Lockport Police reports for the week of Aug. 19

Police reports from the Lockport Police Department.

Aug. 16

Charged

Steven W. Pinkert, 26, 123 Nicholas St., Apt. 5, Lockport was charged with first-degree criminal contempt, second-degree harassment and unlawful possession of marijuana Aug. 16.

Patrol responded to a domestic incident. Upon arrival, police interviewed the victim, who stated she was driving on Pine Street and a vehicle pulled up next to her car. She recognized the driver as her ex-boyfriend Pinkert.

He rolled down his window and began talking to her. The victim has a limited order of protection against Pinkert, and she rolled up her windows, locked the door and drove away.

Pinkert allegedly followed the victim through the city and began tailgating her on Park Avenue. The car then pulled up alongside her car, where he reportedly stood up out of the sunroof and threatened to beat her if he caught her alone.

The victim saw a police officer drive by and flagged the officer down, who then pulled Pinkert over. During a search of the vehicle a clear plastic bag containing a green leafy substance was located under the driver side dashboard. The substance field-tested positive for marijuana.

Possession

Eric Keith Danley, 42, 118 Gooding St., Apt. Lower, Lockport was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unreasonable speed Aug. 16.

The defendant was pulled over for a traffic infraction. While conducting an interview, he allegedly became very nervous and began pacing back and forth when being told to stay in one spot.

Danley began to put his hands near the front of his pants and patrol then patted him down. When conducting the pat down, a clear plastic baggie containing a green and brown vegetable matter fell on the ground.

The vegetable matter field-tested positive for marijuana. While being processed, the defendant had $3,093.45 in his possession.

Aug. 17

Accident

On Aug. 17, at approximately 11:03 p.m., the Lockport Police Department was dispatched to a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident at the intersection of Walnut and Locust Streets in the City of Lockport.

The victim is a 45-year-old white male and was struck as he crossed the road.

The Lockport Fire Department responded and transported the victim to Davison Road, where he was flown to Erie County Medical Center by Mercy Flight for a head injury. At the time of the release, the victim was still being evaluated by ECMC staff. The LPD accident investigation team also responded and is currently investigating this incident.

Aug. 18

Possession

Simon M. Chavers, 33, 642 Walnut St., Lockport was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana Aug. 18.

The reporting officer had knowledge that the defendant’s license was suspended and observed him operating his vehicle on Vanburen Street. The defendant was stopped, arrested and charged. He was also found to be in possession of a quantity of a green leafy vegetable matter, which field-tested positive for marijuana.

Burglary

David G. Dexter, 27, 9 Bewley Parkway, Apt. 2, Lockport was charged with second-degree burglary and petit larceny Aug. 18.

The reporting officer responded to 9 Bewley Parkway, Apt. 1, in reference to a burglary. The victim stated she received a text message from her upstairs neighbors that said somebody was in her apartment. The victim, who was at work, returned home to find her window had been opened.

After looking around she noticed she was missing an iPad, valued at $550, and a Nintendo Wii, valued at $400. Stamp told police she believed it was Dexter because he lives upstairs, knew she had the items in her house and had stolen things from a neighbor before.

Aug. 19

Arson

Michael D. Haynes, Jr., 19, 5308 Royalton Center Road, Middleport was charged with first-degree attempted arson Aug. 19.

On July 15, patrol interviewed the witness who stated she received a text message from Haynes two weeks prior. The message had a YouTube video attached to it of his mother laughing. The witness said she thought nothing of it until she scrolled down onto other videos that Haynes had posted to the site.

One of the videos was called, “beer bottle filled with gasoline.” As the witness viewed the video, she realized she recognized the building Haynes was allegedly attempting to set on fire. The building was the church located at 232 South St.

The video shows Haynes lighting a Molotov cocktail and throwing it at the side of the building. The video also shows graffiti on the side of the building consistent with the graffiti on the side of the church.

Police went to the church, where they secured photos and evidence. According to reports there is a darker spot on the ground where the Molotov cocktail hit the ground and burned. There were also shards of glass that matched those of the beer bottle shown in the video. A ripped shirt was also found hanging along the fence, east of the alley where the incident took place.

On Aug. 19, police were able to track down the suspect and he came to the Lockport Police Department for questioning. During the interview, he reportedly stated, “Yeah, I did that.” He then proceeded to give patrol a voluntary statement in reference to the entire incident.

Harassment

Matthew J. Handley, 26, 6533 Matthew Dr., Lockport was charged with second-degree harassment, criminal trespass and fourth-degree criminal mischief Aug. 19.

Patrol spoke to the victim, who stated while she was sitting on the front porch she saw her ex-boyfriend Handley walking towards her house. She attempted to go inside and lock the door.

Handley allegedly began pounding on the door and pulling it until it swung open, causing the glass to break. The glass is valued at $100.

Handley also reportedly began pushing the victim until she fell onto the couch. The victim stated Handley believed she has some of his property, which she did not. The victim said she was yelling for him to stop and to leave the residence.

Once Handley left he stood on the front porch for a short time before walking away. Handley was located on West Avenue and was taken into custody without incident.

DWI

Paul J. Marinaccio, Jr., 21, Lockport was charged with driving while intoxicated and several traffic violations Aug. 19.

Patrol received a call from a civilian complainant that a vehicle had struck a utility pole on Prospect Street. The driver of the vehicle had left the scene and headed northbound.

Reporting officer located the vehicle in the driveway at 103 Prospect St., with the driver, Marinaccio, still behind the wheel of the vehicle. He was questioned and stated he was just involved in an accident down the road.

Police administered a field sobriety test, which he failed.