Buffalo man to serve prison sentence after search warrant uncovers illegal guns

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced 30-year-old Joshua Gotthart of Buffalo was sentenced this afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case to 3½ years in prison followed by 2½ years of post-release supervision.

The defendant was the subject of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department intelligence unit. On Thursday, April 28, 2022, at approximately 8:54 a.m., police watched the defendant drive away from his residence on Wright Avenue in the City of Buffalo. Investigators initiated a traffic stop nearby to execute a search warrant where the defendant, who was wearing a bullet-resistant body vest, was taken into custody without incident. An illegal, loaded handgun, considered a “ghost gun,” was recovered from a holster on the defendant’s right hip.

Buffalo Police intelligence unit detectives executed the search warrant at the defendant’s residence where they found three unregistered handguns in a bedroom. Investigators also found several long rifles, shotguns magazines, gun-making tools and a large amount of ammunition in various locations inside of his home.

Gotthart pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (class “C” violent felony), the highest sustainable charge in the indictment against him, on Jan. 5, 2023.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Timothy J. Garvin of the narcotics/intelligence unit.