Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a jury has found 23-year-old Michael A. Atkinson of Town of Tonawanda guilty of one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony). The defendant was found not guilty of a second charge of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony). Jurors rendered their decision this morning after 3.5 hours of deliberation following a 4-day trial.
On April 20, 2022, at approximately 1:20 a.m., the defendant shot and stabbed another man during a fight on James Avenue near River Road in the Town of Tonawanda. The victim, 19-year-old Harith Mohamed Al-Khalaf, died from his injuries nearby a short time later. The defendant was taken in a private vehicle to Kenmore Mercy where he was treated for minor stab wounds.
Atkinson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes on December 6, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. The defendant remains released on bail.
DA Flynn commends the Town of Tonawanda Police Department for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan D. Haggerty of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Andrew Criado of the Felony Trials Bureau.
