OBSERVER Staff Report
OBSERVER Photo by Dan Kohler
A Tompkins Road residence in the town of Ellicott was damaged by fire Friday. Several departments assisted at the scene.
FLUVANNA The American Red Cross was called to assist after fire broke out at a residence Friday afternoon.
Firefighters from Fluvanna and Gerry were initially called to the reported fire around 2:25 p.m. on Tompkins Road, off Route 60 and east of the Jamestown airport in the town of Ellicott. Fire officials arrived and stated that the property was “fully engulfed” by flames.
Volunteers from Kennedy, Falconer, Ellery Center, Dewittville, Ashville and Sinclairville assisted. The county FAST team, Tech Rescue, fire police and Chautauqua County EMS were also called to the scene, and other departments were summoned to help fill in at other fire stations.
OBSERVER File Photo
Two were arrested in a drive-by shooting in November. OBSERVER File Photo
The former Hideaway Bay restaurant lies in ruins after it was destroyed by fire.
OBSERVER File Photo
Two were arrested in a drive-by shooting in November.
Editor’s Note: The OBSERVER has spent the past week looking back at the some of our most-read stories and how those stories may impact the coming year. Today’s final installment focuses on breaking news stories that most attracted readers’ interest over the past year.
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.
Rance Freeman
A Mayville man will spend more than a decade in prison for the November 2008 killing of his acquaintance a case boosted by advances in DNA testing and putting to rest a years-long investigation.
Rance “Randy” Freeman Jr. was sentenced Wednesday before Judge Susan M. Eagan to 14 years in state prison and five years post-release supervision for the killing of 55-year-old Jeffrey Johnson. The village man was indicted on murder charges in November 2018 before pleading guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in February of this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed sentencing back by about seven months.
According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson, the case was boosted by DNA forensic analysis that was not as advanced at the time of the Nov. 8, 2008, homicide. Specifically, Swanson said use of a DNA testing system known as STRmix helped investigators connect the murder weapon a heavy fireplace tool to Freeman.
Rance Freeman
A Mayville man will spend more than a decade in prison for the November 2008 killing of his acquaintance a case boosted by advances in DNA testing technology and putting to rest a years-long investigation.
Rance “Randy” Freeman Jr. was sentenced Wednesday before Judge Susan M. Eagan to 14 years in state prison and five years post-release supervision for the killing of 55-year-old Jeffrey Johnson. The village man was indicted on murder charges in November 2018 before pleading guilty to a count of first-degree manslaughter in February of this year.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed sentencing back by about seven months.
According to Chautauqua County District Attorney Patrick Swanson, the case was aided significantly by DNA forensic analysis that was not as advanced at the time of the Nov. 8, 2008, homicide. Specifically, Swanson said use of a DNA testing system known as STRmix helped investigators connect the murder weapon a fire place tool to Freeman.
jcotton@timesobserver.com
Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry
Law enforcement agencies thought that double murder suspect Cody Potthoff was at this Columbus Township back in June. While he wasn’t at that residence, he was captured in Warren County.
SKERDA UPHOLDS SANDUSKY SENTENCE
The Associated Press reported in January that Warren County President Judge Maureen Skerda to have his 30- to 60-year child molestation sentence reduced during a brief hearing Tuesday.
Presiding via teleconference from the Warren County courthouse, Judge Skerda said she purposely fashioned the prison term to have an impact on the former Penn State assistant football coach and noted Sandusky continues to maintain his innocence.