Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a jury has found 41-year-old Carlos Cherry of Reston, V.A. guilty, as charged, of one count of Assault in the Second Degree (Class “D” felony) and one count of Assault in the Third Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor). The jury rendered their decision yesterday afternoon after four hours of deliberation following a nearly two-day trial.

On March 2, 2020, at approximately 4:00 p.m., the defendant attempted to purchase beer at a convenience store located on William Street near Michigan Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The defendant did not have enough money for the purchase, and the clerk refused to sell him the beer. As the defendant turned to exit the store, he punched a female bystander the face. The attack caused the victim to fall to the ground. In addition to suffering pain and swelling to her face, the victim lost a tooth due to the assault.

Moments later the attack, the defendant approached a 14-year-old boy who had exited a bus on Michigan Avenue at William Street on his way home from school. The defendant punched the teenage victim in the face, fracturing his jaw in two places. The victim underwent required surgery, which required the placement of permanent hardware in his jaw to fix the damage caused by the assault.

Cherry faces a maximum of 7 years in prison when he is sentenced by Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case on Monday, August 30, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Judge Case remanded the defendant pending sentence.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James M. Marra of the Felony Trials Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Brown of the Justice Courts Bureau.