With thousands of cases on the court dockets throughout the county at any given time, some incidents stand out among others.
With an unusually high number of homicides over the past few years, District Attorney David Foley's office has remained busy to say the least. While the homicides only account for a small percentage of the overall crime rate, other serious crimes are among the thousands of cases currently making their way through the judicial system.
The following is a look at three cases that drew public attention, and an update about their current standing in the justice system.
THE PEOPLE VS. HAROLD HALL
Huntley Hearing Scheduled for March 25
Being Held in Lieu of $2 million cash bail
BUSTI - On May 12, 2009, a 911 call from a passing motorist on Big Tree Road near Lawson Road reported seeing a man use his truck to force a Dodge Neon off of the pavement. The citizen reportedly saw 58-year-old Harold Hall of Harmony pull the victim, his estranged wife, from the vehicle by the hair, hit her in the head with a hammer and throw her in his red Chevy Silverado pickup truck. At the time, he was last seen traveling down Lawson Road in his truck.
Thanks to a photo stored in a county database, authorities were able to release the image of Hall's truck to the media as well as authorities in three states, in an attempt to find the victim and Hall. Law enforcement scoured the region throughout the remainder of the day and into the next morning, when a phone call presumably broke the case.
That next morning, when Hall apparently made the victim call in sick to work, authorities were notified and a two-state coordinated police effort was initiated.
Hall's estranged wife works as a licensed practical nurse at a local skilled-nursing facility and although most everyone in the area knew what had transpired, Hall apparently did not know that the word was out.
When she called and said that she wouldn't be able to come into work because she had the flu, the person who took the call reportedly played it off and then notified the state police.
Through the use of caller ID, investigators with the state police and Lakewood-Busti Sgt. Det. Paul Gustafson were able to determine that she was indeed at a home in Hillsboro, Ohio.
Highland County Sheriff's deputies in Ohio were contacted and found Hall's truck parked outside of his sister's home. Deputies knocked on the door and took Hall into custody on a warrant out of New York for violating an order of protection issued in Chautauqua County.
According to a news release from the Highland County Sheriff's Department, the victim had visible cuts and bruises and was taken to a "safe place" for medical care.
Not long after her rescue, she returned to Chautauqua County and resumed work at her full-time job.
Hall was returned to Chautauqua County and taken into custody by Lakewood-Busti police. He pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree kidnapping and first-degree reckless endangerment in Busti Town Court, and was remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail, where he remains today.
On May 26, Hall was indicted by a grand jury on a four-count indictment charging him with first-degree kidnapping, a class A felony; second-degree kidnapping, a class B felony; second-degree assault, a class D felony; and aggravated criminal contempt, also a class D felony.
Hall is scheduled for a Huntley Hearing on March 25, which is a defense motion to suppress statements of admission to the crime based on the claim that he either wasn't advised of his constitutional rights or the statement was made under threat or coercion. It is a common part of the judicial process and following that hearing, his case will continue through the process and either be pleaded with a deal or go to trial. He is being held in Mayville in lieu of $2 million cash bail.
If Hall is convicted on the first-degree kidnapping charge alone, he faces a minimum of 15 years to life in state prison and a maximum of 25 years to life.
ASSAULTING A UNIFORMED OFFICER
JAMESTOWN - Jermaine Gordon Pretrial Hearing Scheduled for March 8
Being Held in Lieu of $150,000 Cash Bail
Just before 3 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2009, Jamestown police were dispatched the area around the Rite Aid store on North Main Street for a possible fight between two females. When officer Jeff Levandoski arrived, another officer was already on the scene and Levandoski got out of his police cruiser and walked over to the group.
The three people with the officer were 21-year-old Maryland resident Jermaine Gordon, and 20-year-olds Angel Hodnett and Kayla S. Thomas, both of Jamestown. According to police testimony at Gordon's preliminary hearing later that week, Gordon allegedly refused to give his name and asked for the officer's badge number as he felt he was being harassed because he is black.
Levandoski said Gordon became increasingly disorderly, still refusing to give his name, until the officer told him he was under arrest. The injured officer testified that at this point, he reached for Gordon's right wrist and placed it behind his own back, as is standard procedure when making an arrest. Within seconds, Gordon began resisting further, according to Levandoski.
"When he started to pull away, I pulled him to the ground to try to gain control of his body," he said. "We wrestled on the ground and as he was on top of me, I was trying to guard my weapons and at one point, reached for my taser. Then he hit me several times in my left eye."
Levandoski said that the punches were strong and seemed to be specifically targeted to his eye. His medical information from WCA Hospital and a visit to a facial surgeon were entered into evidence and he testified that he sustained two fractures to his left orbital bone, a broken nose, and vision loss and distortion in his left eye.
Following treatment and several weeks away from work, Levandoski recently returned to the job and Capt. Robert Samuelson said he is doing well and they are glad to have him back.
Gordon is scheduled for a pretrial hearing March 8 in Chautauqua County Court on charges of assault against a police officer, second-degree assault and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration. He is being held in Mayville in lieu of $150,000 cash bail or $300,000 property bond.
Hodnett will be sentenced on Feb. 22 in Chautauqua County Court and Thomas pleaded guilty on Feb. 2 to two counts of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to pay a $500 fine and a $120 court surcharge.
AN ABDUCTION INTERRUPTED
JAMESTOWN - Jeremy Smathers Scheduled for a Pre-indictment Conference on March 8
Being Held in Lieu of $30,000 Cash Bail
In the early morning hours of Oct. 24, 2009, a Jamestown police sergeant on patrol foiled an alleged abduction and rescued a young woman who was the would-be victim.
Around 6:45 a.m. that morning, the unspecified sergeant was driving on West Second Street when he was stopped near Jefferson Street and saw a 21-year-old woman running toward the car screaming, "Help, help, he has a gun."
The sergeant saw a man running west on West Second Street toward Steele Street, and broadcast the man's description and direction of travel to other officers in the area.
An oncoming shift gave the JPD a few additional officers to respond to the call, and sheriff's deputies, Ellicott and Lakewood-Busti police officers and New York State troopers were all asked to help secure a perimeter around the wooded area between West Second Street and West Third Street and from the Third Street bridge to Jefferson Street.
Since a handgun had been seen, officers were extra careful and the city's police K-9 unit was dispatched to assist in the search.
After an intense 10-minute search, perimeter units saw a man run north across West Third Street and up Monroe Street, although he didn't get far with so much manpower in the area.
Police reported that the suspect was 25-year-old Jeremy Quinlin Smathers, a registered sex offender living on Winsor Street. He was apprehended, charged with second-degree kidnapping and taken to the city jail.
After speaking with the victim, officers learned Smathers allegedly grabbed the woman near Washington and Second streets as she was walking to work. He allegedly kept her close by holding her arm and keeping a gun pointed at her side for about 15 minutes until she saw the patrol car and was able to run for help.
On at least one occasion, the Chautauqua County Water Emergency Team was called in to search the Chadakoin River for the gun, but information wasn't available on whether they were successful in their efforts.
Smathers' sex offender status stems from a 2002 disposition where he was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse for having inappropriate sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl.
Smathers was arraigned in Jamestown City Court the day he was taken into custody and remanded to the county jail in Mayville. Following a preliminary hearing on Oct. 30, the felony case was turned over to Chautauqua County Court.
On Jan. 29, bail was set at $30,000 cash or $60,000 property, and Smathers is scheduled to return to county court on March 8 for a pre-indictment conference. He is still being housed at the county jail in Mayville.
