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This week in stupid crime

A Lifetime to Learn Her Lesson

A Forest Avenue woman will have a lifetime to ponder whether or not $100 worth of groceries was worth a shoplifting arrest and a lifetime ban from Tops Friendly Markets.

Marissa Ann Martell, 34, loaded up a shopping cart at the Portage Road Tops and bypassed the checkout line before heading out to the parking lot and her vehicle.

When store security followed and confronted her, Martell fled on foot but was chased down to the 1300 block of Elmwood Avenue and into the arms of the Niagara Falls City Police.

In addition to the shoplifting citation, Martell, who works as a banquet server, was issued a notice from Tops management stating she is no longer welcome at the Portage Road store, and that any further visits would be regarded as trespassing.

*****

Falls Manhunt for Pistol toting 'Breezy'

Affiliation with street gangs, while never a good thing, is nonetheless a popular pastime in many Niagara Falls neighborhoods.

As one East Side resident found out last week, it can also get you shot at.

Police became aware that shots had been fired in the alley behind the 600 block of 23rd Street when an area resident called. A search of the crime scene turned up nothing but, shortly afterward, the target of the shooting phoned to discuss the incident.

He’d been walking down the alley, minding his own business, he said, when he was confronted by a black male named Breezy, one of several neighborhood residents he’d been having trouble with because of his previous associations with street gangs.

Breezy pulled a shiny silver colored handgun from the waistband of his trousers and touched off a round that went wide of its’ mark and the victim fled in fear for his life.

Described as a thin black male with a teardrop tattoo under his left eye, Breezy is around 20 years old and enjoys wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. He is currently the object of an intense search by city police.

*****

Seneca use City Cops to Arrest Lady Shoplifter

In most instances, laws of the white man do not apply at the Seneca Niagara Casino downtown. You can smoke in the bars and, should you slip and fall and break your leg, any litigation must be taken before a Seneca Indian court.

But the Seneca rely on city police when it comes to shoplifters, as Donna Marie Paonessa, 48, of Seventh Street, discovered last week, much to her dismay.

The petite blonde allegedly lifted more than $300 worth of beauty supplies from the casino’s spa and was nabbed by security as she attempted to leave the building, police said.

She was handed over to city cops, who noted the butterfly tattoo on her left shoulder failed to protect Paonessa from rough Seneca justice.

Cigarette Ruse Leads to Robbery

An armed robbery at 17th and Pierce? Say it ain’t so!

A Whitney Avenue man pulled up at that particular intersection one morning last week and was approached by two black males, each wearing a hooded sweatshirt. One of the men asked for a cigarette and as the victim reached into his pocket to get one out, the other man pulled a pistol.

“Give me your money!” he demanded.

The victim, in fear for his life, handed over the measly twenty he had on him.

“Now get the hell out of here before I bust a cap in your ass,” the pistolero said.

The victim vamoosed, the suspects disappeared into thin air and Mayor Paul Dyster’s promise of safe city streets was shown once again to be the complete crock it actually is.

*****

Two Dunces Try to Burglarize Lincoln Place

It was a rainy day, cops said, when they responded to a Lincoln Place apartment house following a burglary in progress call.

At around two in the morning, they nabbed Kyle Sullivan, 22, and Robert Shimmel, 32, at the scene. The pair had apparently attempted to pry a rear door open using a crowbar.

Interviews with building residents indicated Sullivan and Shimmel had no reason to be at the location, and cops charged them with attempted burglary, possession of burglar tools and criminal mischief.

A sad night all around.

*****

Tenant Helps Himself to Landlord's Power Drill

Who knew the Wrobel Towers apartments, one of the Niagara Falls Housing Authority’s signature derelict properties, had hall monitors?

Bobby Joe Farmer, 51, a typical resident of the building, found out the hard way last week.

He was walking down the hallway, minding his own business, when he spied an unattended tool cart just sitting there. A shiny blue power drill caught his eye, and he picked it up.

In comes the hall monitor, who saw the whole thing and called the cops.

When confronted by Niagara Falls’ Finest, Bobby Joe came apart at the seams and confessed.

Back in junior high school, hall monitors were a loathed breed. Rats and squealers and power mad punks. Not much has changed, but we are left to wonder about a publicly funded property management company that apparently feels its’ tenants are still in junior high school and treats them as such.

*****

Vandals use Four Letter Words to Adorn Car

Criminal mischief. A catchall police usage that masks a variety of complaints. In one case last week, a love gone wrong may have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage to a car, which, in police parlance, constitutes a criminal mischief complaint.

A Ninth Street woman called the cops after finding her car, parked on the street, had been vandalized. Someone, using black spray paint, had written the words “You are next,” “Fuck you” and “Bitch” on the vehicle, as well as smashing the windshield and pouring sugar into the gas tank.

That old Ford Focus will never be the same.

The owner told police her daughter had been involved in an ongoing dispute with another young female over an ex-boyfriend. The cops shook their heads sadly. They’d seen it all before.

An ongoing investigation continues, and the woman’s insurance company is left holding the bag.

Damage was estimated at more than $2,000. And for what? We can only wonder.

Jon Bon Jovi once sang, “You give love a bad name,” and it’s true.

That name is criminal mischief.

 

 

Niagara Falls Reporter - Publisher Frank Parlato Jr. www.niagarafallsreporter.com

OCT 15, 2013