P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky
A man is led away from 84 Victoria Ave., Jamestown, as a standoff at the address concluded Tuesday. Jensen Vazquez, 38, was charged after the hours-long standoff.
City police announced Wednesday that Jensen Vazquez, 38, and Kylah Seiberg, 29, both of Jamestown, were charged after an attempt to charge the pair as the result of a weeks-old shooting investigation turned into a drug trafficking investigation as well. The address – 84 Victoria Ave., Jamestown, is also the site of an Aug. 17 shooting.
At 12:42 p.m. Tuesday, Jamestown police officers were dispatched to 84 Victoria Ave., for a reported burglary in progress. Officers were told there were unknown individuals inside one of the apartments.
The house is the same location of an Aug. 17 shooting that resulted in a man being shot and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police updated the man’s condition Wednesday, saying he is expected to survive.
As part of that investigation, officers executed a search warrant in the upper apartment at 84 Victoria Ave. and a vehicle associated with one of the apartment’s occupants. While searching, detectives reported finding 111.9 grams of methamphetamine, 23.3 grams of cocaine powder, 9.4 grams of crack cocaine, 66.5 grams of fentanyl and a 9mm pistol. There were no charges at the time the search warrant was executed because the occupants of the apartment, identified by police as Kylah Seiberg and Jensen Vazquez, had fled the scene.
Jensen Vazquez
As the investigation into the burglary continued, it was determined Seiberg and Vazquez had returned to the residence, now nearly two weeks later. Seiberg was taken into custody fairly quickly by patrol, but Vazquez refused to exit the residence. It was reported that Vazquez had armed himself with a firearm and a portion of the residence was barricaded off, making it difficult to enter the home. The Jamestown Police Department SWAT Team was requested to the scene to assist in the apprehension of Vazquez due to the fact that he currently has a warrant for his arrest out of the United States District Court of Western New York for violating his federal probation. The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office also responded with their SWAT Team to assist. After several hours and the deployment of chemical munitions in an attempt to get Vazquez to surrender peacefully, he continued to refuse to exit the residence. The Jamestown SWAT Team ultimately made entry into the residence after a search warrant was issued by Jamestown City Court Judge John LaMancuso. Police report Vazquez was located hiding under insulation and floorboards of the attic by SWAT personnel and taken into custody without further incident. As he was leaving the scene, Vazquez gave several obscenities to bystanders watching him walk in handcuffs under police escort. Another search of the residence was completed which revealed 65.3 grams of fentanyl in the same area as where Vazquez was found by police.
Vazquez was taken to the city jail and held until he could be arraigned on charges of five counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia and and second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Seiberg was also taken into custody, but only charged with what was found in the search warrant from Aug. 17, 2024. She is being held in the Jamestown City Jail pending her arraignment on charges of second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
The investigation into the shooting incident and assault from Aug. 17. Any tips can be called in to the Jamestown Police Department at 716-483-7537 or the anonymous tip line at 716-483-8477.
The Jamestown Police Department has been assisted by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, Chautauqua County Emergency Services and Tactical Medics, Jamestown Fire Department, New York State Police and the Chautauqua County Forensic Investigation Team throughout this investigation.
VAZQUEZ PREVIOUS STANDOFF AND ESCAPE CHARGES
Kylah Seiberg
Vazquez was also involved in a standoff in March 2023 after city police learned of Vazquez’ whereabouts after the city man was found to be wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service on a federal probation warrant.
Officers set up a perimeter at the residence and learned that Vasquez was in a bedroom and “could be armed with a gun.” After more than six hours altogether, Vasquez and a 25-year-old Jamestown woman came out of the house and were charged. An investigation found that Vasquez was allegedly in possession of a rifle. Vazquez was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree obstructing governmental administration.
In July 2021, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Vasquez with escape from custody. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. According to the indictment, Vasquez was sentenced in 2018 to five years in prison after his conviction on a federal narcotics charge. On April 28, 2021, Vazquez escaped from the Community Resources for Justice, Lighthouse Buffalo Residential Reentry Center. The U.S. Marshals Service took Vasquez back into custody on May 21, 2021.
DRUG CHARGES EARLIER THIS YEAR
Seiberg was charged in February after a narcotics investigation in the area of Falconer and Grant streets in Jamestown after the Jamestown Police Department’s K-9 Unit and Violence Interdiction Unit conducted a traffic stop for observed infractions. During the course of the investigation it was determined that the occupants of the vehicle, one of them allegedly being Seiberg, was in possession of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, a quantity of currency and a throwing star.
SWAT vehicles are pictured outside a home at 84 Victoria Ave., Jamestown, on Tuesday.
Officers also determined that Seiberg has previously been convicted of a crime causing her to be charged with a felony count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Seiberg was additionally charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Seiberg was also charged in 2019 after allegedly being involved in an incident in which another person was stabbed in the face in Sinclairville. The victim stated that two people had broken into her home and stabbed her in the face before fleeing in a vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over a short time later by the New York State Police on Route 60 in Ellicott. Seiberg was charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and third-degree criminal mischief.
In October 2018, Seiberg was allegedly found with 5.1 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 2.7 grams of marijuana following a traffic stop on South Main Street in Jamestown. She was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. Officers also found more than an ounce of crystal methamphetamine and $4,000 in cash during a search of the vehicle.