Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 68-year-old Michael Askew of Cheektowaga pleaded guilty this morning before Buffalo City Court Judge Andrew C. LoTempio to one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Class “A” misdemeanor). He was sentenced to a one-year condition discharge.
On Thursday, April 20, 2023, at approximately 4:40 p.m., the defendant, while working as a school bus driver, made a verbal threat toward a student while on a school bus on the 300 block of Roehrer Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The defendant was subsequently terminated from his position as a school bus driver.
As part of the investigation into the threat incident, the Buffalo Police Department obtained a temporary Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) for the defendant. On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, investigators found an illegal rifle with a pistol grip and detachable magazine inside of the defendant’s residence on Woodridge Avenue in the Town of Cheektowaga. Three handguns, legally owned by the defendant, were also seized under the temporary ERPO. The defendant was indicted on two felony gun charges. Today, both counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Today, a final order of protection was issued for the victim and the two other students who were present during the incident.
DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Threat Management Unit and SWAT as well as the Cheektowaga Police Department for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Briana R.D. Kalman of the Felony Trials Bureau.