NIAGARA FALLS

Alert Echota neighbor foils burglary attempt

An A Street man foiled a burglary attempt by catching a man trying to break into a home Sunday.

Police said they responded to a call at 5:20 a.m. and found a man on top of another man in front of 75 A Street. Officers said a crowbar, two screwdrivers, a pair of gloves and a baseball cap were lying nearby.

The A Street resident told police he heard loud banging and went outside to investigate and found Gary Ernest Swain coming down the driveway. When the neighbor confronted Swain, he attempted to run and the man tackled and disarmed him.

Police found evidence that an attempt had been made to pry open the front door of the A Street home.

Swain, 59, address unavailable, was charged with second-degree criminal trespass, possession of burglar’s tools and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

Police noted the vacant home was owned by a Wisconsin woman.



Niagara Falls

• BURGLARY: Police are investigating a burglary in the 1600 block of Linwood Avenue. A 79-year-old woman told officers sometime between noon Monday and 4 p.m. Sunday someone broke into her home by kicking in the back door. The victim said approximately 30 feet of copper pipe was taken.

• ARREST: A Falls man was arrested on a drug charge. Vincent G. Girrado, 28, 2729 Woodlawn Ave., was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Girrado is accused of having prescription painkillers, without a prescription, in his possession when he was stopped by police in the 1700 block of Whitney Avenue at 1:51 p.m. Sunday.

• THEFT: Officers are looking into a stolen car report. a 39-year-old Amherst man told police he parked his 1995 Cadillac DeVille in the 400 block of Seventh Street at midnight Saturday and went to Seneca Niagara Casino. The man said he was given a ride home by the casino and did not return for his car until 11:30 a.m. Sunday. When he returned, the car was gone. The victim told officers he left his keys in the car but didn’t remember where in the car he left them.

• ARREST: A Rochester man was arrested on a drug charge. Edgardo Rivera, 28, Midvale Terrace, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Rivera was checking out of the Seneca Niagara Casino hotel at 10 a.m. Sunday and checked his luggage so he could do some more gambling. A bellman notified casino security that Rivera’s bags had a strong odor of pot and they contacted Falls police. Police K-9 Pharaoh and a narcotics detective responded to the hotel and examined the bag. Pharaoh indicated the presence of drugs in the bag and Rivera was brought to the checkroom. He admitted to having marijuana in his bag and gave police a half-burned blunt and a baggie with 20 grams of marijuana in it.

• ASSAULT: Police are investigating an assault in the 600 block of 18th Street. A 19-year-old man told officers he was trying to break up an argument between two men at 3:24 a.m. Sunday when one of them began to beat him with a baseball bat.

• ASSAULT: Officers are looking into a stabbing incident in the 7300 block of Buffalo Avenue. A witness told police he heard a neighbor and another man arguing at 1 a.m. Sunday and when he went to investigate he found his neighbor had been stabbed. As he tried to provide medical help to his neighbor and call police, the witness said the victim ran away. When police arrived they searched for the victim and eventually had to have Falls firefighters break down the door of a locked apartment to find him. The victim refused to cooperate with police and refused treatment from paramedics.

• THEFT: Police are investigating a theft from a motel in the 6500 block of Niagara Falls Boulevard. Two Czechoslovakian woman told officers they were incarcerated in Canada for an immigration violation from Oct. 31 until 5 p.m. Friday. They said when they returned to their Falls motel room, two laptop computers, a camcorder and $360 were missing.