Regional Briefs November 26, 2017

Scammer Who Stole $340K Pleads Guilty

BUFFALO – A scammer who phoned eight victims and threatened them with arrest and lawsuits if they don’t wire him payments on what he said were outstanding debts, pleaded guilty Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. Shawn Sylvia, 35, collected $340,000 since 2013. He faces 20 years in jail.

Troopers Keep Open 38-Year-Old Missing-Person Case

WARSAW, N.Y. – Police still haven’t closed the case of a missing 24-year-old man 38 years ago, The Associated Press reported. James Dean Knox was reported missing by his grandmother on Dec. 21, 1979 — 12 days after he had visited her. He had been on medical leave from a nearby machine company.

Boy, 8, Hurt When Car He Was Steering Crashes

WHITEHALL, N.Y. – An 8-year-old child was seriously injured after a car crashed as he was steering and an adult worked the pedals, The Associated Press reported. The adult, Brett Reynolds, 36, left the child crying and fled. He was arrested the next day at a hospital where he had gone for treatment.

Reckless Driver Crashes Into 2 Buildings on Long Island

BALDWIN, N.Y. – A reckless driver ignored motions by police to use his turn signals and crashed Saturday into a tire store and a house on Long Island, The Associated Press reported. Rodney Boone, 53, caused a gas leak in the house, causing six people to evacuate.

Hunter Shot at Truck, Mistaking It for a Deer

NORTH HARMONY, N.Y. – An Ohio man hunting upstate Friday shot with a high-powered rifle at a pickup truck he mistook for a deer, disabling the truck, The Associated Press reported. It happened two days after a different hunter mistook a woman for a deer, tragically killing Rosemary Billquist, 43.

Officials Hoping to Capture Bear That Killed Goat

BLAIRSTOWN, N.J. – A black bear entered an outdoor fenced-in pen and killed one of the goats before fleeing, the New Jersey Herald reported. Police are searching for the 300-pound bear and say it will be euthanized if captured.