Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita, III announced that 32 year old Tige Billingsley was sentenced to 25 years-to-life in state prison, as a persistent violent felony offender, by State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Burns. Billingsley’s sentence was imposed in connection with his trial conviction for Robbery in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree and Assault in the Second Degree.

Billingsley’s conviction and sentence stem from the home invasion of an 80 year-old woman whom Billingsley duct taped, pistol whipped, stomped upon, and choked to unconsciousness. Shockingly, Billingsley was on parole for burglary convictions at the time of these heinous acts. Billingsley fled Erie County but was captured in and extradited from Arizona. No stranger to law enforcement authorities, Billingsley has a continuous criminal history from 1998 (when he was 17 years-old), having already accumulated fifteen criminal convictions, four of which are for violent felonies.

The case was successfully prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Bethany A. Solek and ADA Paul C. Parisi. DA Sedita lauded their efforts, stating: “Because of their dedication and professionalism, a dangerous career criminal will spend, at a minimum, the next 25 years in prison and, given his utter and total contempt for the rules of civil society, might spend the rest of his life behind bars.”