Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 34-year-old Rinaldo R. McBride, also known as Rinaldo Vass, of Buffalo pleaded guilty this morning before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes to two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree (Class “D” felonies). The defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser offenses on the day jury selection was scheduled to begin in his upcoming trial.

In September 2020, parole officers from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Buffalo Police Department Intelligence Unit received a tip that the defendant, who was on parole for a prior conviction, was in possession of a handgun. On September 16, 2020, at approximately 10:00 p.m., parole officers went to the defendant’s residence on Alma Avenue in the City of Buffalo to conduct a compliance search. Investigators found two illegal loaded handguns in an upstairs bedroom. One weapon was hidden between the mattress and box spring of the bed. The second loaded gun was found inside of a diaper bag.

McBride faces a maximum of 14 years in prison when he is sentenced on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. He was remanded without bail.

DA Flynn commends the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and Lt. Jonathan Pietrzak of the Buffalo Police Department for their work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Districts Attorneys Rebecca A. Fioravanti and Timothy J. Garvin of the Felony Trials Bureau.