Chase ends with arrests
Two New Jersey men were arrested Wednesday after a car chase involving a stolen car, Chenango deputies said.
Michael J. Bentley, 20, and Brian T. Stoddard, 23, both of Lincoln Park, were arrested for fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, second-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, failure to comply and many other vehicle and traffic violations, deputies said.
When patrols attempted to stop the car, the men failed to comply and took off on a chase that took patrols, including state and New Berlin police, through five townships and two counties, deputies said. The vehicle, which Bentley was driving, was stopped after the driver lost control and the vehicle struck a guard rail, deputies said.
The two were sent to Chenango County jail and held _ Bentley on $75,000 and Stoddard on $100,000 cash bail _ to appear in court today, deputies said.
Couple charged with felonies
A McDonough couple was arrested Tuesday after an investigation into the sale of morphine pills, Sidney police said.
Monica M. Bell, 32, was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a class B felony; fourth-degree conspiracy, a class E felony; and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation, police said. Christopher Bell, 35, was charged with fourth-degree conspiracy, a class E felony, police said.
She was sent to Delaware County jail on $15,000 bail, and he was jailed on $5,000 bail, with both to appear today, police said.
Landowners group to meet
WELLS BRIDGE _ The Otego Area Landowners Association will have an organizational meeting at the Unatego Junior/Senior High School auditorium at 7 tonight.
The group's mission is to negotiate, through legal representation, a lease with a natural-gas company for a safe and timely agreement that minimizes incursion into current ownership rights, according to a media release. Committees will be set up to research means of communication, drilling practices and environmental concerns, government contacts, membership, site visits and other issues.
For more information, call Dick Downey at 988-9116.
Fire damages Gilboa home
GILBOA _ A double-wide mobile home in Schoharie County was damaged by a fire Tuesday night.
No injuries were reported from the blaze, Stamford Fire Chief Donald Vanetten said.
The fire struck a family's mobile home on state Route 23 in the town of Gilboa and was reported to emergency officials at about 10:10 p.m.
"Nobody was there at the time of the fire," Vanetten said.
The fire, which damaged a master bedroom and bathroom and part of a living room, remains under investigation by Schoharie County fire investigators, he said.
Vanetten said he would not release the name of the family.
About 50 firefighters from Stamford, Hobart, Roxbury and Grand Gorge fire departments responded to the scene, Vanetten said, and the fire was contained within about 25 minutes.
