Weekday top 5: Cayuga County to pay $348K a year to rent building, deer poacher ticketed
- мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ staff
- 0
мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼'s top five most-read stories of the work week.Â
- David Wilcox
- Updated
A travel nurse from Auburn has been arrested on grand larceny and other charges by police investigating the theft of a credit card from a patient at Upstate Community Hospital in Syracuse.
Kelly Churney, 46, was found Thursday in possession of multiple credit cards belonging to current and recently discharged patients from the hospital by Upstate University Police, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. She has been charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and first-degree identity theft.Â
The investigation began Dec. 9, when deputies received a report of credit card theft involving a patient at the hospital's Van Duyn Rehabilitation Center. Their family reported unauthorized charges covering four counties. The investigation led police to determine that Churney, who had been assigned to work at the hospital by a temporary staffing agency since October, was responsible.
The investigation remains open, the sheriff's office said, and additional victims may exist. Anyone with more information or who believes they were a victim is asked to call (315) 435-3081.
Churney is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center.
According to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ archives, Churney was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny by the Auburn Police Department in May and with petit larceny by Auburn police in May 2021 and March 2019.
Syracuse media reported in 2018 that she was with petit larceny another time that summer for allegedly stealing the iPhone of a DeWitt doctor's office patient while they were in the bathroom.
However, Churney's practical nursing license remains active through July 31, according to the . No enforcement actions against her are listed there.Â
- David Wilcox
- Updated
A deer poacher and songbird hunters were recently ticketed in Cayuga County by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Law Enforcement.
In a news release Wednesday, the DEC said a known deer poacher was stopped by an officer on Nov. 10 as he was transporting an untagged deer on an ATV in the town of Throop.
The subject told the officer he had taken the deer with a crossbow, the DEC said, but the animal appeared to have been shot with a shotgun. The officer later located a loaded 16-gauge shotgun.
The poacher was issued four tickets, including two misdemeanors for unlawfully killing a deer and taking one by means not specified.
The DEC identified the alleged poacher to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ as Floyd J. Baran, 74, of Throop.
In the same release, the DEC said that another officer encountered a group of hunters Nov. 18 at the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area in the town of Montezuma. They claimed to be pheasant hunting, but after a brief interview and search, the officer found a plastic bag with four immature red-winged blackbirds. Two of the hunters were found to be unlicensed as well.
The officer issued three tickets for unlawfully killing protected songbirds, and two for hunting without a license.
- Robert Harding
- Updated
With the Cayuga County Office Building closed for up to two years, the county will lease another downtown Auburn building that is owned by a former legislator.Â
The county has signed a lease for 63 Genesee St., which is the current home of Lyons National Bank and formerly the Play Space. According to the terms, the county will rent the concrete building for $29,005 a month over two years. There is an option to renew for five more years.Â
Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman told мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ in November that the county considered "a number of places" after the closure of the county office building, which displaced several departments. That search included properties in Auburn and the surrounding area.Â
"We did look everywhere," she said.Â
McNabb-Coleman, D-Sennett, admitted that she initially wasn't interested in the building. Although 63 Genesee St. is in a prime downtown location, her concerns focused on the space within the building and the lack of parking.Â
Her view changed after an architect presented a layout of the interior and a conversation with Christine Bianco, who is the commissioner of the county Department of Social Services. Bianco's department will be one of the agencies that occupies the building once it's ready.Â
Bianco, McNabb-Coleman said, was excited about the space. The Department of Social Services has been working out of the Old Post Office and Courthouse since the county office building closed in May.Â
There has been criticism of the decision to rent 63 Genesee St. due to the costs associated with the move — in addition to rent, the county will pay $1.1 million to set up the departments there — and the building's owner, Grant Kyle.Â
Kyle was appointed as a county legislator in 2016, but lost his bid for a full term the following year. As a legislator, he was an independent. He had the Democratic committee's endorsement in the 2017 election.Â
Before deciding to lease the building, McNabb-Coleman said the county checked for any conflicts of interest, and Kyle is not on any county boards.Â
"That also made it something that I could think more seriously about," she added.Â
At the last county Legislature meeting on Dec. 12, Legislator Mark Strong asked McNabb-Coleman about the status of 63 Genesee St. She confirmed the lease has been signed and work began to prepare the building.Â
When Strong, R-Moravia, inquired about the timeline for having the agencies move into the building, McNabb-Coleman responded, "I do not have that window."Â
The county office building closed in May after asbestos-containing vermiculite was found in a fifth-floor office. County officials decided to close the building for the summer while the roof was being repaired.Â
However, an inspection found more vermiculite throughout the building. The discovery led to the decision to close the facility for two years.Â
- мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ staff
- Updated
Two people have been charged with larceny, each for the second time in recent months, after they allegedly stole tools from a store in the town of Sennett earlier this month.
In a news release Tuesday, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said the larceny took place at the Tractor Supply Co. in Grant Avenue Plaza the morning of Dec. 2. Store employees reported that a man and a woman left the store with DeWalt tools they didn't pay for, and drove away in a dark-colored sedan with a second female suspect.
Using store security footage, Schenck said, deputies quickly identified two of the suspects as Sasha E. Binns, 47, of Port Byron, and Jeffrey P. Shields, 31, of Auburn, due to recent larceny investigations involving them. The second female suspect is a juvenile. Deputies then secured warrants for the three for petit larceny and sixth-degree conspiracy, both misdemeanors.
The three were taken into custody on Dec. 11, Schenck said. Binns and Shields were arraigned at CAP court. Binns is being held without bail due to additional pending charges in other courts, and Shields is being held on $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond due to him also having open cases in other jurisdictions. The juvenile was issued appearance tickets.
According to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ archives, Binns was charged with larceny by the sheriff's office in November and by the Auburn Police Department in March, while Shields was charged in October by Auburn police.
Anyone with additional information about the larceny is asked to contact the sheriff's office at (315) 253-1222 or leave a tip at .
- Kelly Rocheleau
- Updated
An Onondaga County man was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in an attempted robbery at an Auburn store in October.
Ashraf H. Almulaiki, 29, of Clay, was charged Dec. 10 with first-degree attempted robbery (a Class C felony), according to Auburn Police Department filings in Auburn City Court obtained by мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼.
According to the filings, Almulaiki and unidentified accomplices tried to steal keys to a Ford transit van parked in front of the former O Exotics & Snacks smoke shop at 62 Owasco St. at around 1 a.m. Oct. 5. The accomplices tried to steal the keys from people renovating the store into a deli, according to statements they provided to police, and pointed a handgun at them to do so.
One victim said in his statement that he heard what sounded like someone loading a gun while bringing bags of garbage from the shop to the van. He turned around to see two men in masks running toward him. One pointed a pistol at him and said, "don't move or I will shoot." The gunman then grabbed the victim's hair while the other masked man placed the victim's hands behind his back.
The victim was brought into the shop, thrown to the ground and kicked, his statement continued. The victim's coworkers also had the gun pointed at them, and one of them was punched.
The coworkers were able to escape, at which point the two men attacked the victim again and caused him to fear for his life, he said. They asked him for the keys to the van, which he said he didn't have. They then told him they would kill him if he moved before they left. They got into Almulaiki's gray 2021 Ram pickup, driving toward Walnut Street, and officers arrived shortly afterward.
Another victim said in a statement that he recognized a driver in front of the store as one of the O Exotics & Snacks tenants, but did not know his name. That victim's family was contacted by the store's landlord earlier that day, he continued, to say the tenants stated they planned to reopen the smoke shop after it was shut down by the state this summer and wanted items from it.
Auburn Police Department Detective Adam Martin said in the court filings that phone records and video surveillance footage were used to arrest Almulaiki.Â
Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci told мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ that Almulaiki was arraigned in Auburn City Court Dec. 11, with bail set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
He posted bond on Monday and was released from the Cayuga County Jail.
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- David Wilcox
A travel nurse from Auburn has been arrested on grand larceny and other charges by police investigating the theft of a credit card from a patient at Upstate Community Hospital in Syracuse.
Kelly Churney, 46, was found Thursday in possession of multiple credit cards belonging to current and recently discharged patients from the hospital by Upstate University Police, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. She has been charged with fourth-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and first-degree identity theft.Â
The investigation began Dec. 9, when deputies received a report of credit card theft involving a patient at the hospital's Van Duyn Rehabilitation Center. Their family reported unauthorized charges covering four counties. The investigation led police to determine that Churney, who had been assigned to work at the hospital by a temporary staffing agency since October, was responsible.
The investigation remains open, the sheriff's office said, and additional victims may exist. Anyone with more information or who believes they were a victim is asked to call (315) 435-3081.
Churney is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center.
According to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ archives, Churney was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny by the Auburn Police Department in May and with petit larceny by Auburn police in May 2021 and March 2019.
Syracuse media reported in 2018 that she was with petit larceny another time that summer for allegedly stealing the iPhone of a DeWitt doctor's office patient while they were in the bathroom.
However, Churney's practical nursing license remains active through July 31, according to the . No enforcement actions against her are listed there.Â
- David Wilcox
A deer poacher and songbird hunters were recently ticketed in Cayuga County by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Law Enforcement.
In a news release Wednesday, the DEC said a known deer poacher was stopped by an officer on Nov. 10 as he was transporting an untagged deer on an ATV in the town of Throop.
The subject told the officer he had taken the deer with a crossbow, the DEC said, but the animal appeared to have been shot with a shotgun. The officer later located a loaded 16-gauge shotgun.
The poacher was issued four tickets, including two misdemeanors for unlawfully killing a deer and taking one by means not specified.
The DEC identified the alleged poacher to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ as Floyd J. Baran, 74, of Throop.
In the same release, the DEC said that another officer encountered a group of hunters Nov. 18 at the Northern Montezuma Wildlife Management Area in the town of Montezuma. They claimed to be pheasant hunting, but after a brief interview and search, the officer found a plastic bag with four immature red-winged blackbirds. Two of the hunters were found to be unlicensed as well.
The officer issued three tickets for unlawfully killing protected songbirds, and two for hunting without a license.
- Robert Harding
With the Cayuga County Office Building closed for up to two years, the county will lease another downtown Auburn building that is owned by a former legislator.Â
The county has signed a lease for 63 Genesee St., which is the current home of Lyons National Bank and formerly the Play Space. According to the terms, the county will rent the concrete building for $29,005 a month over two years. There is an option to renew for five more years.Â
Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman told мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ in November that the county considered "a number of places" after the closure of the county office building, which displaced several departments. That search included properties in Auburn and the surrounding area.Â
"We did look everywhere," she said.Â
McNabb-Coleman, D-Sennett, admitted that she initially wasn't interested in the building. Although 63 Genesee St. is in a prime downtown location, her concerns focused on the space within the building and the lack of parking.Â
Her view changed after an architect presented a layout of the interior and a conversation with Christine Bianco, who is the commissioner of the county Department of Social Services. Bianco's department will be one of the agencies that occupies the building once it's ready.Â
Bianco, McNabb-Coleman said, was excited about the space. The Department of Social Services has been working out of the Old Post Office and Courthouse since the county office building closed in May.Â
There has been criticism of the decision to rent 63 Genesee St. due to the costs associated with the move — in addition to rent, the county will pay $1.1 million to set up the departments there — and the building's owner, Grant Kyle.Â
Kyle was appointed as a county legislator in 2016, but lost his bid for a full term the following year. As a legislator, he was an independent. He had the Democratic committee's endorsement in the 2017 election.Â
Before deciding to lease the building, McNabb-Coleman said the county checked for any conflicts of interest, and Kyle is not on any county boards.Â
"That also made it something that I could think more seriously about," she added.Â
At the last county Legislature meeting on Dec. 12, Legislator Mark Strong asked McNabb-Coleman about the status of 63 Genesee St. She confirmed the lease has been signed and work began to prepare the building.Â
When Strong, R-Moravia, inquired about the timeline for having the agencies move into the building, McNabb-Coleman responded, "I do not have that window."Â
The county office building closed in May after asbestos-containing vermiculite was found in a fifth-floor office. County officials decided to close the building for the summer while the roof was being repaired.Â
However, an inspection found more vermiculite throughout the building. The discovery led to the decision to close the facility for two years.Â
- мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ staff
Two people have been charged with larceny, each for the second time in recent months, after they allegedly stole tools from a store in the town of Sennett earlier this month.
In a news release Tuesday, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said the larceny took place at the Tractor Supply Co. in Grant Avenue Plaza the morning of Dec. 2. Store employees reported that a man and a woman left the store with DeWalt tools they didn't pay for, and drove away in a dark-colored sedan with a second female suspect.
Using store security footage, Schenck said, deputies quickly identified two of the suspects as Sasha E. Binns, 47, of Port Byron, and Jeffrey P. Shields, 31, of Auburn, due to recent larceny investigations involving them. The second female suspect is a juvenile. Deputies then secured warrants for the three for petit larceny and sixth-degree conspiracy, both misdemeanors.
The three were taken into custody on Dec. 11, Schenck said. Binns and Shields were arraigned at CAP court. Binns is being held without bail due to additional pending charges in other courts, and Shields is being held on $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond due to him also having open cases in other jurisdictions. The juvenile was issued appearance tickets.
According to мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ archives, Binns was charged with larceny by the sheriff's office in November and by the Auburn Police Department in March, while Shields was charged in October by Auburn police.
Anyone with additional information about the larceny is asked to contact the sheriff's office at (315) 253-1222 or leave a tip at .
- Kelly Rocheleau
An Onondaga County man was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in an attempted robbery at an Auburn store in October.
Ashraf H. Almulaiki, 29, of Clay, was charged Dec. 10 with first-degree attempted robbery (a Class C felony), according to Auburn Police Department filings in Auburn City Court obtained by мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼.
According to the filings, Almulaiki and unidentified accomplices tried to steal keys to a Ford transit van parked in front of the former O Exotics & Snacks smoke shop at 62 Owasco St. at around 1 a.m. Oct. 5. The accomplices tried to steal the keys from people renovating the store into a deli, according to statements they provided to police, and pointed a handgun at them to do so.
One victim said in his statement that he heard what sounded like someone loading a gun while bringing bags of garbage from the shop to the van. He turned around to see two men in masks running toward him. One pointed a pistol at him and said, "don't move or I will shoot." The gunman then grabbed the victim's hair while the other masked man placed the victim's hands behind his back.
The victim was brought into the shop, thrown to the ground and kicked, his statement continued. The victim's coworkers also had the gun pointed at them, and one of them was punched.
The coworkers were able to escape, at which point the two men attacked the victim again and caused him to fear for his life, he said. They asked him for the keys to the van, which he said he didn't have. They then told him they would kill him if he moved before they left. They got into Almulaiki's gray 2021 Ram pickup, driving toward Walnut Street, and officers arrived shortly afterward.
Another victim said in a statement that he recognized a driver in front of the store as one of the O Exotics & Snacks tenants, but did not know his name. That victim's family was contacted by the store's landlord earlier that day, he continued, to say the tenants stated they planned to reopen the smoke shop after it was shut down by the state this summer and wanted items from it.
Auburn Police Department Detective Adam Martin said in the court filings that phone records and video surveillance footage were used to arrest Almulaiki.Â
Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci told мÓƶà¶à¿ª½±¼Ç¼ that Almulaiki was arraigned in Auburn City Court Dec. 11, with bail set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
He posted bond on Monday and was released from the Cayuga County Jail.
