NIAGARA FALLS — NIAGARA FALLS

Attempted ham theft leads to charges

Falls police arrested an Eighth Street man about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after staff at local supermarket said he tried to leave the store without paying for a $75 ham and assaulted a worker that tried to stop him.

A worker at the Niagara Falls Boulevard store told police as Michael A. Quarcini Jr. was walking out he could see a large ham falling out from underneath his hoodie. When the worker asked for the ham back, he said Quarcini instead punched him in the face and began walking away. The worker instead tackled Quarcini and they both fell to the ground where Quarcini was held till police arrived.

Quarcini was charged with third-degree robbery and third-degree assault.



Man charged after returning to scene of crime

A resident on the 1900 block of Falls Street called police about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday after they saw a man taking a table and chain-link fence from her fenced-in backyard.

The man put the items into a red Chrysler minivan and slowly drove off.

Shortly after police arrived on the scene and began their investigation, the minivan returned to the rear of the home.

Officers pulled the minivan over and could see the stolen items inside.

Jonathan H. Schumacher, 28, of Nash Road, North Tonawanda, was charged with petit larceny.

A passenger in the minivan, Nicole Koziel, 35, of Nash Road, North Tonawanda, was additionally charged with obstruction of governmental administration after becoming enraged at officers and refusing to follow their orders.



ONTARIO

Man arrested in fatal Falls accident

Niagara Regional Police have arrested an Etobicoke, Ont., man and charged him in connection with an accident that took the life of an 81-year-old woman.

Jaswinder Manihani, 29, faces a single count of criminal negligence causing death. He is accused of hitting Dorothy Kennedy, of Niagara Falls, Ont., as she exited a business and was crossing the parking lot in the 6700 block of McLeod Road on Jan. 24. An investigation showed Manihani was behind the wheel of a ’07 Kenworth truck that hit Kennedy.



Niagara Falls

• CHARGED: Mark S. Smith, 41, of 19th St., was charged with second-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief and bribe receiving by a witness about 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to Falls police. A 19th Street man told police Smith entered his house uninvited Wednesday night and began to yell at him. Smith also demanded $500 from the victim to drop criminal charges against someone else. When asked to leave, Smith refused and punched the victim in his chest. The victim, who is physically disabled, struck Smith with his cane. The victim said his glasses and a medical device were damaged during the fight. When officers initially arrived Smith was on the roof of the home, he came back in through a window and was taken into custody by police.

• CHARGED: Divine D. Maxwell, 17, of Ferry Avenue, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Falls police. Further information was unavailable.

• CHARGED: Dwayne W. Handley, 28, of Pierce Avenue, was charged with second-degree attempted assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, fourth-degree criminal mischief and second-degree possession of a weapon, according to Falls police. Further information was unavailable.

• PURSE SNATCHING: A 47-year-old North Tonawanda woman reported that a man snatched her purse while she was walking in the 1100 block of Ontario Avenue about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The victim had come to the Falls to stay with a friend due to an issue at home but when she arrived, the friend was not there. As she was walking back to her car a man ran by and grabbed the purse from her hand and fled. Officers searched the area but could not find the suspect.

n ASSAULT: Police are investigating an assault that took place in the 500 block of 19th Street around 2 a.m. Saturday. A 29-year-old woman told officers she was in the parking lot of a gas station when she was approached by two women and a man who proceeded to punch and kick her.

n SHOOTING: Officers are looking into a shooting incident in the 2200 block of Niagara Street at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. A 26-year-old woman told police two men entered her apartment and demanded money. When she refused to give them money, one of the suspects reportedly fired a shot at the victim, but did not hit her.

• INCIDENT: The owner of an auto shop on the 2600 block of Main Street told police Wednesday that sometime Tuesday night someone smashed the front windshield of a ’05 Chevy Malibu that was parked in front of the business and for sale. The owner said windshield’s have been smashed on several other cars over the past few weeks. Officers found two large pieces of wood lying on the windshield of the damaged Malibu.

• BURGLARY: A Center Street resident told police Wednesday that sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Tuesday someone entered their apartment through a front window and took a 40-inch flat-screen TV.

• BURGLARY: Falls police were called to a home on the 1500 block of Ashland Avenue Wednesday where a resident told them someone had entered an apartment Tuesday night through a shattered front window and taken all their clothes. The estimated loss is $500 for the clothing and $200 for the window.

• BURGLARY: A resident on the 1900 block of Falls Street reported to police Wednesday that sometime Monday someone entered their apartment through an open window and took their clothes, sneakers and wallet. The estimated loss is $300.

• BURGLARY: A 61-year-old Falls Street man told police Wednesday someone took $1,500 in coins, mostly quarters, from a second-floor bedroom. He provided officers with a suspect, a man who had been doing odd jobs at the home Tuesday.

Youngstown

• INCIDENT: Sheriff’s deputies were called to the 100 block of Jackson Street about 12:45 a.m. Thursday to assist a 36-year-old woman who fell down a flight of basement stairs. When they arrived, deputies said the woman was lying face up on the basement floor unconscious. Mercy Flight was requested but was unavailable due to the weather conditions. She was instead taken to Erie County Medical Center by members of the Youngstown Fire Co. The woman’s 25-year-old boyfriend told deputies she had gone to use the bathroom but he heard her open up the basement door and fall down the stairs. The woman’s two children were asleep in the house at the time. Their father was called over and he took them to his home.

Cambria

• THEFT: A resident on the 3500 block of Upper Mountain Road reported to Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies Wednesday that sometime since April 14 someone entered their unlocked car and took a GPS unit and $2 in change. The estimated loss is $202.