Cooking fire at condemned home leads to drug bust Thursday
Pictured are items seized after a cooking fire led police and firefighters to an abandoned home on Hopkins Avenue on Thursday.
Three city residents face charges after a cooking fire resulted in police officers and firefighters coming to an condemned home on Hopkins Avenue.
Charles F. Haley, 54, and Leslie D. Arnold, 47, were each charged with second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally usin drug paraphernalia, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (three counts for Haley and two counts for Arnold) and third-degree criminal trespass. Nathan L. Siracuse, 40, was charged with third-degree criminal trespass. All three were taken to the city jail until they could be arraigned.
According to a police report, police officers and firefighters responded to 198 Hopkins Ave. at 12:55 p.m. Thursday for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival firefighters learned a small cooking grill was producing a large amount of smoke. The fire was put out by firefighters. The building at 198 Hopkins Ave. is condemned and no one was supposed to be there. Haley and Siracuse were outside when officers arrived and were detained by Jamestown Police Department road patrol officers. Narcotics investigators executed a search warrant at 2:45 p.m. and found Arnold allegedly sleeping inside a makeshift garage that had been turned into a living area. She was detained by city police and Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office narcotics detectives.
Once inside the garage area, police allegedly found 107.4 grams of methamphetamine, $2,602, three handguns, one rifle and digital scales.
The city Development Department also responded to the scene.





