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JAN 20 - JAN 28, 2015

Crime Blotter

By Sarah Martinez

January 20, 2015

Begging Thief

January 14; a man reported to police that his Galaxy Note Tablet was stolen from the front seat of his vehicle while at the Citgo Gas Station on Main St. The victim claimed that while he was at the gas station, he observed a black male begging for money. In exchange for spare change, he allowed the beggar to put air in his vehicle tires. The victim then decided leave the beggar unattended at his vehicle while it was still running, and went into the store. When the victim returned to his vehicle, the beggar was gone and so was his Galaxy Notepad. It is unknown at this time whether or not the beggar completed his task of putting air in the victim’s tires before leaving the scene.

Calvin Klein Cologne Thief Arrested

January 14; Police reports state that officers responded to TJ MAXX in reference to a shoplifter in custody. The loss prevention agent advised police that he observed a male, later identified as Jared Davis, walk into TJ MAXX, remove a bottle of Calvin Klein cologne from the shelf and place it into his pocket. Mr. Davis then walked out of the store without paying for the merchandise. The Loss Prevention agent confronted Mr. Davis outside, and escorted him back to his security office. Police arrived on scene and arrested Mr. Davis, who is described as being a 25 year old white male, donning a tattoo on his left forearm that reads “Success is my only option….or FAILURE”.

Red Scarfed Bandit

January 15; a witness called police to report that two unknown males were removing property from a neighbor’s garage. When police arrived, they crawled inside the garage through a damaged door panel, and observed a vehicle that had been vandalized. The Police report indicates that the vehicle’s window was smashed in and the hood was open. The witness claims that she saw two white males crawl into the garage and later exit the garage with property belonging to the victim, who Police were unable to make contact with at time of this report. The witness described one of the two suspects as being a white male, approximately 5’10, wearing a red scarf wrapped around his face. Police searched the area, but were unable to locate the suspects.

Man Robbed and Beaten

January 15; a man reported that as he was walking on the 2300 block of Lockport street, three black males grabbed him from behind, pulled out a knife, cut off his backpack straps, and took his bag away from him. The suspects then hit the man on the back of the head with an unknown object, causing him to fall to the ground, at which point they removed his wallet from his pocket. The suspects fled with the victim’s backpack which contained a laptop, in addition to cash and ID from his pockets.

The Police report states the victim claimed he did not want to contact Law Enforcement regarding this incident because he didn’t think police could help him. However, the DMV requested he do so to obtain a new Driver’s License.

Niagara Falls Sex Trafficking Convict Charged

Thirty-nine year old Marcellus Overton of Niagara Falls was arrested and charged federally with sex trafficking of a minor and transportation of a minor to engage in criminal activity.

According to reports, Overton is accused of knowingly enticing a victim under the age of 18 years old to engage in prostitution, and transporting the victim to Georgia to work as a prostitute. Overton was previously convicted in January 2014 for promoting prostitution, in which he was sentenced to three years’ probation. The current charges that Overton is facing could carry a maximum life sentence if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

Child Pornography Case

Twenty-three year old Thomas Sparks, from North Tonawanda, has pleaded guilty in Federal Court to receiving child pornography, in addition to engaging in the sexual abuse of a minor.

According to reports, the FBI received information that accused Sparks and his friend of downloading child pornography from the internet in June 2013. FBI agents located Sparks and his friend, both of whom admitted to downloading the child pornography onto a flash drive. FBI agents then interviewed Sparks who also admitted to the crime. Sparks advised agents that he was tipped off by a friend, alerting him of the investigation, at which time he then smashed the Flash Drive and threw it into the garbage before agents arrived on scene. The FBI’s forensic analysis team was able to recover and repair the flash drive, which revealed 94 images of Child Pornography stored.

The mandatory minimum sentence for this offense is five years in prison.

 

 

 

 

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