Judge sets bail at $300K for Rochester man facing drug charges in Orleans County
ALBION – A Rochester man was arraigned in Orleans County Court on Monday for 13 counts of drug charges, including six counts each of third-degree criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Victor T. Simmons, 46, of 1399 North St. also was arraigned for one count of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Orleans County Court Judge James Punch set bail at $300,000 for Simmons. District Attorney Joe Cardone said Simmons has a “37-page criminal history” that includes four felonies in New York State and other out-of-state convictions.
Punch cited that “remarkable criminal history” as well as numerous failures to appear in court for setting bail at $300,000.
Simmons was arrested in March along with a 17-year-old male from Rochester after an investigation into the sale and distribution of heroin and cocaine from Rochester to the Village of Albion, the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.
The Task Force and the Albion Police Department, with its K9 unit, executed a search warrant on a vehicle and the two occupants on Wednesday. Officers seized a quantity of heroin and crack cocaine that was packaged for sale.
In other cases in County Court:
• Shawna N. Weis, 29, of the Holley Hotel was arraigned for criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
She allegedly sold both heroin and cocaine at the Holley Hotel, police reported. She was arrested on April 4.
Her attorney, Michael O’Keefe, entered not guilty pleas on her behalf. He said Weis would like to enter a drug treatment program.
Weis has a prior felony and two misdemeanors. Punch set bail at $10,000.
• Cynthia Lopez-Lopez, 39, of Monroe-Orleans Countyline Road was arraigned on one count each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree. Lopez-Lopez allegedly sold suboxone in Albion, police said. She pleaded not guilty.
She has a criminal history in Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia, Cardone said at the arraignment. Punch set bail at $15,000.
• A Murray resident was prepared to plead guilty to attempted assault in the third degree after an alleged domestic violence incident on Jan. 1.
Todd J. Knight II, 25, of Hulberton Road admitted in court to injuring a woman. He caused a concussion, “massive swelling” on the right side of her head, a fractured rib, contusions and other injuries, Cardone said.
The woman has recovered and there is a question whether she sustained a level of “serious physical injuries” to meet the threshold for attempted second degree assault.
The case was adjourned until May 15 to determine the victim’s level of injuries.
If the injuries are severe enough, Knight could face 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison as part of a plea deal.
