CINCINNATUS, NY (607NewsNow) – Four people are facing dozens of charges in Cincinnatus.

On May 10, the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home on Dutch Hill Road in the Town of Cincinnatus to serve court paperwork and seize guns.

Deputies say Lenwill Bermester, Jr. struck one of them in the presence of a juvenile. The subsequent investigation determined that the 74-year-old unlawfully gave the weapons to three other people to prevent them from being confiscated.

On May 16, Neal Wood II, 43, Mandi Mentiply, 40, and Gareth Jehu, 30, were arrested. On May 18, Bermester was arrested. The weapons were unsafely stored, unsecured, and neither Wood nor Mentiply is permitted to possess firearms.

Bermester is charged with 118 misdemeanors; Wood with 95; Mentiply with 88; and Jehu with 30.

All four were released on appearance tickets and scheduled to return to Cincinnatus Town Court on June 17, at 7 p.m.

SUMMARY OF MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

Lenwill Bermester Jr.

  • endangering the welfare of a child
  • obstructing governmental administration
  • failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, & firearms (29 counts)
  • criminal possession of a weapon (29 counts)
  • criminal contempt (29 counts)
  • private sale/disposal of rifles, shotguns, & firearms (29 counts)

Neal Wood II

  • endangering the welfare of a child
  • failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, & firearms (29 counts)
  • criminal possession of a weapon (36 counts)
  • criminal purchase or disposal of a weapon (29 counts)

Mandi Mentiply

  • endangering the welfare of a child
  • failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, & firearms (29 counts)
  • criminal possession of a weapon (29 counts)
  • criminal purchase or disposal of a weapon (29 counts)

Gareth Jehu

  • endangering the welfare of a child
  • failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, & firearms (29 counts)