Area police
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
— MAYVILLE — Four Westfield residents are facing charges after a traffic stop Thursday morning.
At about 9:40 a.m., Andrew Harris, 26, was operating a vehicle on Academy Street and was known to have a state license with 25 suspensions and revocations.
He was stopped by deputies and a search of his vehicle was conducted which produced a felony amount of methamphetamine.
Harris was charged with first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. His passengers Alyssa Winslow, 33, and Richard Conway, 45, were charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Additionally, the vehicle’s registered owner Victoria Harris, 42, was charged with felony first-degree facilitating aggravated unlicensed operation for allowing Andrew Harris to operate a vehicle registered to her.
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY COURT
— Gary Lang, 56, of Forestville, was sentenced Wednesday by Judge Grace Hanlon to a seven-year determinate state prison sentence with five years of post-release supervision after being convicted of second-degree attempted burglary, a class D violent felony.
In January, Lang was charged with several offenses committed between the week of Christmas 2023 and New Year’s 2024 following an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff Criminal Investigation Division.
During this time period, Lang terrorized residential neighborhoods in the village of Fredonia and Towns of Portland and Pomfret by looking for items of value to steal out of vehicles, from inside buildings, and from inside people’s homes.
In February, Lang was indicted by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury on charges of second-degree burglary, second-degree attempted burglary, attempted petit larceny, and trespass. On July 12, he pleaded guilty to the second count of the indictment with his plea covering the other charges. County District Attorney Jason Schmidt “would like to thank the Criminal Investigation Division for their excellent work on the investigation in this case.” This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andrew Molitor.