BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that 38-year-old Damien A. Morris was sentenced in Erie County Court to five years in prison followed by two and a half years of post-release supervision.
According to the district attorney's office, on February 13, 2022, Morris exited his apartment on Tonawanda Street to confront the victim, a 49-year-old homeless man, who he suspected was breaking into vehicles in the parking lot and shot him once with his legally-owned handgun.
The district attorney's office said evidence presented at trial showed that the victim, who was not known to Morris, was not armed with any weapons.
The 49-year-old man was taken to ECMC to be treated for a gunshot wound to his leg. He was hospitalized for two weeks and underwent surgery for a fractured femur.
In December 2022, a jury found Morris guilty of first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
