District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announces that 20 year-old Deverick Petty of 62 Isabelle Drive, Buffalo, New York, will be arraigned at 9:30 a.m. on July 28, 2014 before State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns on an indictment charging him with two counts of Assault in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Criminal Solicitation in the Fourth Degree.

It is alleged that on June 26, 2014, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Petty fired a .45 caliber revolver at a man who was outside the apartment building at 87 Mariner Street in the City of Buffalo, striking an innocent bystander standing outside of a bar located at the corner of Allen and Mariner. It is further alleged that Petty solicited a witness to lie should she testify before the Grand Jury.

While this matter was pending in Buffalo City Court, apparent associates of the defendant attempted to intimidate witnesses both inside and outside the courtroom. Associate Buffalo City Court Judge E. Jeanette Ogden reduced the original charges lodged against the defendant. The Grand Jury re-instituted those charges and added another.

If convicted of these crimes, Petty faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.

Like all defendants accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.