Buffalo man pleads guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing victim on city's west side

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced 32-year-old Anthony Reynolds of Buffalo pleaded guilty this morning before Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek to one count of manslaughter in the first degree (class “B” violent felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest count in the indictment against him.

On Thursday, April 6, 2023, at approximately 5:52 p.m., the defendant stabbed the victim once in the torso. The crime occurred inside of a building on West Utica Street between Linwood Avenue and Main Street in the City of Buffalo. The victim, 26-year-old Marquese Smith, died at the scene.

Reynolds faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. He continues to be held without bail.

DA Flynn commends Det. Erin McCarthy of the Buffalo Police Department for her work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Chief Justin T. Wallens of the felony trials bureau and former Assistant District Attorney Stephen C. Earnhart.