BUFFALO, NY – A 25-year-old car mechanic who shot one of his customers in the back after an argument over a vehicle repair is heading to prison for 23 years.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office issued the following statement on the sentencing today:
Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 25-year-old Blake M. Banks of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to a determinate sentence of 23 years in prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision.
On July 20, 2021, at approximately 1:00 p.m., the defendant and the victim, an auto mechanic, were involved in an argument over a vehicle repair. The victim, who was unarmed, was walking away when the defendant shot him in the back and the left foot on Broadway near Bennett Street in the City of Buffalo.
The victim, 40-year-old Jason Johnson, attempted to escape the attack by driving off in his vehicle, but crashed nearby moments later. He was taken by ambulance to ECMC where he died from his injuries.
Banks, a former Buffalo firefighter who was off-duty at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony) on May 6, 2022.
x