BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An assistant district attorney in the Erie County District Attorney's Office is now facing multiple charges, accused of sharing confidential information and driving while high on marijuana.
On Thursday morning, Buffalo Police, alongside other law enforcement agencies, announced the arrest of 28-year-old De'Lenci Shannon-Brown, of Buffalo. He is charged with two misdemeanors: Official Misconduct and Driving While Under the Influence of Drugs.
Investigators said Shannon-Brown was sharing case information with a convicted felon.
"Nobody is above the law," said Michael Keane, acting Erie County District Attorney. "We hire our attorneys and our support staff and we entrust them with confidential information and it's an outrage that this behavior took place. It's an outrage that he violated this trust."
Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said officers stumbled upon this alleged misconduct Wednesday while digging through phone records in a separate, unrelated case.
They immediately alerted the DA's office and began working with the sheriff's office to gather more evidence. In the meantime, Keane said, Shannon-Brown was at work, although he was monitored throughout the day and kept away from both court and his computer.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Shannon-Brown during a traffic stop Wednesday evening on Forest Avenue. They say he was smoking marijuana in his car when he was stopped and that's why he is also charged with DWI.
"The allegations, if proven to be true, are outrageous," said Keane of the alleged misconduct. "He was involved with potentially sharing information or trying to share information about cases with people that have no business knowing about our cases."
Keane says Shannon-Brown worked with the district attorney's office for five weeks. He was fired Wednesday.
He is scheduled to appear in City Court Friday morning.
