Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 18-year-old Tyshawn D. Dennis of Buffalo was sentenced yesterday morning before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to a determinate sentence of two years in jail.

The defendant pleaded guilty to various charges in five separate criminal cases on February 23, 2021. At his sentencing, Judge Bargnesi denied youthful offender status, which would have sealed the defendant’s criminal record.  

On July 8, 2019, at approximately 4:30 a.m., the defendant stole a vehicle from an address on Summit Avenue in the City of Buffalo after finding the keys inside the unlocked vehicle. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree (Class “D” felony).

On June 2, 2020, at approximately 12:13 a.m., the defendant unlawfully entered a liquor store on Harlem Road in the Town of Cheektowaga by smashing the front door with an object and stole multiple bottles of alcohol. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Burglary in the Third Degree (Class “D” felony).

On July 1, 2020, at approximately 7:47 p.m., the defendant stole a minivan from an address on William Street in the City of Buffalo. Two days later, an officer on routine patrol saw the defendant driving the stolen vehicle on Bailey Avenue and initiated a traffic stop. The defendant refused to stop and attempted to flee from police, but was eventually located with the stolen vehicle on Fernhill Avenue. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (Class “E” felony).

On October 6, 2020, the defendant arranged a meeting with an individual who was selling an iPhone. The defendant and the victim met in a parking lot outside of a coffee shop on Main Street near North Forest Road in the Town of Amherst at approximately 12:45 p.m. The defendant grabbed the iPhone from the victim’s hand and ran from the scene. The victim called police who located the defendant, who had the stolen phone in his possession, a short distance away. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Petit Larceny (Class “A” misdemeanor).

On October 10, 2020, at approximately 10:33 a.m., the defendant stole a SUV from an address on Slate Creek Drive in the Town of Cheektowaga. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree (Class “D” felony).

DA Flynn commends the Amherst Police Department, the Buffalo Police Department and the Cheektowaga Police Department for their work in these investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Louis Mussari of the DA’s Felony Trials Bureau.