BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that a jury found a 16-year-old boy from Buffalo guilty of one count of first-degree manslaughter and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon after approximately two hours of deliberation following a four-day trial.
The district attorney's office said on June 26, 2022, the juvenile offender, who was 14 years old at the time, shot 24-year-old Morrell Buster Jr. with an illegal gun. The weapon was not recovered and Buster died from a gunshot wound to his neck.
The juvenile offender, who is eligible for youthful offender adjudication, is scheduled to be sentenced before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan, a designated Youth Part judge, on April 3 and continues to be held without bail in the custody of the Erie County Youth Services Center.
The district attorney's office said if denied youthful offender status, he faces a maximum sentence of an indeterminate term of 3 1/3 to 10 years.
