BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced Thursday that an Amherst man was sentenced Thursday morning to five years in prison.
38-year-old Joseph Whitney or Jamale Whitney pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery in the second degree on Aug. 4.
On Jan. 4, 2022, Whitney used a wrench to break open the passenger side of window of the victim whose car was parked outside of the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. When the victim returned to his car, the defendant punched the victim in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.
Whitney ran from the scene with the victim's bag which contained $1400 in cash. The victim, a man in his mid-50s, went to urgent care to receive treatment for a knee injury and swelling to his face which was sustained during the incident.
Whitney was later linked to the crime through DNA evidence recovered from the front passenger side door of the victim's car.
Whitney will serve five years in prison with five years of post-release supervision. He was sentenced Thursday as a second violent felony offender.
