Andre Baker Pleads Guilty to Felon Firearm Possession in Buffalo

Andre Baker, 28, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a charge carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The plea, entered before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara, follows a chaotic March 2018 incident that nearly erupted into gunfire on the city’s West Side.

On March 25, 2018, two Buffalo Police officers responded to shouts of “he has a gun” near Jefferson Avenue and Genesee Street. Witnesses pointed toward a parking lot where a civilian, later identified as a sworn Peace Officer and licensed gun owner, had drawn his own weapon on Baker. The officer reported seeing Baker retrieve a gun from behind a vehicle after being spit on by a woman involved in a prior physical altercation at Arthur’s Pub.

After making eye contact with arriving officers, Baker bolted from a nearby car and fled on foot. He was apprehended minutes later near Virginia and Cherry Streets. At the scene, law enforcement recovered a loaded .380 caliber pistol lying next to where Baker had stood. A second weapon—a loaded 12-gauge shotgun—was found inside the vehicle he had briefly occupied.

The armed civilian who intervened stated he had broken up a fight between Baker and an unidentified man and woman outside the bar. After the altercation, he watched Baker cross the street, enter the vehicle, and then exit moments later to retrieve the handgun. The civilian drew his service weapon, ordered Baker to drop the gun, and Baker complied—before the police arrived.

Baker’s criminal history includes a prior conviction in Erie County Court for Attempted Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2nd degree, which legally bars him from possessing any firearm. Despite this prohibition, he was found in direct control of a loaded handgun and linked to a second loaded long gun.

The case was investigated by the Buffalo Police Department, led by Commissioner Byron Lockwood, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmanuel O. Ulubiyo prosecuted. Sentencing is scheduled for August 7, 2019, before Judge Arcara.

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