Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 41-year-old Jamien L. Harris of Buffalo was sentenced this afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case to 5 years of probation.  

On Sunday, November 21, 2021, at approximately 11:08 a.m., Buffalo Police responded to a residence on Highgate Avenue after receiving a 911 call for a reported domestic disturbance. When the officers arrived at the home, they encountered the defendant at the front door. During the investigation, police saw a deceased elderly woman in the living room. Buffalo Police obtained a search warrant and found two loaded, unregistered handguns inside of the house.

Harris pleaded guilty, as charged, to two counts of Criminal Possession of a Firearm (Class “E” felonies) on November 2, 2022.

At this time, the homicide of the defendant’s grandmother, 90-year-old Catherine Jones, remains under investigation. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim died from a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled the manner of death as a homicide.

DA Flynn commends the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad for their work in the investigation.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ryan D. Haggerty of the Homicide Unit.