FELONY ARREST IN THE TOWN OF LIVONIA AND YORK

LIVONIA/YORK - Sheriff Thomas J. Dougherty reports the arrest of a Livonia resident on felony and misdemeanor charges following an investigation by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.

On August 3^rd, 2026 at approximately 4:13 pm, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a residence on Livonia Center Road in the Town of Livonia for the reported physical domestic incident. Upon arrival, Deputies met with the victim who advised that she had been in an argument with 44-year-old Steven Gillis and during the argument he had struck the female multiple times.  Gillis had left the scene prior to Deputies arriving.  It was also discovered that there is a current Order of Protection in place, protecting the Victim from Gillis.

Gillis was later located in the Town of York.  During the initial encounter with Gillis, Deputies believed that he was possibly under the influence of drugs.  Deputy Caleb Nellis, of the Sheriff’s Office STOP DWI Unit responded and conducted a DWI investigation.  At the conclusion of the investigation, Gillis was taken into custody for DWAI Drugs.   

Gillis was then transported to the Sheriff’s Office Sandpoint Sub-Station in Lakeville where he was offered an evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert.  Officer Evan Bruckel of the Irondequoit Police Department, a Certified Drug Recognition Expert did complete the evaluation, and at the conclusion it was Officer Bruckel’s expert opinion that Gillis was under the influence of a Narcotic Analgesic and a CNS Stimulant, making him unable to operate a vehicle safely. 

A records check revealed that Gillis had two previous convictions for DWAI in 2023 and 2026, making this arrest a felony.

Gillis was ultimately charged with felony Criminal Contempt in the First Degree, felony Aggravated Family Offense, felony Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and violation Harassment in the Second Degree.

Gillis was transported and turned over to Central Booking Deputies at the Livingston County Jail for arrest processing and pre-arraignment detention.  He was later arraigned at the Livingston County Centralized Arraignment Part (LC-CAP) at the Livingston County Jail before Town of Lima Justice Huff.  The District Attorney’s Office recommended that Gillis be held on $2,000 cash or $6,000 bond.  The Judge did remand Gillis to the custody of the Sheriff on $1,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond.The Livingston County Public Defender’s Office was present and represented Gillis at the court arraignment for his defense. The Livingston County District Attorney’s Office also appeared to represent the People.

The arrests were handled by Deputies Alyssa Cornelius and Caleb Nellis.  Assisting with the investigation were members of the Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division.