KENMORE: One case resolved, another on-going

By Daniel Pye<br><a href="mailto:pyed@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Dan</a>

Police have arrested a man accused of driving drunk and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, but are still on the lookout for two men who robbed two Kenmore women at knife-point Saturday evening.

Kenmore police had a busy night Saturday, starting with a hit and run call on Military Road just after 6:30 p.m. According to reports, Russell Reuman was crossing the street when he was struck and killed by a pickup driven by Paul Modica. Kenmore Police Chief Carl LaCorte said a passing motorist witnessed the accident and saw Modica turn onto Tremont Avenue, exit his truck and start walking toward Delaware Avenue. Police stopped him shortly after.

“Actually it just took a matter of minutes,” LaCorte said.

Modica stands charged with DWI, vehicular manslaughter and felony leaving the scene of an accident with injury resulting in death. Police obtained a court order for a blood sample and Modica is being held without bail pending a court appearance Friday.

Later Saturday evening, at approximately 11 p.m., two men armed with a knife and a gun approached a Kenmore woman getting our of her car in Buffalo. LaCorte said based on everything police know as of Monday afternoon, the selection was completely random.

“We’re certain she was not stalked,” he said. “They had no idea who they were grabbing.”

The assailants forced the woman into the back seat and drove to her house, where they then demanded the woman go inside and wake her roommate. The kidnappers held the two women hostage, driving them around to various ATMs to empty their bank accounts.

Then the two women were dropped off back at the Kenmore home and the kidnappers sped away in the stolen car. Neither woman had any major injuries from the ordeal. In an interview with Channel 7, one of the victims said she’s thankful to be alive after being held hostage with a knife to her throat by a man who threatened to kill her if she screamed.

“I’m very lucky. I only have a couple of cuts,” she said.

That car was located just before noon Monday near the Broadway Market in Buffalo with no one inside. LaCorte said Buffalo police staked out the vehicle, spotting a black male and black female approach and enter the car. When police initiated a traffic stop the man escaped on foot, but the woman stayed in the car. The witnesses claimed it was two men — not a man and a woman— who abducted them, and LaCorte said the woman in the car was not arrested after police stopped the car.

“At this point no one is under arrest. No one is in custody,” he said.

The investigation is on-going. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Kenmore police at 875-1234.