Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announces that 20 year-old Jamal Young of Kay Street in the City Buffalo pleaded guilty as charged to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Unlawful Possession of Marijuana before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia.  These are the highest charges for which the defendant could have been convicted had he gone to trial.  In other words, Young did not receive a “plea bargain” and was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 

On March 8, 2014, Young was observed walking in the middle of East Delavan Avenue by Buffalo Police Strike Force Officers Mark Hamilton and Michael Acquino.  As the officers approached, Young pulled out a pistol but fled instead of opening fire. The officers pursued him and eventually apprehended Young after he slipped on the ice and fell into a snow bank. A loaded .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol was recovered from underneath his body. Shockingly, Young also possessed twenty (20) bags of marijuana. 

Young faces a minimum of 3½ years and a maximum of 15 years in state prison when he is sentenced before Justice Buscaglia on February 2, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. 

The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael D. Smith, who is assigned to DA Sedita’s Felony Trial Bureau.

DA Sedita stated: “This case once again demonstrates the dangers faced by police officers each and every day, as well as the good judgment and bravery they typically employ.”