Erie County DA: Judge finds defendant guilty of gun charge

Submitted by the Office of Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case has found 44-year-old Demario Baines of Buffalo guilty of one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (class “C” violent felony). Judge Case rendered his decision yesterday after a three-day, non-jury trial that occurred last week, convicting the defendant of the only charge in the indictment against him.

On Wednesday, June 2, 2021, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Buffalo Police Department officers on routine patrol attempted to initiate a traffic stop after witnessing a vehicle travel at a high-rate of speed northbound on Fillmore Avenue then eastbound on Kensington Avenue with no headlights on. The defendant, who was the driver of the vehicle, refused to stop after police turned on their lights and sirens. The officers saw an object thrown out of the vehicle as it slowed down on Kensington Avenue. The police also slowed the patrol vehicle and saw a clear plastic bag, containing what appeared to be a handgun, on the ground.

As officers continued to follow, additional responding police officers attempted to block the suspect’s vehicle on Olympic Avenue and Berwyn Avenue. While the vehicle was momentarily stopped, officers saw that the defendant was the sole occupant. The defendant evaded the stop and fled the area. He was arrested approximately an hour later in the same vehicle.

Officers recovered the plastic bag on the 400 block of Kensington Avenue, which contained a loaded pistol. The gun was submitted into evidence for forensic testing. The operable handgun was linked to the defendant through DNA analysis.

Baines faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, April 6, at 9:30 a.m. The defendant was held without bail.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department for its work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andres D. Ortiz of the special victims/domestic violence bureau and Assistant District Attorney Anthony F. Perna of the felony trials bureau.