Teen sentenced for bringing 'ghost gun' inside Academy School #131

Submitted by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced a 17-year-old male from Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Youth Part Judge Brenda Freedman to a split sentence of six months in jail followed by three years of probation. The adolescent offender was adjudicated as a youthful offender.

On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at approximately 11:20 a.m., the adolescent offender, a student at Academy School #131, entered the school building on St. Lawrence Avenue in the City of Buffalo. As the adolescent offender walked through the weapon detection system, a school security officer found a disassembled handgun while searching his backpack. The adolescent offender fled after the weapon was confiscated. The school issued a brief lockdown and notified police. The illegal handgun, considered a “ghost gun,” was submitted into evidence by the Buffalo Police Department.

The adolescent offender pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (class “C” violent felony), the highest count in the indictment against him, on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

The adolescent offender also pleaded guilty to one count of attempted assault in the second degree (class “E” felony) for another crime he committed while incarcerated at the Erie County Youth Services Center. On June 21, 2023, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the adolescent offender hit and kicked another incarcerated individual. The victim was taken to ECMC by ambulance where he was treated for injuries to his face.

“While I am thankful that no one was injured during this incident, this teenager is accused of committing one of the most concerning and serious offenses – bringing a loaded handgun into school,” Flynn said. “Anyone who commits or threatens to commit a crime at any school in Erie County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Flynn commends the Buffalo Public School security officer and Det. Mike Laun and Det. Sgt. John Losi of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.

Both cases were prosecuted by Chief Danielle N. D’Abate of the “Raise the Age” unit.