Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 37-year-old Derrick C. Warburton, II of Cheektowaga was sentenced last Thursday afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes to four years of probation.

On April 23, 2019, at approximately 10:00 p.m., the defendant, while working as a behavior support technician at a residential facility in the City of Lackawanna, was providing care to a juvenile resident with autism when he knowingly acted in a matter likely to be injurious to the physical welfare of the victim. While attempting to calm and dress the victim, who was in an aggressive state, the defendant intentionally hit and kicked the victim. Another caregiver witnessed the incident.

Judge Maxwell Barnes found Warburton guilty of one count of Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent/Physically Disabled Person in the First Degree (Class “E” felony), convicting the defendant of the only count in the indictment against him following a one-day bench trial on January 7, 2022. 

An order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim, which remains in effect until 2027.

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

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Garvey of the Felony Trials Bureau.