Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III announced that 53 year old Carl Graves of 30 Plymouth Avenue, Buffalo, pleaded guilty, as charged, to an indictment charging him with one count of Robbery in the Second Degree before Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller.  This was the highest charge for which defendant could have been convicted had he gone to trial.

Graves admitted that on August 12, 2012, while at a McDonalds on the West Side of Buffalo, he took approximately $120 from the twenty-one year old victim and did so while his eighteen year-old accomplice displayed what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun and threatened to shoot the victim.  Although Graves and the accomplice fled the scene, the cooperation of the victim, an eyewitness and the diligent efforts of the Buffalo Police led to the capture of each suspect within three days of the crime. 

Graves faces up to 7 – 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 10, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. before Hon. M. William Boller.  The case was successfully prosecuted by ADA Christopher Gresham and ADA Danielle Smith.

Co-defendant, Charles Clarke, III, pleaded guilty to Attempted Burglary in the Second Degree for his role in the robbery. He may receive Youthful Offender Adjudication when sentenced before Justice Boller on April 3, 2013.