Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that Michael A. Barnes, 37, of Buffalo, was sentenced this afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio. He received a determinate sentence of 20 years in prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.
On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at approximately 1:51 a.m., the defendant shot the victim multiple times with an illegal gun on the 3100 block of Main Street near Winspear Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The victim, 28-year-old Thomas Davis, died at the scene.
Barnes pleaded guilty to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge in full satisfaction of the indictment ahead of his scheduled jury trial in November 2024.
DA Keane commends Detectives Jerry Guilian, Erin McCarthy and Judith Walker of the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for their work on this case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Hilarie L. Henry of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney John G. Schoemick of the Major Crimes Bureau.
