Getting guns off the street

Jun. 19—Falls police say despite continued reports of shootings in the city, an ongoing campaign of saturation patrols in high-crime hot spots is having an impact.

The effort, which includes uniformed deputies from the Niagara County Sheriff's Office, is wrapping up its first week. Falls Police Superintendent John Faso said officers and deputies have been 'getting guns off the streets."

"In the seven days since the start of the saturation patrol detail, the Niagara Falls Police Department and Niagara County Sheriff's Office have seized five illegal handguns leading to multiple arrests throughout the city," Faso said.

Faso and Sheriff Michael Filicetti said their joint efforts will continue in the coming weeks.

On Tuesday, officers said they spotted a grey Buick with dark-tinted windows and blue tinted headlights, just after 10 p.m., speeding down the 1900 block of 18th Street. As the officers followed the vehicle, they heard a call for a shooting in the 2100 block of North Avenue.

Police said they followed the car into the 1800 block alley between Linwood and Willow avenues, where it slowed down and a man, carrying a multi-colored child's backpack, jumped from the car and began running.

Officers caught up with the man, identified as Diamond W. Ubiles, 25, 1914 16th St., in the 1600 block of Willow Avenue, but he no longer had the backpack. Ubiles told the officers he never had a backpack, but was walking to the store and ran when he saw police.

After searching the area, officers and deputies found the backpack in a nearby yard. Inside were two semi-automatic handguns.

Ubiles was charged with two felony counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Officers later found that surveillance cameras had captured video that showed Ubiles leaving the vehicle in the alley with the backpack.

On Thursday, around 10:30 p.m., police responded to a tip of a man with a handgun walking down Pine Avenue. Narcotics & Intelligence Division detectives spotted a suspect, in the 3500 block of Pine Avenue, who matched the description of the man with a gun.

The suspect, identified as Wayne Anthony Tabb, 39, 1570 Buffalo Ave., told the detectives he was on parole. As the detectives searched Tabb, they said they felt handle of a handgun and attempted to handcuff him.

Tabb then pulled away from the detectives and tried to flee. He was "tackled" a short distance away, landing on his stomach.

When officers rolled Tabb over, they found a loaded 9 mm Ruger P95 pistol in the waistband of his pants. Tabb was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest.

"My administration is committed to the continued collaborative efforts to fight crime in the city of Niagara Falls," Mayor Robert Restaino said. "This saturation patrol initiative will continue throughout the summer months and will focus on the problem areas of the city."