Buffalo man pleads guilty 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 pleaded guilty Tuesday morning before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case to one count of grand larceny in the second degree (class “C” felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest charge in the indictment against him.

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 and West Huron streets. 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 faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Monday, April 24, at 9:30 a.m. He was released on his own recognizance pending sentence.

The defendant also has another pending criminal case for allegedly burglarizing a downtown restaurant. It is alleged that, 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 is accused of breaking the lock of a storage cabinet, while unlawfully inside of the building, to steal bottles of alcohol. The defendant allegedly stole about 50 bottles of alcohol valued at approximately $2,000.

Abdikadir is scheduled to return on the burglary case before Buffalo City Court Judge Barbara Johnson-Lee, presiding judge of the Judicial Diversion Program, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 9:30 a.m. for further proceedings.

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

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

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.