Niagara County: Guilty verdict in murder case

Submitted by the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office

Niagara County District Attorney Brian D. Seaman announced a Niagara County jury returned a guilty verdict in the murder case against Shaquan Gibson, age 49, of Niagara Falls this morning.

Gibson was found guilty of murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree for the slaying of 24-year-old Cyjear Betton and shooting of another individual in Niagara Falls on May 2, 2022.

Seaman stated, “This was a cold-blooded killing. The defendant hunted the victims down on Pine Avenue, shooting them with a handgun in broad daylight. This verdict will ensure that this extremely dangerous individual is off the streets of Niagara Falls for good.”

The case was investigated by the Niagara Falls Police Department with Det. Daniel Haney leading and prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffmann and Grand Jury Bureau Chief Maria Stoelting. Gibson faces as much as 65 years to life in prison when he returns to court to be sentenced by County Court Judge Caroline Wojtaszek on Jan. 3, 2024.