Documents Detail ‘Reckless’ Acts By Ex

Oct 23, 2023

May 20, 2023

Pictured is 71 Barker St. in the city of Jamestown. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

A former Jamestown employee is accused of wedging a knife in a couch and spiking a juice bottle with glass cleaner inside a vacant property the county had transferred to a city agency to help first-time homebuyers.

Benjamin Haskin, 35, was charged by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office on April 17 with second-degree reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. Haskin had served as the city's associate corporation counsel and routinely updated the City Council on a program to get rehabbed homes into the hands of new buyers.

He has since left that position.

At the time, the Sheriff's Office shared few details of what led to the charges against Haskin, only stating that on March 28 he "acted in a reckless manner which did create a substantial risk of injury to another person."

However, the accusations against the city resident were detailed in an accusatory instrument, a document filed with the court outlining the offenses, obtained Friday by The Post-Journal.

In the accusatory document, written by an investigator with the Sheriff's Office, Haskin is accused of placing a knife "between the back and seat cushion of a chair with the point of the knife facing outwards." The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on March 28, a Tuesday, at 71 Barker St.

As noted in the court documents, "this act created a substantial risk of serious physical injury of another person sitting on this knife."

At the same Barker Street residence, Haskin is accused of creating a hazardous condition when he allegedly "spiked a juice bottle with Windex cleaner."

An email seeking comment sent Friday afternoon to Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and Elliot Raimondo, city corporation counsel, was not returned.

In December 2022, the County Legislature announced it was transferring two dozen properties to the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency. At a cost of $1, the move was meant to offer housing to first-time homebuyers and reduce blight in the city.

On the list of properties to be transferred was 71 Barker St.

The accusations outlined in the documents do not explain why Haskin was in the vacant property that afternoon or what led to the allegations. Haskin could not be reached for comment Friday.

Earlier this month, The Post-Journal filed a request through the Freedom of Information Act with the Sheriff's Office for a copy of the complete police report. The newspaper was told a response would be received around June 7.

In New York, second-degree reckless endangerment is a class A misdemeanor while disorderly conduct is a violation. A Jamestown City Court clerk on Friday said both of the city's judges have recused themselves in the matter. The case has not yet been moved to another court.

In July 2022, the city identified four properties as possible 19-A projects. As part of that program, vacant properties are rehabilitated for individuals or families who agree to live in them for at least five years.

One of those four properties was 71 Barker St., which last summer was reported to have needed between $24,000 and $34,000 in work before it could be sold. County records show that JURA still owns the property, which has an assessed value of $54,000.

Haskin told county lawmakers last December that when the properties are sold, buyers are required to pay their taxes on time, keep insurance on the home, and are responsible to alleviate any code enforcement issues that occur after the city is involved.

"It is our intent, with some of the houses, to focus on first-time home buyers and then with some of the nicer houses," he said of the program.

When contacted Friday regarding Haskin, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said, "I am aware of the charges filed against Mr. Haskin. This is a matter which was investigated by the Sheriff's Office in consultation with us because Jamestown Police wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety. The case is now pending in Jamestown City Court, so I’ll hold off on making any substantive comment at this time other than to assure the public that our criminal justice system will treat Mr. Haskin the same as anyone else. No one is above the law and everyone is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise."

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