GROVELAND/GENESEO: Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty reports the
arrest of a wanted Canaseraga, NY man on felony charges after the investigation
of a citizen’s traffic complaint.
On November 3, 2018 at approximately 5:45 p.m., Sheriff’s
Deputies were dispatched to the area of Groveland Hill Road and Vanbuskirk Road
in the Town of Groveland for the report of a vehicle operating erratically and
nearly running the caller off the road.
Deputy Jerry Pilkenton located the vehicle in question on
Lakeville Groveland Road, however, before the Deputy Sheriff could attempt to
stop the vehicle, the vehicle pulled over and the driver fled on foot. Several
units responded to the scene to assist in locating the operator.
The driver, 38-year-old William W. Pritchard, was located a
short time later in a driveway on Reservoir Road by Sergeant Phillip Nesbitt of
the NYS Park Police based in Letchworth.
It was further suspected that Pritchard was under the
influence of alcohol. Deputy Connor Sanford of the Sheriff’s Office STOP DWI
Unit, responded to the scene and conducted a DWI investigation which included
the performance of standardized field sobriety tests. At the conclusion of the
roadside investigation, Pritchard was taken into custody by Deputies for DWI.
Pritchard was then transported to the Sheriff’s Office
Headquarters in Geneseo where Deputy Jason Hamilton of the Jail Division
administered a breathalyzer test. The breathalyzer test revealed that
Pritchard’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .10%.
Pritchard was arrested and charged with Driving While
Intoxicated with a BAC greater than .08% and felony Aggravated Unlicensed
Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the 1st Degree due to his license being
suspended a total of six times in combination with a DWI.
It was also discovered during the investigation that
Pritchard had an outstanding warrant out of Livingston County Family Court. Pritchard
was then turned over to Central Booking Deputies at the Livingston County Jail
for processing and pre-arraignment detention. The District Attorney’s Office
was contacted in regards to bail due to the felony level charge and it was
requested that the Judge hold Pritchard on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond.
Pritchard was later arraigned at the Livingston County
Centralized Arraignment Part (LCCAP) at the Livingston County Jail before
Village of Dansville Justice Scott Kenney. The Judge did remand Pritchard to
the custody of the Sheriff on $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 bond. Also during the
investigation, it was found that Amber L. Sanders, age 35 from Geneseo NY, had
given Pritchard permission to drive the vehicle. It is further alleged that
Sanders knew that Pritchard’s license was suspended. As a result, Deputy
Matthew Moran arrested and charged Sanders with Facilitating Aggravated
Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the 2nd Degree. Sanders will appear
in court at a future date.
