Mayor Evans: Three men accused of ‘wreaking havoc’ at hotel the city is seeking to renovate
Investigation outside Rochester Riverside Hotel (Photo: WHEC)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said three men are accused of “wreaking havoc” on the former Rochester Riverside Hotel, a building that the city is seeking to renovate.
Rochester Police said the men, ages 19 to 21, were caught inside the fenced property on East Main Street with burglary tools. Those tools included bolt cutters, pry bars, and metal picks. All three — Adin Borrelli of Rochester, Eric Rodriguez of Henrietta, and Emiliano Colon Jr. of Gates — were charged with possession of burglar’s tools.
“Two of the three of them don’t even live here,” Evans said at a news conference. “And yet they’re coming in the middle of downtown, in the middle of our city, to come here and try to wreak havoc on a building that we are working on that we’re hopefully opening in 2028.”
As News10NBC has covered, the city is working with the owner of the once-thriving hotel to turn it into a mixed-use property with hotel rooms and apartments. However, the building has been vandalized multiple times. Earlier this month, News10NBC saw a row of broken hotel windows and chairs stuck in the frozen Genesee River below. In August, News10NBC obtained video showing the inside of the hotel full of graffiti, trashed rooms, and smashed windows. The hotel has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The suspects arrested on Friday just after midnight were released on an appearance ticket. Officers say they arrested the suspects after a foot chase where they ran through a “freshly cut” hole in the fence. News10NBC’s photojournalist captured the arrests on video.
“They got appearance tickets but I will tell you that we asked the owners of that building, and I know from a city perspective, we will prosecute them and pursue them to the fullest extent of the law,” Evans said.
Evans said he’s also frustrated that the suspects ran from officers, with foot chases putting officers at risk of injury.
Rochester Police Chief David Smith also gave an update on crime prevention initiatives at the news conference. It’s been a busy month for RPD, making 28 arrests for criminal possession of a weapon, seizing 51 guns involved in crimes, and executing several “high-risk search warrants.” You can see the conference here: