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Randall Rolison sentenced to up to 40 years in prison

A Jamestown man who killed two people in separate accidents has been sentenced to between 13 and 40 years in prison.

Randall Rolison was given his sentence Monday by Judge David Foley in Chautauqua County Court after pleading guilty last June to second-degree manslaughter for the Dec. 31, 2021, accident that killed Lexi Hughan of Jamestown and aggravated vehicular homicide for the Dec. 3, 2022, crash that killed Linda Kraemer while Rolison was free on bail.

“I will fight tooth and nail and make sure I get to read statements again if he comes up for parole,” Sara Rafaloski, Hughan’s mother, said while reading a statement in court Monday, according to WIVB in Buffalo. “Nobody is going to give me another day of sunshine with my daughter. He doesn’t deserve another day of sunshine outside of a jail.”

Rolison will be up for parole in 2037. The 40-year maximum sentence for Rolison is the most allowed by law.

“She was just a unique and creative young lady, and she was just finding her way in this world — she was awesome,” Alexis’ father, Jeff Hughan, told The Post-Journal in an interview a year after the accident.

Rolison has also pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis Testani, who is handling the firearms case, stated that in January 2022, the Jamestown Police Department and FBI began investigating Rolison’s purchase of firearms outside of the state of New York and subsequent sale of the firearms in the Southern Tier of New York. The investigation determined that Rolison, an over-the-road truck driver, purchased firearms and ammunition from a roadside stand in the state of Georgia between the summer 2021 and December 2021, and subsequently transported and sold, or attempted to sell, a total of nine firearms and ammunition in New York.

Rolison sent pictures of the firearms via text message to various individuals to solicit interest in purchasing them and would subsequently straw purchase the firearms on behalf of the individuals. In June 1997, Rolison was convicted of a felony in Michigan and is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Hughan was killed after she was struck by a semi operated by Rolison while walking across Sixth Street in Jamestown.

It was on Dec. 3, 2022, nearly a year after Hughan’s death, that Rolison was driving a 2020 Chevrolet Trail Blazer when he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign at Route 83 and Center Road in Arkwright. The vehicle collided with a 2018 Ford F-150 resulting in the death of Kraemer, who was a 71-year-old passenger in the pickup truck. He also caused serious injuries to her 71-year-old husband who was driving.

The Kraemers said Linda was the matriarch of her family. She loved her grandkids and volunteering in the community.

In a statement to WIVB, her family said, “On behalf of the Kraemer family, we hope that our communities remember Lexy Hughan and Linda Kraemer, and the beautiful smiles and laughter they shared with us. We ask that everyone keeps a song in their heart and goes out of their way to do acts of kindness in their honor.”

Rolison had been out on bail following his arrest in Hughan’s fatality when the Arkwright crash occurred. He was hospitalized and after recovering, had his bail revoked and returned to the county jail.

After being arrested for the Jamestown accident, police began investigating various aspects of Rolison’s life. They allegedly discovered Rolison had three illegal handguns in storage, so he was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

As part of the plea in county court, Schmidt agreed to drop the weapons charge if he pleaded guilty in the two deaths.

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