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The noon crowd at the New York State Fair on Saturday Aug. 31.

(Mike Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)

Geddes, NY -- There's a bit of everything at the state fair, and that goes for the criminals, too.

Consider these arrests recorded in Geddes Town Court:

• A Midway worker from Florida who crashed her van into Gate 10 after drinking Southern Comfort, then told troopers she's "a drunken pothead." She must pay the state $3,700 for the broken gate.

• An intoxicated Fort Drum soldier who allegedly punched a trooper, then offered a fake Wisconsin driver's license as ID.

• A Solvay woman charged after she shouted obscenities at Kiddyland, then kicked a trooper who arrested her.

• A trash collector who reportedly pulled a knife on a co-worker, then was charged for possessing synthetic drugs, or "bath salts."

Overall, state police recorded 56 arrests and traffic violations during the 12-day extravaganza. That's down from 69 in 2012, but far more than the 35 cases in 2011, according to Geddes court records.

Those included two serious cases: a Massena man, Patrick J. Oneill, 66, who left his dog to die in a car Sept. 2 and a Syracuse man, Robert W. Senska, 19, charged with forcibly touching a woman in the groin Aug. 31 on the Midway.

Town court personnel brace for the workload, which makes for long nights: there are more than 200 cases scheduled for an upcoming court session.

"We hope that the cases from this year's fair are closed before the cases from next year's fair, but it doesn't usually happen that way," said Barbara Lenweaver, a court clerk almost 11 years. About a half-dozen cases remain open from 2012, mostly drunken driving arrests and those requiring restitution.

Lenweaver has folders in three colors: red for drunken drivers, yellow for traffic infractions and green for all other crimes.

Of this year's arrests, there were five felonies and 10 drunken driving cases. Of the felonies, two were for passing fake $100 bills, one was for possessing cocaine and one for punching a trooper. The fifth was a felony charged to a serial bad driver.

The Fort Drum soldier, Jesse Roberts, 20, was charged Aug. 25 with felony assault after punching a trooper -- cutting his lip and loosening a tooth -- in a grassy area near Interstate 690, troopers said. He also faces misdemeanor resisting arrest and possession of a forged instrument after troopers said he offered a fake Wisconsin ID.

The man charged with possessing cocaine Aug. 30 was caught after selling 91 packs of illegal cigarettes and 15 grams of marijuana out his trunk near the Infield Restaurant, troopers said. James T. Scherer Jr., 66, of Amherst, Erie County, said he was in debt and sold to fair workers, not strangers.

Most of the suspects were drunk at the time.

The Midway worker who crashed into a gate, Jennifer Hicks, 30, of Florida, admitted to drinking and more. Her blood-alcohol content Aug. 27 was twice the legal limit.

"I drink Southern Comfort. I am a drunken pothead," Hicks told troopers in a written statement. "I got a DWI three nights ago. I drank at Florida-Georgia line. I didn't hit (anything), well I don't remember hitting (anything). I have some pot, I just smoked a joint. I am on my way back from dropping off employees at Western Ranch Motel, I think, I am not sure. I am going back to my bunk house."

Not so fast. Hicks spent eight days at the Onondaga County Justice Center jail before pleading guilty to drunken driving. She was allowed to catch the train out of town with the other Midway workers.

A Solvay woman, Denise Grimes, 54, started shouting obscenities Aug. 28 for no apparent reason at the Midway's Kiddyland, troopers said. She made things worse by allegedly kicking a trooper who came to charge her with disorderly conduct, and now faces resisting arrest and harassment, as well.

Another man, Nathan Johnson, 21, of North Syracuse, was so drunk and belligerent troopers said he broke two pairs of handcuffs after being taken to the state police barracks. That added two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief to his disorderly conduct charge.

There were also smaller incidents, including numerous drunken fights. One woman punched another after refusing to sit down at the Luke Bryan concert at the Grandstand.

But not everyone was intoxicated. A garbage collector, James Moore, 38, of Syracuse, got into an argument with another worker and allegedly pulled a knife. The man ran away. When troopers arrived, they charged Moore after finding he possessed synthetic drugs, or "bath salts." Moore was not charged in the knife incident after the other worker declined to press charges.

The trooper's report described Moore's condition as "apparently normal."