BUFFALO, NY – Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced today that Damien A. Morris, 38, of Buffalo, was sentenced to 5 years in prison followed by 2½ years of post-release supervision by Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan. Morris was found guilty of Assault in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony) on December 2, 2022.
On February 13, 2022, Morris confronted a 49-year-old homeless man in a parking lot on Tonawanda Street in Buffalo, suspecting the victim was breaking into vehicles. During the encounter, Morris shot the victim once with his legally-owned handgun. The victim was not armed during the incident and was taken by ambulance to ECMC, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to his left leg. The victim spent two weeks in the hospital and underwent surgery for a fractured femur.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Rebecca L. Schnirel of the Homicide Unit and Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Comfort of the Felony Trials Bureau.