. has been charged with DWI five times since 1978, with 2005 the most recent case until he was charged Dec. 9 on Dunlap Road in Shelby.

“You’ve had an incredible amount of DWIs in your life,” County Court Judge James Punch told Anderson during his sentencing on Monday. “I have to protect the people of the county from you.”

Anderson also was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

In another DWI case, Felix Onofre-Rojas, 61, of 14691 Zig-Zag Rd., Albion, pleaded guilty to DWI on May 4, when he was stopped with a BAC of 0.21 percent. Onofre-Rojas has a prior DWI on June 24, 2008 in Hamlin.

He could be sentenced to up to four years in state prison on Oct. 28.

Onofre-Rojas also faces several drug charges for the sale and distribution of cocaine in the Albion area. He could be sentenced to up to 5.5 years in state prison, time that would run concurrent with the DWI offense.

Onofre-Rojas was prepared to plead guilty to the drug charges on Monday, but he disagreed with District Attorney Joe Cardone’s time frame of when the crimes occurred. Cardone said the crimes occurred February 2013, but Onofre-Rojas refuted that in court. Onofre-Rojas acknowledged he sold the drugs, but he told Judge Punch it wasn’t in February.

Cardone said Onofre-Rojas sold cocaine “repeatedly.” Cardone and Onofre-Rojas will discuss the plea in an upcoming court date, when Cardone checks with staff and law enforcement about the time frame of the crimes.

Onofre-Rojas was arrested on June 20 and charged with two counts of a criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, four counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree.

In another case in county court on Monday, two Jamaican nationals were arraigned on charges of first-degree criminal possession of marijuana. Calvin Bennett, 37, of the Bronx and Roderick Johnson, 29, of Rochester were stopped by law enforcement in February in Clarendon. They allegedly possessed 450 pounds of marijuana.

Cynthia Benz has paid $75K in restitution, owes $16,500

ALBION – A former employee at Curvin’s News and Smoke Shop in Medina, who allegedly stole $91,500 in Lotto tickets from the business, avoided a jail sentence in Orleans County Court today.

Cynthia Benz, 61, of Medina was ordered to five years probation, 300 hours of community service and full restitution. She has paid $75,000 back so far and that factored in Judge James Punch’s decision to not send her to jail. District Attorney Joe Cardone also requested no jail time for Benz, saying she has been cooperative in working to pay the full restitution.

Benz apologized in court for taking scratch-off Lotto tickets.

“I’m very sorry this has happened,” she told Judge Punch. “I can’t believe the people I’ve embarrassed.”

Benz was charged with grand larceny. Several community members submitted letters of support on her behalf to the judge.

Punch had stern words for Benz, saying he wasn’t impressed by the letters. He said she stole from a small town merchant  “hundreds of times” while “masquerading as a nice lady from Medina.”

He ordered that she have a psychological evaluation.

“You’re a crook,” he said during sentencing. “You have to overcome that somehow.”

Another former Curvin’s employee also faces a third-degree grand larceny charge for allegedly stealing $20,000 worth of Lotto tickets. Kim Capstick’s case is going through the county court system.

Jeffrey Paul is committed to psychiatric facility in Syracuse

ALBION – The trial is off for a Holley resident charged with criminal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud.

In County Court last month, Jeffrey Paul, 40, of Holley said that a series of medications prevented him from thinking clearly, and unable to help with his defense during the trial. Judge James Punch ordered psychological and psychiatric competency evaluations, and both specialists reported they didn’t think Paul could help with his own defense at a trial.

Paul’s attorney Larry Koss in court today also told Judge Punch he didn’t think Paul could assist in his defense.

Punch reviewed the reports from the psychologist and psychiatrist and had Paul committed to a psychiatric facility in Syracuse for up to a year. The judge cited Paul’s “profound problems.” If Paul’s condition improves, he could stand trial, Punch said.

Punch set a Nov. 4 court date for an update on Paul’s fitness for trial.

Paul and his father David allegedly stole two backhoes, a box truck and a car and buried some of it on David Paul’s property on the Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road. David Paul, 68, was sentenced to a year in the county jail in January.

ALBION – Charles Sheets was sent to state prison today for five years after he assaulted a deputy in December.

Sheets, 49, has a prior felony for attempted assault of a police officer in Monroe County in 2004. He was charged with second-degree assault for the more recent case.

Orleans County Sheriff’s Deputy J.J. Cole responded to a domestic incident at Angevine Road on Dec. 28.  When Cole attempted to bring Sheets into custody, Sheets fought with the deputy, causing him an injury. Sheets also was charged with harassment and menacing for the domestic incident.

“You’re a self-centered, undisciplined, violent and a very dangerous man,” Orleans County Court Judge James Punch said during sentencing today.

Sheets was sentenced to five years in state prison, five years of probation after prison and his wife was issued an order of protection.

Resident also pleads to attempted burglary from church

ALBION – An Albion man confessed to going to a home late at night on Feb. 1 and brutally beating up a 59-year-old resident at 431 West State St.

Domingo E. Candelaria, 22, of 175 North Main St., pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Orleans County Court today. As part of his plea he will be sentenced to four years or less in state prison. If Judge James Punch sentences Candelaria to more than four years, Candelaria can withdraw his plea and go to trial. If convicted by the jury, he could face up to seven years in prison. Punch set sentencing for Oct. 21.

Candelaria said he “overreacted” on Feb. 1. He went to the victim’s home at 2 a.m. He was looking for the man’s son. Candelaria said the man’s father, Ronald Hubbard, answered the door. Candelaria said Hubbard had a knife. Police reports have said that Hubbard was unarmed.

Candelaria punched him many times, including several blows when Hubbard was already down, Candelaria said in court.

Hubbard was in the hospital for three weeks and has mild brain damage from the incident, District Attorney Joe Cardone told Punch in court. Hubbard also continues to be plagued by headaches and is lethargic, Cardone said.

Candelaria and the man’s son had a dispute over a woman, police have said.

In another case with a plea today, Michael G. Andre, 23, of West Park Street in Albion pleaded guilty to attempted burglary in the third degree. He will be sentenced Oct. 21 and could face 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.

Andre confessed in court that he broke into the Presbyterian Church in Albion on Jan. 14. He broke a window in a locked church office and stole a laptop, Cardone said.

BATAVIA – An Albion who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 14-year-old girl was sentenced to 22 years in state prison today by a judge in Genesee County.

Scott D. Stanley allegedly committed numerous sexual acts with the girl in both Genesee and Orleans counties.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree rape in Orleans County Court on July 22. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge James Punch on Oct. 28.

Today, The Daily News of Batavia reports that Genesee County Judge Robert C. Noonan sentenced Stanley to 22 years in prison. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted first-degree rape and seven years for second-degree rape. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

Holley woman accepted into drug court

ALBION – A Medina man was put in jail today on $100,000 bail after he was arraigned by Orleans County Court Judge James Punch.

William Cruz, 41, of Medina has been charged with third-degree robbery, third-degree assault and petty larceny.

He has two prior felonies, nine misdemeanors and three times before failed to appear at scheduled court appearances, District Attorney Joe Cardone told Punch in court today.

Cruz allegedly beat up a customer outside the VFW in Medina on March 15 and then took the victim’s money.

Punch issued an order of protection for the victim. He also assigned the public defender to represent Cruz, who said he didn’t have any income to hire an attorney.

The judge also accepted Michele Skeps, 42, of Holley into the drug court program, which requires she stay drug-free or face sanctions.

Skeps admitted in court she was in a deep sleep all day on March 22, 2012 and was unable to care for her children. She pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child.

That charge will be dismissed if she successfully completes the drug court program, which will take at least a year. If she does not complete the program, Punch could sentence her to up to a year in jail for endangering the welfare of a child.