(WNY News Now) Buffalo resident Justin L. Davis, 24, was given the maximum penalty for assaulting a probation officer while in the Erie County Probation Department’s custody.
Justin L. Davis, 24, of Buffalo, was sentenced this morning to the maximum penalty of one year in local jail by State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens, according to Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane.
The defendant was detained at the Erie County Probation Department office on Niagara Plaza in the City of Buffalo on Thursday, February 16, 2023, at around 11:45 a.m. A probation violation warrant had been issued for his arrest. While in a guarded hallway of the building, the defendant became hostile toward probation officers, and he persisted in fighting with them as he was led from the facility onto Pearl Street. A probation supervisor was physically hurt by the defendant. Surveillance footage showed the event.
In mid-September 2024, after a three-day non-jury trial, Judge Givens reserved her verdict. Judge Givens’ verdict, which was issued on October 23, 2024, found Davis guilty of one count of third-degree assault (a Class A misdemeanor).
The Erie County Probation Department is commended by Acting DA Keane for their efforts in this investigation.
Mitchell T. Schoellkopf, an assistant district attorney in the Vehicular Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case.