The past year has been a busy one for breaking news, though resolutions to some of those incidents will have to wait until early in 2021.

The November adjournment of two trials that were to begin in late November and early December would have been the first to begin in Chautauqua County since COVID-19 forced most court matters to be postponed statewide.

With the local adjournments, there won’t be a jury trial in the county until at least early 2021. Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks announced that jury selection throughout the state will stop, though ongoing criminal and civil trials will continue to their conclusions. He said no new grand jurors will be selected and future bench trials and hearings will be conducted by video until further notice.

NOVEMBER DRIVE-BY SHOOTING

OBSERVER File Photo The former Hideaway Bay restaurant lies in ruins after it was destroyed by fire.

Two people will face charges for a drive-by shooting on Nov. 6 in Dunkirk that resulted in a chase through the Dunkirk and Fredonia areas.

There were no injuries in the shooting.

Dunkirk police officers responded to a reports responding to the incident around 7:11 p.m. in the area of East Sixth Street and Park Avenue. Upon arrival, officers secured a scene and evidence was recovered. Two Dunkirk men have been charged in connection with the drive-by shooting on Friday morning that led to a chase through the city and the village of Fredonia.

City police said the incident Friday is apparently linked to another drive-by shooting that took place at East Sixth Streets and Park Avenue.

Friday’s incident began at 633 Leopard St. in Dunkirk and led to a furious chase into the village of Fredonia for three suspects. The shooting occurred just after 9 a.m. and the three who are believed to have been involved in the shooting headed on Central Avenue toward Fredonia. They allegedly ditched the vehicle on Day Street, near the village Post Office, and took off on foot. The red sedan with Pennsylvania license plates was later towed away from the scene.

Jesus A. Montero-Perez, 22, of Park Avenue and Kenyis M. Gonzalez-Torres, 20, of East Lake Road, both of Dunkirk, were charged in the incident.

HIDEAWAY BAY RESTAURANT BURNS

Many vacant buildings will be given a new lease on life this year.

The former Hideaway Bay restaurant in Silver Creek will not be one of them after burning down almost a year ago.

Fire crews from Silver Creek, Dunkirk, Sunset Bay, Hanover, Evans, the county Emergency Services, Sheridan were on the scene of the structure fire that was fully involved once they arrived at 42 Lake St. in the village.

Hideaway Bay had been vacant for years and was purchased in 2016 by the Chautauqua County Land Bank. As recently as 2019, officials at the agency were looking for potential developers for the site.

“None of the proposals met our vision for the property,” said Gina Paradis, Land Bank executive director in a 2019 OBSERVER article. “So we have decided to take a step backwards and to evaluate our options. One option might be to hold on to the property until there is an increase interest in the property, which we expect will happen in the next couple years or we might send out another (request for proposals). We are undecided right now, so we are going to sit back and talk more before moving forward.”

In February, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office filed several charges against an unidentified youth in relation to the Hideaway Bay fire. Another fire broke out Jan. 14 at Gernatt Asphalt Products, located at 12670 Buffalo Road in the town of Hanover. The juvenile is facing charges of third-degree arson, third-degree burglary and second- and fourth-degree criminal mischief for the Gernatt Asphalt Products fire. For the Hideaway Bay blaze, the youth is facing charges of fourth-degree arson and third-degree criminal trespassing.

ROUNDABOUT ACCIDENT

A June 18 accident at the roundabout in Fredonia drew a lot of attention from readers. According to a street employee at the scene, a vehicle pulled out in front of a motorcyclist, causing him to react quickly, throwing the bike down. The man suffered a leg injury.

Interest in the story was less about the incident and more about the roundabout itself. The incident happened two days after the roundabout became operational.

The raised medians and new roundabout at the intersection of East Main Street and Bennett Road will reduce the frequency and severity of crashes involving left-turns into commercial driveways at the approaches to the intersection. The completed project will also help maintain the flow of traffic by requiring vehicles to enter and exit the driveways with right turn movements only. In addition, the upgraded sidewalks and curb ramps will provide additional mobility and connectivity for pedestrians, making this a safer facility for all users.

The state Department of Transportation started work on the roundabout in May, 2019 after the state Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from Enrico Francani, owner of the nearby McDonald’s over what he alleged would be a loss of business due to the configuration of the roundabout.

Work on the $3.7 million project wrapped up in early December.

“With the completion of this project, important safety and efficiency upgrades should improve traffic conditions in and around that intersection,” said state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay. “The path forward for this project involved many local voices and differing views and my thanks go out to those residents and businesses who shared their input. Community participation was important in this project and helped produce a better end result. My thanks go out to the Commissioner and team at DOT for their efforts and their continuing dedication to a strong and safe transportation network in New York state.”

HIGH SPEED RIDE STALLS

A Dunkirk man was charged in January after a high-speed chase that may have begun in Dunkirk before taking law-enforcement through Silver Creek, Sheridan and Fredonia came to a screeching halt on Franklin Avenue in Dunkirk.

Officers from the New York State Police, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Department, Dunkirk Police and Fredonia Police were involved in the chase, which included portions of Route 60, Routes 5 and 20, Sheridan, Williams Street before coming to an end on Franklin in the city, south of Doughty.

At one point, according to scanner reports, officials believed they had taken out two of the vehicles tires. The chase, which lasted about 30 minutes, ended with the vehicle surrounded. Dunkirk police were believed to have the suspect in custody.

NEW YEAR’S EVE AMBULANCE CHASE

It was a rude awakening for the Fredonia fire chief on New Year’s day.

Ryan Walker received the call after 3 in the morning. One of his firefighters told him there was a situation involving one of the department’s ambulances. It had briefly gone missing after being taken by an individual while members were answering a medical emergency call on Central Avenue.

.On Wednesday at approximately 3 a.m., the Fredonia Police Department responded to Central Avenue for a report of a stolen Fredonia Fire & Rescue Ambulance.

It was reported that members of Fredonia Fire and Rescue were at a residence on Central Avenue in Fredonia attending to a medical emergency. Upon exiting the residence it was discovered that Fire Ambulance Rescue 15 had been taken by an unknown person from the scene. The incident was reported to the Fredonia Police Department.

Police located the vehicle traveling north on Central Avenue, at which the ambulance drove up on the curb, striking several signs near the College Parkway, where it became stuck in the lawn.

An officer approached the vehicle and requested the operator to exit the ambulance. The operator refused the request, subsequently fighting with the officer. The subject was secured and taken into custody.