April 01, 2014
Youngtstown man sentenced to prison for attack on West Seneca 74 year old
A 31-year-old thief last year forced his way into a 74-year-old woman’s home in West Seneca and tried to terrorize her, while demanding her ATM card and PIN number. Jason Kester thought he was going to force Delia Rollek to accompany him to an ATM, where he planned to withdraw money so he could buy prescription painkillers to support his addiction. But he picked the wrong person: Rollek fought back. “I defended myself the best I could,†Rollek said Monday, after watching Erie County Judge Michael L. D’Amico sentence Kester to 13 years in prison, two years short of the maximum. “All I could do was kick him in his private parts,†she added, noting she was bound and lying on the ground at the time . She is 5 foot 3; Kester is 6 foot 1. When Rollek’s daughter arrived to pick up her mother for a trip to the movies that day, Kester ran away. “She was wrapped in duct tape,†recalled Theresa Schiavnoni, who accompanied her mother to Wednesday’s sentencing. She said her mother’s wrists, upper body and mouth were all taped tightly. Rollek was treated at the hospital for tape burns and cuts and was released. “Everybody tells me how tough I was that day,†Rollek said. “But the only thing I did was defend myself.†She urged people to defend themselves if they are attacked, especially the elderly. “We’re older,†she said. “We think no one is going to bother us, but what happened to me shows that’s not true.†“If I can survive, they can survive,†she added. Rollek recalled another battle 11 years ago, when she was hit and dragged under a car while riding her bicycle on Southwestern Boulevard. “The doctors wanted to cut off my leg,†she said. “But I told them no. I wanted to dance again.†The accident happened in June, and she was in a wheelchair afterwards. “But by November, I was dancing again,†she said. Rollek said she felt sorry for Kester and for herself. But she said she was satisfied with the sentence. Kester, 31, pleaded guilty Jan. 31 to second-degree burglary in the Dec. 15 home invasion. He was arrested Dec. 21 by West Seneca police after they executed a search warrant at his home on Porter Center Road in Youngstown. At the time of the attack, he was on probation for a March 2012 conviction for attempted second-degree robbery. He faces sentencing for violating that probation, and the sentence will run consecutive to his 13-year prison term. At the sentencing, Kester apologized to the victim and her family “for violating the security of her home that day.†He said his addiction to painkillers had brought him to that point that day. While acknowledging the apology, D’Amico told Kester he was not sure that the victim and her family were satisfied with the apology in light of what they went through that day. email: jstaas@buffnews.com
