BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Despite a guilty plea, the 7 News I-Team has discovered Antonio D. Brown, the driver of the Maserati in that deadly South Buffalo crash, is now setting in motion an appeal to that conviction.
But that's not the end of Brown's legal fight.
Despite admitting guilt and tearfully taking responsibility for a deadly 2019 crash, in South Buffalo, Antonio D. Brown wants another day in court. He and his attorney have filed a Notice of Appeal in State Supreme Court in Erie County.
Retired State Supreme Court Justice Penny Wolfgang said, "even though he did waive the right to appeal, very often, it's like buyers remorse. After the person pleads guilty, they just have second thoughts about it."
Wolfgang says this kind of filing is not something out of the ordinary.
"Most of the time when a person is appealing after they did plea, I would say the majority of cases are not successful," Wolfgang said.
Brown was sent to prison for up to nine years, for killing Kristin LoBruno and Anthony Twentyfive III, while he was drunk driving his Maserati on Seneca Street and Pomona Place.
Brown was speeding at the time of the crash.
A civil lawsuit claims, prior to the crash, Brown was at The Vault — a bar in West Seneca. But not only does court paperwork show Brown was at The Vault, new documentation shows he was also at Town Ballroom in Buffalo. Lawyers in the civil case say, Brown was there, drinking and was drunk the night of the crash. Lawyers for Town Ballroom say, Brown was never there.
That same civil lawsuit was filed against K and M Motors. A police report, filed the night of the crash, shows the Maserati Brown was driving was registered to the dealership. The I-Team spoke with the man who identified himself as the owner.
"I ain't got s**t to do with that ... please stop coming to my business," the man said.
The I-Team asked why Brown was driving that Maserati. The man said, "man that don't have nothing to do with us. That s**t is being adjudicated in the court. So if you want to talk to anybody about it , go talk to Antonio Brown's lawyer, sir."
We called Brown's criminal defense attorney by phone. He said the Notice of Appeal filing was to protect Brown's right to appeal and needed to be filed within a certain time to preserve that right.
The attorney would not provide any details about the grounds for the appeal.
At the dealership, the man who says he's the owner defended himself against the civil suit.
"You mother f*****s are always f*****g with Black people. Go f**k with some white people," he said. We pointed out this has nothing to do with race, but the man claiming to be the owner said, "it don't have nothing to do with me -- I wasn't driving no car. I didn't kill nobody."
Again, paperwork shows the car was registered to K and M Motors.
"Antonio Brown owned the car. Man, get out of here," the man said.
"This will all be determined because there is a civil case pending and I am sure that the family is — and the family attorney is — trying to find out who is responsible," Wolfgang said.
In the meantime, with Brown bemoaning his fate, this notice of appeal is step one. It could be months before any of this comes to a resolution.
