Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that a 16-year-old male pleaded guilty this afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan, a designated Youth Part judge, to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony). The juvenile offender pleaded guilty to the only charge in the indictment against him.

On Thursday, December 16, 2021, at approximately 11:00 a.m., police responded to Bennett Community School Campus on Main Street in the City of Buffalo to investigate the report of a gun inside of the school. The school issued a shelter-in-place as police conducted a search of the building. Buffalo Police officers found a loaded, illegal pistol inside of the juvenile’s backpack.

The juvenile offender, who now lives in the City of Rochester, is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, January 6, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. He continues to remain released on $25,000 bail posted after his initial arraignment in Youth Part.

If adjudicated as a youthful offender, the maximum sentence is an indeterminate period of incarceration between 1 1/3 to 4 years.

“While I am thankful that no one was injured during this incident, this teenager committed one of the most concerning and serious offenses - bringing a loaded handgun into school. Anyone who commits or threatens to commit a crime at any school in Erie County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.

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

The case was prosecuted by Chief Danielle N. D’Abate of the Training and Community Prosecution Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Joelle M. Marino and Assistant District Attorney Ryan M. Flaherty of the Felony Trials Bureau.