Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 20-year-old Devonte Ridgeway of Buffalo has pleaded guilty before Erie County Court Judge Michael Pietruszka to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

On January 23, 2017, at Baker Hall School in Lackawanna, Ridgeway brought a loaded handgun onto school grounds concealed in a backpack.  School staff, upon searching the backpack after a metal detector alarm was triggered, found a loaded .22 caliber handgun tucked in a sneaker.  Ridgeway escaped from school but was apprehended later by Lackawanna police in Holy Cross Cemetery. 

Ridgeway faces 3 1/2 to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Pietruszka on May 12 at 11 a.m.

DA Flynn commends the staff at Baker Hall School for finding the concealed weapon and Lackawanna Police Officer John-Paul Figlewski, Detective Michael Pienta, and Lt. Chris Lalka for their work on the case.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel L. Newton, Felony Trial Bureau Chief, is prosecuting the case.