Jamestown Police have now issued an arrest warrant for 34-year old Michael Burham in connection with the May 11th vehicle fire on Fulton Street. He’s also a suspect in the May 11th death of 34-year old Kala Hodgkin at 125 William Street.

In addition to the previous warrants of first degree rape and second degree unlawful imprisonment, Burham is wanted for Third Degree arson, Fourth Degree Criminal Mischief, two counts of Second Degree Criminal Contempt, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Crime Stoppers of Western New York has also issued a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of Burham.

Jamestown Police say Burham is considered armed and dangerous and urge anyone who sees him to call 9-1-1 immediately and do NOT approach or try to apprehend him.

Information to Crime Stoppers can be reported anonymously by calling 716-867-6161, through the “Buffalo Tips” app or by visiting www.crimestopperswny.org
Crime Stoppers requests that tips NOT be submitted through Facebook.

Anyone with any information regarding Burham is also still asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department at 716-483-7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.

Jamestown Police

34-year old Kala Hodgkin was killed early on Thursday, May 11 at 125 William Street.

Jamestown Police have confirmed that 34-year old Michael Burham is a suspect in that homicide.

They ask anyone who sees Burham or know of his whereabouts to call 911 immediately and that people should not approach him as he’s considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with any information regarding Burham is still asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department immediately at 716-483-7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.

Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson provides information on incidents (May 11, 2023)

An investigation by Jamestown Police is ongoing after a woman was found dead on William Street.

Police Chief Tim Jackson said officers were called to 125 William Street around 4:30 a.m. Thursday for a report of a unresponsive female, who was determined to have died.

Jackson said police are seeking 34-year old Michael C. Burham, who is considered armed and dangerous. He is described as a white male and weiging 160 pounds. Police believe he may be in the Jamestown or Warren, Pennsylvania area. Following an anonymous tip, police did locate the pick-up truck that belongs to Burham.

Police are not yet releasing the name of the woman who died or any further details about that case.

At a press conference late Thursday afternoon, Chief Jackson also shared that officers were called to a car fire on Fulton Avenue at 4:33 a.m. Thursday. Jackson said an incendiary device caused that fire. He said the owner of the car has been located but would not comment on if that incident was connected with the death on William Street.

Anyone with any information regarding Burham is asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department immediately at 716-483- 7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.

Michael C. Burham

Michael C. Burham

Jamestown Police are seeking a man considered armed and dangerous.

Police want to speak with Michael C. Burham regarding an incident that happened early this morning. He is believed to be in the Jamestown and Warren, Pennsylvania area.

Anyone with any information regarding Michael is asked to contact the Jamestown Police Department immediately at 716-483- 7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477. All calls and tips will be kept confidential.

1061 Allen Street (January 2023)

The corporation that owns the former Crawford Furniture Building that burned down in a fire in November 2022 is expected to plead guilty to code violations.

City of Jamestown Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo and Allen Street Development LLC Attorney Daryl Brautigam appeared in Housing Court Friday, April 28 before Judge George Panebianco.

Brautigam informed the Judge that he is advising his client at a pre-trial hearing scheduled for June 2, 2023 to enter a guilty plea on two tickets.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said these tickets are for on-going violations at 1061 Allen Street that go back several years in regards to junk and debris issues as well as other code issues that preceded the fire on November 16, 2022.

Raimondo said this plea will allow the City to seek damages against the corporation, “After the fire, the city had to pay H.H. Rauh Contracting $100,000 for an emergency demolition just due to the fact that the site was so unsafe during and immediately after the fire for any individuals to near there. That said, anyone who drives on Allen Street and past 1061 Allen will still see that there are massive, and what we would say is Superfund type site, that needs to be cleaned up at the site of the fire.”

Raimondo said the city has received quotes for over a million dollars for that clean-up. He added that the owners also owe over $90,000 in back taxes for the past five years.

The pre-trial motion on June 2 also will determine if Richard Rusiniak has any personal liability as one of the principal owners of Allen Street Development LLC. A sentencing date for the guilty pleas will be determined at the pre-trial and that future date also will include the hearing of contempt charges against Richard Rusiniak by the City for providing false statements in court.

Meanwhile, Surdyk said the Environmental Protection Agency is still assessing the site. She said their involvement with the site in the years before the fire has been a benefit to the city, “I think the fire could have been much more damaging and catastrophic had they (EPA) not been able to achieve some compliance with removing some of the chemicals and hazardous materials from the site. We do know there were still some hazardous materials that remained at the time of the fire, but like I said, it could have been much more catastrophic than it was.”

The DEC and EPA are each pursuing independent actions against the property owners.

Surdyk added that Jamestown Police have not charged anyone with setting the fire but said she believed they did have suspects in the case. WRFA contacted Jamestown Police Chief Tim Jackson about the matter but had not heard back by press time.

Jamestown City Council voting session (April 24, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved a settlement to end litigation between the City and the company hired to renovate Tracy Plaza.

The City of Jamestown hired Patterson-Stevens in 2017 to renovate Tracy Plaza, which sits above and also serves as the roof for the city police and fire departments along with the city parking garage.

A lawsuit seeking $2 million was filed in February 2019 by the city and New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, claiming Patterson-Stevens Inc. was responsible for not properly securing the area, which allowed rain water to damage the police and fire departments below.

That lawsuit was settled in September 2020.

Patterson-Stevens counter-sued the city for breech of contract in July 2020, claiming the city owed over $306,000 in back payment for work that was done at Tracy Plaza in 2018.

The settlement approved Monday night has the City paying Patterson-Stevens $155,000 with Patterson-Stevens paying the city $75,000. Corporation Counsel Elliot Raimondo said this ends all litigation between the city and Patterson-Stevens.

Council also approved lifting the hiring freeze to allow an Ombudsman to be hired. This position replaces the Associate Corporation Counsel position. The ombudsman will perform human resource duties in the Corporation Counsel’s office.

A resolution also was approved to purchase new finance and payroll software from Springbrook using $106,286 in American Rescue Plan funds. This software will replace the KVS system with the administration saying the upgrade will result in time-savings for staff.

Jamestown City Council voting session (March 27, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has tabled a resolution to hire eight firefighters using federal grant funds, citing the need for more discussion.

Finance Committee Chair and Council member at Large Kim Ecklund said while council had asked for more information from the administration since the beginning of March about the future financial impact, not all questions were answered, “So in the interest of doing it not the justice it deserves, we feel, through Finance Committee, and the rest of the Council agrees, that we’re going to table this and get those numbers in front of us. Get the correct information, the adequate information, in addition to bringing the information of the ambulance forward which is part of the numbers that were presented to us.”

Ecklund emphasized that Council is not anti-public safety, “And with ARPA and with last year’s budget, I just want it clear that roughly $2.1 million was given to the Jamestown Fire Department and $2.3 million to the Jamestown Police Department. That’s almost $5 million in ARPA funding and budget changes to help, clearly probably not enough as they will attest to, but to clearly try to show the support to help those departments.”

The City of Jamestown has received a three-year $1.8 million grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program to hire the firefighters.

City Council President Tony Dolce said the concern is having to lay off those firefighters when the grant ends, “And we want to make sure that the numbers add up and what are our changes of getting a renewal to that (grant), and with the second ambulance and increased EMS service, what would that cover at the end of this. So, again, we’re in the 180 day window (to hire). An extra month, we’re still in good shape to get those people going.”

Council is expected to revisit the hiring resolution at its work session on Monday, April 10.

Anthony Neubauer

A Falconer man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for a kidnapping that resulted in a death.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Adler said according to the complaint, on May 27, 2014, 36-year old Anthony Neubauer kidnapped an individual identified as J.A. and transported them from New York to Pennsylvania, resulting in the death of J.A.

Neubauer was arraigned Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy and is being held pending a detention hearing on Tuesday, March 28.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of life in prison.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, the initials “J.A.” and the date of the kidnapping match the disappearance of Joseph D. Anthony, who was last seen May 27, 2014, in the 700 block of East Second Street in Jamestown.

The Post-Journal reported that the FBI executed a federal search warrant near Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania but there was no comment on the subject of the warrant nor if anything was recovered.

Anthony Neubauer was more recently the victim of a shooting at The Bullfrog Hotel on November 30, 2019.

No charges were filed in that case. Former Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings stated in February 2020 that with attempts to interview Neubauer through his attorney were unsuccessful, JPD ended its investigation and turned the matter over to the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.

Jamestown Police Department (Google Maps)

An appliance fire damaged an office in Jamestown City Hall on Friday, March 17.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist informed City Council that an office in the Jamestown Police Department was heavily damaged, “And so we’re in the process of cleaning that up and trying to restore that. We’re working with our insurance department and we’re going through that process now, but it’s going to take a little time. Luckily, the Fire Department was very, very quick in responding (Council President Tony Dolce ‘They’re right next door’). They were right next door, yes! And they were able to get that out but obviously it’s caused some damage in the Police Department.”

Sundquist said Chautauqua County government‘s insurance is involved as well as the office was being used by members of the District Attorney‘s office.

Jamestown Public Schools

JPS officials said they became aware of a threat received via FaceTime early Monday night. The students who received it reported it staff members who notified the Jamestown Police Department.

JPD determined there was no credible threat to the school or to the students. The School District said that they and JPD are continuing to monitor the situation with parents and guardians of those directly involved being contacted.