Indictment expected for Falls community activist and mayoral candidate

Mar. 29—A Falls community activist and mayoral candidate is expected to be arraigned later today on a criminal indictment stemming from a January incident in the city.

Demetreus Nix is scheduled to be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. in front of Niagara County Court Judge John Ottaviano on what are believed to be counts of burglary, criminal mischief and grand larceny. The charges stem from a reported break-in at a home in the 1100 block of Pierce Avenue on Jan. 16.

Nix has also been linked to a burglary at an apartment building in the 500 block of 20th Street, under the control of the same owners as the Pierce Avenue property.

Neither Nix nor his defense attorney, Rodney Giove, could be immediately reached for comment on the pending indictment.

Nix was arrested by Falls police on a criminal complaint days after the two January burglaries. He was charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal mischief and fourth-degree grand larceny in connection with a break-in at 1117 Pierce Ave., that resulted in an estimated $30,000 in damages to the property and the alleged theft of $1,500 in construction equipment.

The property was being renovated by Rod Davis, a Western New York developer, whose firm, Power City Ventures, LLC, had been designated by the city as the preferred developer for a housing renovation project that was eligible for up to $1 million in reimbursable grant funds through the state's Restore New York program. Davis has since withdrawn from the renovation project.

Nix has claimed that Davis owed him $13,000 for work his construction company performed at Power City-controlled properties in the Falls. Specifically, Nix claimed that he was owed money for work done at a property owned by a David-controlled subsidiary known as Akeed, Incorporated.

A police report on the burglary at 1117 Pierce Ave., listed the property as owned by Akeed Incorporated.

In an interview with the Gazette, Nix has admitted that he has been inside the Pierce Avenue property. But he has insisted that he was only there to do renovation and repair work for Davis.

He denies committing the burglary.

"Of course my fingerprints are over there," Nix told the Gazette. "I did all the work on that house."

Sources with knowledge of the burglary investigation have told the Gazette that evidence linking Nix to the crime includes security camera video in addition to fingerprints and other forensic evidence. Nix has been free on his own recognizance since his original arrest on the the charges.

Nix, who served nine years in prison following his guilty plea to a manslaughter charge as a teenager, announced earlier this month that he would be a candidate for mayor in the June Democratic primary election. He is the owner of Nix Construction and Property Management and the founder of the Entrepreneur School of Thought on 19th Street.

Incumbent Mayor Robert Restaino and former Falls City Councilman Glenn Choolokian have also declared their candidacies for the Democratic primary. Restaino has the endorsement of the Falls Democratic Committee.

The indictment could complicate Nix's campaign plans. A section of the City Charter bars elected city officials from holding office if they have been convicted of a crime involving "moral turpitude."