On December 28, 2020 Sheriff’s Investigators received
information that a convicted felon residing on Mount Morris Road in the Town of
Leicester was in possession of a handgun. At approximately 5:10 p.m. Deputies
and Investigators arrived at the residence to investigate, and spoke with 24-year-old
Kody J. Heerkens.
The investigation led to a search of the residence and a vehicle which revealed that Heerkens was in possession of a loaded 40mm semi-automatic pistol. Heerkens is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a previous felony conviction in August of 2017.
Heerkens was arrested and charged with Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd Degree, a class C felony, for illegally possessing the loaded firearm.
He was turned over to Central Booking Deputies at the
Livingston County Jail for processing and pre-arraignment detention as the
offenses did qualify for pre-arraignment detention under the
NYS Justice Reform Act. The District Attorney’s Office was
contacted in regards to bail due to the felony level charge. It was advised
that Heerkens should be remanded to jail with bail set at $10,000 cash or
$20,000 bond.
Heerkens was later arraigned at the Livingston County
Centralized Arraignment Part (LC-CAP) at the Livingston County Jail before Town
of North Dansville Justice David Werth. The Judge did remand Heerkens to the
custody of the Sheriff on the recommended bail of $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond pending
further court proceedings.
Investigating the incident for the Sheriff’s Office were
Investigator Shawn Whitford, Deputy Laszlo Babocsi and Deputy Michael Phillips.
The Dansville Police Department also assisted with the investigation.
The investigation continues and additional charges are
pending.
