(WNY News Now) – A 50-year-old Amherst man was sentenced to prison for a 2020 arson in Buffalo’s Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood that led to the tragic death of a 66-year-old woman on her birthday.
Buffalo, N.Y. – Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announced that Daniel A. Martinez, of Amherst, was sentenced to 5 years in prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision. This sentence, handed down by Acting Erie County Court Judge Andrew C. LoTempio, comes after Martinez admitted to intentionally setting a fire that led to the death of Maria Galazka on November 5, 2020.
The incident occurred on September 30, 2020, around 2:45 a.m. Martinez started the fire inside his girlfriend’s first-floor apartment on Concord Avenue in Buffalo. Although the intended target was not present, her mother, Maria Galazka, was asleep in a nearby bedroom. Galazka suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation before being transported to Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), where she succumbed to her injuries on her birthday, just over a month later.
The fire forced the evacuation of another resident living in the upper apartment, though they were unharmed. A Buffalo firefighter was also injured while battling the blaze but was treated at ECMC and later released.
Martinez pleaded guilty to a charge of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B felony, on July 11, 2024. The plea agreement was reached with the consent of the victim’s family. During sentencing, prosecutors requested the maximum prison term of 25 years. However, Judge LoTempio imposed the minimum sentence.
“The family of Maria Galazka has waited a long time for justice and wanted the defendant to receive the maximum sentence. Our office agreed and requested that the Court sentence the defendant to 25 years in prison. Unfortunately, the Judge imposed the minimum prison term,” said Acting District Attorney Mike Keane.
The case was handled by Chief Eugene T. Partridge III and Assistant District Attorney Frank A. Strano of the Major Crimes Bureau, with investigative support from the Buffalo Police and Fire Departments.