Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Narcotics Chief for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office plead guilty to a pair of misdemeanor charges on Friday in Buffalo City Court, and will not face any jail time for his role in a hit-and-run incident back in April 2024.
D.J. Granville pleaded guilty Friday to one count of reckless driving and another count of leaving the scene of a property damage accident. The judge presiding over this case handed down the maximum fine amount for both charges, totaling $550, and ordered Granville to complete 50 hours of community service for a not-for-profit organization.
"He pled guilty to what, in my determination, was the highest charge that I would have been able to sustain beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. He did plead guilty to a misdemeanor that is a criminal charge, and that brings his portion of this matter to a conclusion," said Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman, serving as special prosecutor for the case.
During the guilty plea, attorney Terry Connors, representing Granville, told the judge his client was taking some prescribed medication that could have led to impaired driving, though never said there was any alcohol involved in the night of the incident. Connors added that Granville’s medication was doubled from what he was originally prescribed before.
Connors went to bat for Granville just before he was sentenced, citing his accolades and dedication to serving his community in 26 years with the Erie County Sheriff's Office. He adds Granville wanted to plead guilty to the charges against him so he could put the incident behind him and get back to work.
Granville did address the court after his guilty plea, and apologized to Erie County Sheriff John Garcia, the Buffalo Police Department and his family. He also accepted full responsibility for his actions that night.
He did not take any questions from members of the media as he exited the courtroom on Friday.
Seaman says his office was at a grave disadvantage with this case due to the fact the investigation didn't start until eight months or so after the incident.
Among the key elements Seaman's office did not have in their investigation included any type of chemical tests.
"There was no breath test, there was no blood analysis for Mr. Granville's blood that night. Nothing like that. There also were no field sobriety tests. No tests were given that night," Seaman noted. "We had nothing to indicate that he performed one way or another in any type of field sobriety test. We also did not have the benefit of any statements from Mr. Granville, as we would normally have in a normal DWI investigation. There would be statements, questions that are asked by responding officers, and answers given. We did not have that in this case."
Seaman also says his office did not have access to any body cam footage from the incident, but that was because the Buffalo Police Department did not retain the footage for an incident that was coded as an accident. That footage gets overwritten after a six-month period.
"We did take the additional step of reaching out to the provider of the body cam to find out, is there any way to recover that? And we were told that there is no way to recover the evidence once it's been overwritten after that six months. So we had no body cam evidence," Seaman added.
In addition, Seaman was frustrated that his office did not receive cooperation from the responding Buffalo police officers from that night.
"None of the Buffalo police officers who were called to respond that night cooperated with my office. None of them would give a supporting deposition when I asked them to do so, and none of them would come and meet with me or any of my investigators to talk about what they observed that night," he said.
What Seaman did have that was helpful in the investigation was observations of citizens and people who were there to witness the incident that night, and who saw Granville.
"That is a difficult job to do, is to find people who saw something many months ago, and for them to be willing to come forward and say what they saw. But we were successful with some individuals, some individuals didn't want to speak with us or our investigators," Seaman said. "What we were able to basically put together was that there was this accident, there was these series of accidents. We were able to, through civilians, identify Mr. Granville as the driver of that vehicle, and we were able to get some observations from varying degrees of closeness as to how Mr. Granville was acting that night."
As for the information pertaining to the prescribed medications discussed by Connors during the hearing, Seaman explained a difficult circumstance at the state level that did not allow his office to potential pursue any further charges.
"In New York State, the status of the law for Driving While Impaired by a drug or Driving While Impaired by a combination of alcohol and a drug, there's a specific requirement in the law that the prosecutor be able to prove what the intoxicating drug was, and that it was listed on a particular list within the public health law. New York State is one of only a handful of states left that still have a law like this," he said. "I would, in past years, have called it a 'loophole', I can't call it a loophole anymore because this issue has been brought up before the New York State Legislature time-and-time again, year-in and year-out.
"The District Attorney's Association and many different advocacy groups have pushed to have this changed. So if a person is obviously impaired but we're not able to say exactly what's impairing them, they can still be charged with Driving While Impaired by a drug or a combination of alcohol and a drug. The legislature has simply refused to make those changes as recently as the most recent legislative session. There was a big push, Gov. [Kathy] Hochul had proposed a change in her budget. It did not get through. It was pulled from the budget, and the majority of the legislature would not forward that legislation.
"So when you look at a case like this, where you don't have any chemical test, when you don't have field sobriety tests, but you have observations that a person is impaired, if I can't say, 'Well, it was this drug and that drug is on the public health law list,' you can't charge it. You're left then with a charge like Reckless Driving."
Granville plead guilty to striking several parked cars on Prospect Avenue with his county-issued vehicle back in April 2024. The incident was captured on video.
The incident caused damages estimated to have cost Erie County approximately $60,000 in taxpayer funds.
As for Garcia, the Erie County Sheriff released the following statement on Granville after Friday's guilty plea:
"As has been previously stated, Granville was involved in a multi-vehicle property damage accident. Erie County Sheriff’s Office personnel were never called to the scene, and we never participated in the criminal investigation. Granville informed us about this accident approximately 8-9 hours after its occurrence. Chief Granville stated that he was working, that there were no injuries, that he wasn’t intoxicated, that he received a summons for driving the wrong way on a one-way street and that the Buffalo Police Department prepared an accident report.
"As acknowledged by his lawyer in court today, just days before the incident, Chief Granville sought medical treatment for physical and mental health issues. Soon after the motor vehicle crash, he availed himself to our Employee Wellness Program. This is not a matter I could previously disclose for obvious reasons. There is a need for confidentiality regarding employee wellness programs, as we need people to come forward when they are struggling. There are also HIPAA parameters by which we need to abide. I was unable to speak to this earlier. However, D.J. – through his attorney - made it public in court today.
"I, for one, do not feel he – nor anyone – should have his career defined by one night. In my three-and-a-half years as Sheriff, D.J. Granville has presided over numerous investigations that have culminated with massive seizures of cocaine, fentanyl, meth, the seizure of more than 150 illegal firearms and the seizure of more than $3.5 million in ill-gotten proceeds. His efforts have undoubtedly saved countless lives in our community and taken many bad actors off of our streets.
"Chief Granville has had a stellar career, but he obviously used terrible judgment when this accident occurred. Everyone at the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, especially those in command positions, needs to be held responsible for their actions. While he should have taken responsibility sooner, D.J. has done so today."
Garcia adds as the Erie County Sheriff's Office continues its internal investigation, Granville is being suspended without pay effective immediately, based upon his guilty plea.