Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that Jamal Fareed, 74, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty yesterday morning before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree (Class “B” violent felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge in full satisfaction of the indictment.
On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Buffalo Police responded to an apartment building on the 900 block of Main Street for the report of a deceased man. Officers found the body of the victim, 66-year-old Ray Thompson, inside of his apartment. An autopsy by the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim died from stab wounds and blunt force trauma.
Fareed has been held since his arraignment on the indictment in late September 2019. The criminal proceedings were postponed after the defendant was found not competent to stand trial. He remained in custody at a secure mental health facility. Our office received notification of the defendant’s fitness to proceed in June 2024. In August 2024, the defendant was found competent to stand trial following two forensic examinations. A jury trial was scheduled to commence on March 6, 2025.
Fareed faces a maximum of 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. He remains held without bail.
DA Keane commends retired Detectives Carl Lundin and James Kaska of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Cathleen M. Roemer of the Felony Trials Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Garvey of the Felony Trials Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Briana R.D. Kalman of the Narcotics/Intelligence Bureau, and Chief Eugene T. Partridge, III of the Homicide Bureau.