Buffalo man pleads guilty in 2 separate cases for burglarizing west side home and assaulting firefighters

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced 43-year-old Titus D. Smith of Buffalo pleaded guilty on Friday afternoon before Acting Erie County Court Judge Jaharr S. Pridgen to felony charges in two separate indictments.

On Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at approximately 3:09 p.m., the defendant, while acting in concert with another individual, unlawfully entered a lower apartment on the 200 block of Auburn Avenue in the City of Buffalo with the intent to commit a burglary. A neighbor called 911 after hearing a noise when the defendant pushed out an air conditioner in order to climb through a window. The defendant was found in possession of two bags that contained the victim’s personal property.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of attempted burglary in the second degree (class “D” felony) in full satisfaction of the indictment against him. The case against his co-defendant remains pending.

On Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, at approximately 8 a.m., members of the Buffalo Fire Department responded to a residence on the 300 block of 14th Street for a report of a person in need of medical assistance. The defendant caused physical injuries to responding firefighters as they attempted to render medical aid to him. The defendant slashed a firefighter with a piece of broken glass, causing a laceration to his head. During the struggle, the defendant hit a second firefighter with the top lid of a toilet and punched a third firefighter in the right eye before he was subdued and taken by ambulance to ECMC for evaluation. All three firefighters were treated for various injuries at ECMC.

The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of assault in the second degree (class “D” felony), the highest sustainable charge, in full satisfaction of the indictment against him.

Smith faces 12 years to life in prison when he is sentenced as a persistent violent felony offender on Friday, June 7. He remains held without bail.

Keane commends the Buffalo Police Department and Buffalo Fire Department for their work in these investigations.

The cases were prosecuted by assistant district attorneys Christine M. Garvey and Megan E. Mahoney of the felony trials bureau.