Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announces that 34-year old Jerome Ingram of Buffalo was sentenced as a Second Felony Offender to 7 years in state prison and 5 years of post-release supervision in connection with his March conviction for Burglary in the Second Degree. 

On June 28, 2012, Ingram became embroiled in an argument with his girlfriend/mother of his child while visiting at her City of Buffalo residence. Ingram was asked to leave and pretended to do so. The victim then called a male friend and asked him to visit her. Upon the friend’s arrival, Ingram, in a jealous rage, jumped out of the room in which he had been hiding and attacked his girlfriend. Ingram fled when the police were called.

Ingram subsequently re-entered the apartment through a window as the police were outside searching for him. Now wielding a knife, Ingram threatened to kill his girlfriend and her friend.  As the police were closing in, Ingram seized their cellular telephones (so they could not communicate with the police) and again fled, or so it appeared.

When his girlfriend went outside to summon the police, Ingram attacked her once more, shouting “I hate you, I should kill you” as he repeatedly kicked her.  Ingram fled as the police approached and, after a foot chase, was found courageously hiding under bushes by Buffalo Police Officers. The knife and the victims’ cellular telephones were found in Ingram’s possession.

At sentencing, Ingram argued for leniency, claiming that the events of that terrifying evening was “just a misunderstanding” and that he is a good father to his girlfriend’s son.  Ingram also emphasized the need for self-reflection, stating that he wanted to spend the next couple of years “focusing on the errors of his ways.”  The People urged the Court to sentence Ingram to the maximum sentence of 15 years of state prison, emphasizing the facts underlying Ingram’s conviction as well as his frequent participation in the criminal justice system over the last 15 years.  

State Supreme Court Justice Deborah Haendiges rebuffed defendant’s request for the minimum sentence, told Ingram he needed to realize how his actions affected his family and loved ones, and sentenced him to 7 years in state prison with an additional 5 years of post-release supervision.

The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Amy B. Benedict and Assistant District Attorney Julie Fiske, both of whom are assigned to DA Sedita’s Domestic Violence Bureau.