Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a 16-year-old male from Rochester was sentenced on Friday afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan, a designated Youth Part judge, to 5 years of probation. He was adjudicated as a youthful offender over the objection of prosecutors.
On Thursday, December 16, 2021, at approximately 11:00 a.m., police responded to Bennett Community School Campus on Main Street in the City of Buffalo to investigate the report of a gun inside of the school. The school issued a shelter-in-place as police conducted a search of the building. Buffalo Police officers found a loaded, illegal pistol inside of a backpack.
The juvenile offender, who was 15-years-old and resided in Buffalo at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony). He pleaded guilty to the only charge in the indictment against him on October 28, 2022.
Judge Eagan issued final orders of protection on behalf of the three witnesses.
“While I am thankful that no one was injured during this incident, this teenager committed one of the most concerning and serious offenses – bringing a loaded handgun into school. Anyone who commits or threatens to commit a crime at any school in Erie County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department for their work in the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Danielle N. D’Abate, Special Assistant to District Attorney/Community Prosecution Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Joelle M. Marino and Assistant District Attorney Ryan M. Flaherty of the Felony Trials Bureau.
