Niagara County: Guilty verdict for man who committed series of violent felonies

Submitted by the Niagara County District Attorney's Office

Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced Monday that a Niagara County jury returned a guilty verdict against Curtis Griggs, age 38, of Niagara Falls.

Griggs was found guilty of a series of violent felonies committed in 2022 in the Falls. He was convicted of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting two individuals with a high-powered rifle on April 4, 2022. He was also convicted of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting another individual during a separate incident on July 9, 2022. Additionally, Griggs was convicted of assaulting a woman on June 25, 2022, although he was acquitted of sexually assaulting the woman.

Seaman stated, “This defendant committed one of the most violent crime sprees in this county in recent memory. He gunned down multiple people in the street, nearly killing two individuals. The defendant was unsuccessful in killing his intended targets, wholly due to the work of our first responders and emergency room professionals, but they have suffered severe, life-altering injuries. It is a wonder that nobody died. My office plans to petition the court to treat this defendant as a persistent felony offender and impose a life sentence.”

Griggs faces as much as 90 years to life in prison when he returns to court to be sentenced by County Court Judge Caroline Wojtaszek in May.

The case was investigated by the Niagara Falls Police Department and prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffmann and Assistant District Attorney Carrington Crossley.