Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 26-year-old Nicky Lofton of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan to 5 years of probation.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, at approximately 2:06 a.m., a Buffalo Police Department detective, who was investigating a shooting on Pearl Street, saw the defendant running in an alleyway near the scene of the crime. The defendant refused multiple commands by officers to stop, but was taken into custody in a nearby parking lot. Detectives found an illegal, loaded “ghost gun” on his person.

Lofton pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “D” felony) on September 28, 2022.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Intelligence Unit and Special Operations Unit for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Brown of the Felony Trials Bureau.