Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Flaherty, Jr. announces the arraignment of 31-year-old Erik Donaldson on an indictment charging him with one count of Murder in the Second Degree before State Supreme Court Justice Penny Wolfgang. 

It is alleged that Donaldson fatally shot his friend, 22-year-old Christian Thomas of Buffalo, whose body was found in an area between two houses on Montana Street on April 8, 2008.

Thomas, who had been missing since December 30, 2007, had been shot in the face and the back.

Donaldson pleaded not guilty and was remanded to jail without bail. He will be back before Erie County Court Judge Thomas P. Franczyk on July 18, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. for a pre-trial conference.

As are all defendants accused of a crime, Donaldson is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Assistant District Attorney John Patrick Feroleto is prosecuting the case.