Buffalo man sentenced to probation for stealing fire truck

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office 

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced 26-year-old Yassin A. Abdikadir of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case to five years of probation.

On Thursday, July 14, 2022, at approximately 11:53 p.m., the defendant stole a Buffalo Fire Department Engine 1 truck while firefighters were responding to an emergency medical services call in the area of Main Street and West Huron Street. A few minutes after the vehicle was reported stolen, Buffalo Police responded to a report of an abandoned fire truck on Delaware Avenue and Allen Street. The defendant hit three parked vehicles while unlawfully operating fire truck on city streets, resulting in damage to all three vehicles. Shortly after abandoning the fire truck, the defendant was found by police nearby, hiding inside of a garbage tote.

Abdikadir pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny in the second degree (class “C” felony), the highest charge in the indictment against him, on Feb. 7, 2023.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to one count of attempted burglary in the third degree (class “E” felony) in a separate indictment. On Thursday, July 14, 2022, at approximately 2:29 a.m., the defendant unlawfully entered a restaurant on the 200 block of Ellicott Street in the City of Buffalo. The defendant broke a lock of a storage cabinet and stole about 50 bottles of alcohol valued at approximately $2,000.

Abdikadir pleaded guilty to the felony charge in full satisfaction of the indictment against him on Feb. 21, 2023. As part of the plea, the defendant was ordered to stay away from the restaurant. The matter was returned to Judicial Diversion Program before Buffalo City Court Judge Barbara Johnson-Lee for adjudication.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department for its work in these investigations.

Both cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Brown of the felony trials bureau.