Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 23-year-old Freddie Cortez has been sentenced by Erie County Court Judge Kenneth F. Case to an indeterminate sentence of 1 to 3 years in prison.

On August 1, 2017, at approximately 9 p.m., the defendant assaulted 39-year-old Jessica Garcia on Niagara Street in the City of Buffalo. The victim was punched in the head multiple times, which caused a ruptured artery. Garcia died two days later at the hospital.

On May 9, 2018, Cortez pleaded guilty to one count of Criminally Negligent Homicide. A co-defendant was also charged in the assault, but the case against her was dismissed.

DA Flynn commends the investigative work of Buffalo Police Homicide Detectives, including Detective Sgt. William Cooley, Det. John Garcia and Det. Antonio Borrelli.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Eugene T. Partridge III of the DA’s Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Katharine S. Lavin of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.