BLOTTER: Police reports published Aug. 22

Staff Reports

WILSON

Construction worker injured at high school

A Grand Island man working construction at Wilson High School on Tuesday was taken to Erie County Medical Center after his face was cut with a saw.

Gregory F. Lambert, 41, of Staley Road, an employee of Alpha Masonry, was working in the northwest corner of the building when the accident occurred.

Lambert was cutting brick for a doorway when the masonry saw kicked back and struck him in the face, causing a severe laceration, the report said.

The Wilson Volunteer Fire Department responded and transported Lambert to ECMC for treatment.

NIAGARA COUNTYResidents report mailbox damage

Several residents in Newfane, Wilson, Lockport and Ransomville reported Wednesday morning that their mailboxes were destroyed overnight.

A Lockport man on North Ridge Road told Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies he heard a noise outside about 3:30 a.m. When he looked out the window, he said he saw his mailbox had been broken off the post and a man was walking away with a baseball bat. He got into a newer model white Ford Mustang and drove west on Route 93.

In Wilson, a Cambria-Wilson Road woman, a Nelson Road man and a Maple Road man all reported their mailboxes had been damaged as well.

The Maple Road resident also reported a table in his front yard, worth about $50, had been damaged.

Two North Road, Newfane residents reported Wednesday that their mailboxes had been damaged.

TOWN OF TONAWANDA

Fire damages Pizza Hut

A small can of cooking spray caused some problems about noon Wednesday for employees and patrons at the Pizza Hut at 1400 Niagara Falls Boulevard.

An employee called 911 after hearing a loud bang and then seeing a yellow glow lighting up a back room wall, according to police reports.

After getting inside the wall and extinguishing the flames, Brighton volunteer firefighters found a rusted, partially charred aerosol can between the wall separating the back room kitchen area and the ladies room in the restaurant, said Chief Mike Galante.

“We believe the can was in there so long, sitting on the hot water drain from the dishwasher,” he said. “Eventually it heated up enough and let loose, causing a little fire in the wall.”

No one was hurt, but four employees and 10-15 customers were evacuated. The health inspector was called in to make a ruling on whether to close the building for business pending repairs. Everything turned out to be safe, because the restaurant reopened Thursday.

Niagara Falls

• THEFT: Police are investigating a car break-in in the area of Buffalo Avenue and First Street. A 58-year-old German tourist told officers he and his family parked their rental car there at 10 a.m. Thursday and when they returned at 6 p.m., the passenger-side front window was smashed. The victims said a suitcase, six backpacks, a camera and lens, a laptop computer and accessories, an iPod, a GPS system and four airline tickets to Germany were taken.

• BURGLARY: Officers are looking into a burglary in the 1300 block of Ashland Avenue. A 48-year-old woman told police that sometime between 3 a.m. Tuesday and 4:30 p.m. Thursday someone broke into her apartment by smashing a window. The victim said a fan was taken.

• THEFT: Police are investigating a car break-in in the 700 block of Rainbow Boulevard. A 58-year-old man told officers that sometime between 9:07 p.m. Wednesday and 9:20 a.m. Thursday someone broke into his 2008 Chevy Impala by smashing a driver’s-side window. The victim said a GPS system and a tape player were taken.

City of Tonawanda

• WEAPON: Douglas M. Sanders, 23, 20 Court St., was charged at 3:19 a.m. Thursday with criminal possession of a weapon. Police said they found Sanders sleeping in the trunk of his car on Court Street. A DMV check on the vehicle said its registration had been suspended. While taking an inventory of the items in the car, an officer heard a voice from the trunk area say “hello.”

Police found a gun on the front passenger seat. Sanders told them it was handed down to him from his father, who now lives in Wyoming. City of Lockport

• LEWDNESS: Jamie L. Bootes, 18, 222 West Ave., was charged Wednesday night with public lewdness. Bootes allegedly urinated on the driver’s side door of a Bewley Parkway man’s car. Bootes was released on his own recognizance and is due Monday in Lockport City Court.

Town of Lockport

• SHOPLIFTING: Christopher M. Howard, 20, 6367 Robinson Road, Apt. 11, was charged Wednesday with petit larceny. Deputies reportedly noticed Howard walking on Robinson road about 2:23 a.m. while investigating a report of a bicycle left in the roadway. Howard allegedly threw an aerosol can in the ditch as deputies approached. Deputies reportedly observed a large bulge under Howard’s shirt, and a pat-down search revealed he had four magazines, two cans of malt beverage and one can of beer stuffed in his pants. Howard allegedly said, “I stole the stuff from Tops.” The aerosol can in the ditch was reportedly computer cleaner, which Howard appeared to have been inhaling before deputies stopped him. Howard allegedly told deputies he’d bought the bicycle from an unknown “crackhead” in the City of Lockport and had left it in the roadway. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due Sept. 9 in Lockport Town Court.

Barker

• VANDALISM: A Haight Road woman reported Tuesday that someone threw a small rock at the second floor of her home, breaking a pane on one of her double-paned windows. The damage is estimated at $200.