Hancock Fire department was dispatched to 43 West Main Street at around 12:30 AM Sunday morning for a commercial building fire at the Little Italy Restaurant. Hancock fire department requested mutual aid from Deposit, East Branch, Walton, Trout Creek, Windsor, West Windsor, and Harpursville. The structure was destroyed; fire investigators will be back at the scene today to determine the cause of the fire. Several residents in apartments in the building were brought to a shelter set up at the Hancock central school.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division attempted to make a traffic stop Friday on a Toyota operated by 50 year old John Tipler of Afton. Tipler failed to comply with the traffic stop, a passenger, 27 year old Brandon Birch of Harpursville jumped out of the vehicle. Birch was taken into custody, a lock box Birch possessed was located in the snow and contained heroin. State Police located Tipler, he was turned over to the Sheriff’s Office for processing, Tipler was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, Failure to Comply, and various other Violations. Birch was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, & Tampering with Physical Evidence. Tipler and Birch were arraigned in the Town of Afton Court and remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on $25,000 cash bail. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.
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On Wednesday afternoon, at the request of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, Delaware County Sheriff Deputies arrested 23 year old Jordan Ryder of Hancock on a Warrant of Arrest issued by the Town of Afton Court for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. Members of the Hancock Police Department assisted Delaware County Deputies with locating Ryder in the Village of Hancock. Ryder was turned over to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for further action.
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