Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 19-year-old Amauri Smith of Rochester, New York was arraigned on Sunday morning before Buffalo City Court Judge Phillip Dabney on one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class “C” violent felony).

It is alleged that on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at approximately 12:08 p.m., members of the Buffalo Police Department Intelligence Unit observed the defendant walking on Jefferson Avenue near Glenwood Avenue with what appeared to be a gun in the pocket of his shorts. Officers allegedly confronted the defendant and recovered an illegal, loaded handgun from the defendant’s pocket. The alleged crime occurred during the Buffalo “March for Our Lives” event, an anti-gun violence demonstration, on Jefferson Avenue. 

Smith is scheduled to return on Friday, June 17, 2022 at 9:30 a.m. for a felony hearing. Prosecutors requested that the defendant be remanded. Judge Dabney set bail at $20,000 cash, bond or partially secured bond. 

If convicted of the charge, Smith faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Intelligence Unit for their work in this investigation.

As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.