Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announces that an Erie County Grand Jury has returned an indictment charging 17 year-old Floyd Johnson with Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, in connection with the June 6, 2015 fatal shooting of 20 year-old Deon’Dra Lamar Smith in a public park on Sherman St. in the City of Buffalo.

At the time of this homicide, Johnson was residing in a non-secure residential treatment center for juvenile delinquents. Johnson was placed there in connection with an unrelated felony that, if committed by an adult, would have resulted in prosecution in an adult criminal court and the opportunity for incarceration or secure supervision. It is alleged that while in the midst of an unsupervised weekend visit to his home in the City of Buffalo, Johnson shot Smith to death.

DA Sedita observed: “Under the so-called ‘raise the age’ initiative, many 16 and 17 year-old offenders would be transferred from secure facilities to non-secure facilities like group homes and residential treatment centers. If the allegations contained in the indictment are proven to be true, this case confirms the grave threat such a proposal poses to the safety of the public.”

If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum term of 25 years-to-life in state prison. Like any citizen accused of committing a crime, Johnson is presumed innocent until his guilt is proven in a court of law.