Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announced that 26 year- old Sean Reed of 2168 Amy Drive, Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty, as charged, to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, Criminal Possession of Marijuana in the Third Degree and Assault in the Third Degree before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller.  These were the highest charges for which the defendant could have been convicted had he gone to trial. In other words, Reed was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

On May 22, 2013, a missing woman’s grandmother requested the assistance of the New York State Police in locating and ensuring the welfare of her seventeen year-old granddaughter, who had been traveling in the company of Sean Reed. Trooper Keith Lucas determined defendant’s location by “pinging” the victim’s cell phone, a process by which cellular data is used to determine an exact location.  The cell phone “ping” led police to Main Street in the Village of Angola where members of the Evans Police Department found Reed and the missing woman/victim. 

Facial injuries were observed on missing woman/victim. After a period of denials, she admitted that Reed had punched her in the face and broke her nose. 

Inside defendant’s Cadillac Escalade, police recovered 35 mason jars-- uniformly labeled and filled with marijuana--as well as a safe containing $4,500 cash and over a half ounce of cocaine.  In an apartment Reed had been visiting, Evans Police Officers found a loaded semi-automatic pistol, another mason jar filled with marijuana, and a handwritten delivery log for defendant’s illegal drug selling enterprise.

Standing by her abusive, drug-dealing, gun-toting man, the victim attempted to contradict police testimony at the suppression hearing. Under withering cross-examination, however, she was ultimately forced to acknowledge her willingness to mislead law enforcement to protect Reed. Justice Boller ruled the police conduct was lawful in all respects, which apparently encouraged Reed to plead guilty to all counts in the indictment.

No stranger to the criminal justice system, Reed’s prior convictions go back nearly a decade and include Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Narcotics Possession and Menacing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 ½ years and a maximum state prison sentence of 23 ½ years in state prison when sentenced by Justice Boller on April 21, 2014 at 9:30 AM.

The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Eugene T. Partridge, III (who is assigned to DA Sedita’s Felony Trial Bureau) and Assistant District Attorney Nicholas T. Texido (who is assigned to DA Sedita’s Appeals Bureau).  DA Sedita also recognized the efforts of Evans Trooper Lucas as well as Town of Evans Police Department Lt. Bradley DiMartino, Lt. Douglas Czora and Officer Joe LaRosa.