Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a bail motion hearing was held this morning in the case of the People v. Jonathon E. White.

It is alleged that on December 17, 2018, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the defendant lured his former girlfriend to a secluded area outside a Tim Hortons restaurant on Niagara Street in the City of Tonawanda. The defendant is accused of dousing the victim with an accelerant and setting her on fire.

The victim suffered extensive burns to her face, head, and hands. She has undergone multiple surgeries and remains hospitalized in the recovery unit at ECMC.

White was indicted by a grand jury. He was arraigned on one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Assault in the First Degree, both Class “B” felonies, on January 3, 2019.

The defense attorney filed a motion to modify bail for the defendant. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office opposed the motion in writing.

The motion hearing was held today before State Supreme Court Justice Mark A. Montour where the District Attorney’s Office asked the judge to deny the defendant’s bail application.

Judge Montour denied the defense’s motion. The defendant remains remanded in the custody of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office without bail.

This case is scheduled to return for a pre-trial hearing on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 2 p.m.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan Haggerty of the DA’s Tactical Prosecution Unit and Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Schnirel of the DA’s Domestic Violence Bureau.