Medina woman arrested for drug charges after search

MEDINA – Law enforcement officers are continuing to investigate a shot fired in the village at about 11 a.m. on Friday. No one has been arrested for firing a shot at two people who fled on foot after an altercation near South Main and Oak Orchard streets, Medina police said.

The two people were not hit by the bullet, but it came within about a foot of a neighbor working in her garden.

Police were told the gunman came from Church Street and they executed a search warrant at 746 Church St., the home of Erika Poole, who already faces drug charges with a case pending in county court. (Her husband Brenton Poole was sentenced to five years in state prison on June 30 for a felony drug crime.)

After the search warrant at about 5 p.m. on Friday, Mrs. Poole was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, CPCS in the fifth degree, criminal nuisance in the first degree for knowingly allowing drug activity in her home, and criminal use of drug paraphernalia in the second degree, Medina police reported.

She was arraigned by Shelby Town Justice Dawn Keppler, who remanded Poole, 34, to jail on $100,000 bail.

Medina police are continuing the investigation with assistance from the State Police and Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force.

MEDINA – The handgun recovered behind a corner store wasn’t related to gunshot fired in Medina at about 11 a.m. on Friday, Medina Police Chief Jose Avila said.

The single shot came from rifle. The gunman fired at two people who fled on foot across South Main Street near Oak Orchard Street. Avila said a verbal altercation started on Church Street and moved to near the corner of South Main and Oak Orchard streets.

The two people who fled on foot weren’t hit but the gunshot, but it came within about a foot of a neighbor working in her garden.

While investigating the crime, police found a handgun in a plastic bag hidden in a bush behind MB’s General Store and Deli.

Avila said the investigation continues in Friday’s altercation and gun shot.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Emmeritt Massey sits in a chair in front of her garden on South Main Street this afternoon after a bullet just missed her earlier today while she was tending to her flowers and vegetables.

MEDINA – Two men ran across South Main Street at about 11:30 this morning and then someone fired a shot at them, according to a witness.

Emmeritt Massey was working in her garden and she saw the commotion. Two men, one wearing red shorts and the other jeans, ran across the street and through her garden. A bullet was then fired and punctured a plastic lawn chair, only a foot away from her.

“I’m still shaking,” Massey said at about 3:30 today.

Several of her friends were there to comfort her. Massey has lived in Medina for 20 years and said she has never heard gun shots.

Several police agencies have been in Medina since the incident. A handgun was found behind MB’s General Store and Deli at the corner of South Main and East Oak Orchard streets.

Police officers say a handgun was found behind MB’s General Store and Deli this afternoon.

Residents who live next to the convenience store also heard a “pop.” They assumed it was firecrackers left over from the Fourth of July.

The couple, which requested their names not be used, were surprised to learn it was a gun shot. They said their street on East Oak Orchard has a lot of foot traffic, “but everybody is usually friendly.” They let their grandchildren play on the lawn.

“This is a real quiet place,” the husband said. “Nothing like this ever happens.”

One of the investigators at the scene said police will try to find out if local residents or out-of-towners are involved, and why was the gunman firing at the two.

MEDINA – The downtown business community was pushing to become a “Main Street” program affiliated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation but that effort is now on hold due to the uncertainty with the village of Medina and its relationship with the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby.

“We’re still very interested in the National Trust and being a part of that program, but we want to step back right now,” said Cindy Robinson, president of the Medina Business Association.

Village officials are looking at dissolving the village government. The two towns would assume many of the current services provided by the village, according to a dissolution plan. Some functions could also be managed by local development corporations and special taxing districts. (Robinson was a member of the Dissolution Committee that endorsed a plan should village residents support a dissolution.)

If Medina became a Main Street community, it should have a paid director, according to National Trust recommendations. The village and two towns were asked to help fund that position, with other donations coming from businesses and the community.

Having the designation and affiliation would boost the community’s chances for grants to help with building upgrades and other community initiatives, Robinson said.

However, the MBA can still push for grant funding through Chamber of Commerce. The MBA is under the Chamber’s auspices, and the Chamber is a 501c6 organization, eligible to receive grants, Robinson said.

The Western Erie Canal Alliance had approached Medina about pursuing the Main Street designation, partly because Medina has been successful filling its storefronts with independent merchants, and running many community events and initiatives that draw people to the downtown.

Robinson said those efforts will continue, and the MBA will try to find a way to bring grants and resources to the business community.

The group will meet 8 a.m. on Aug. 19 and will hear from Ed Flynn of Labella Associates about grant opportunities for the business district. That meeting will be at Paper Boys.

“Being part of the Main Street program would be nice and there would be a lot of prestige,” Robinson said, “but right now we’re going to find ways around it and still accomplish some of the program’s goals.”