Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A 27-year-old Buffalo man involved in an officer-related shooting back on June 17 appeared in court on Tuesday for his arraignment in from of Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens.
Nakeem Haynes of Buffalo was indicted on Tuesday on three charges:
- One count of Murder in the Second Degree (Class "A-1" felony)
- Two counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree (Class "A-1" felony)
- One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (Class "C" felony)
The incident Haynes was involved in took place on Friday, June 17 when it started in the vicinity of Broadway Avenue and Sears Street in the Broadwaty-Fillmore District.
At around 7:18 p.m. ET, the defendant allegedly shot and killed a 63-year-old man, Atlas Johnson, as Buffalo Police Officers were on routine patrol in the area.
"The police officers in the vehicle approached Mr. Haynes, as he was, allegedly, running away. At one point, they got by a building, where at that point, the defendant, allegedly, got up on the police officers hood and fired one shot into the windshield of the police car," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn during a Tuesday press conference. "Again, that shot went more toward the driver's side and actually hit the police officer's holster, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the police car."
Haynes is also accused of continuing to fire at officers as they pursued him on foot.
Buffalo Police was able to detain the defendant on Playter Street after officers shot him. The officers provided first aid until the defendant was transported to Erie County Medical Center.
According to Buffalo Police, the incident all took place within the timeframe of approximately one minute from the time the first shots were fired that killed the 63-year-old man to the last shots fired by officers that struck the suspect.
"There were multiple shots fired by the police officers at Mr. Haynes. He was hit multiple times, as well, in the front and the back area," Flynn described. "He was hospitalized after this, but has since gotten to the hospital and appeared today in court for his arraignment."
Initially at the time of the arrest on June 17, Haynes was charged with the attempted murder the one police officer who was in the driver's seat of the patrol car. However, when this case was put before the grand jury, that brought about the additional attempted murder charge, as well as the murder of the 63-year-old victim and the criminal possession charge.
In addition, Haynes was on parole, at the time, for a 2015 criminal weapons possession charge.
As for the actions of the Buffalo Police Officers involved in the shooting, Flynn says their actions were justified under the law.
"There will be no criminal charges that will be faced against these two Buffalo Police Officers," he said. "They were shot at while they were sitting in the car, and they were also, allegedly, shot at while they engage in a foot chase. Their actions in shooting that offend in here were justified under the law, and as such, they are cleared of any criminal wrongdoing."
Haynes' attorney made the plea of not guilty on all charges against him, and he was remanded at Tuesday's court appearance. He has a return date of Aug. 4 for a pre-trial conference.
If convicted of the charges, Haynes faces a maximum sentence of 25 years-to-life in prison.
Following the hearing on Tuesday, one family member of the 63-year-old victim could be heard in the back of the court room yelling at the defendant, "I hope they throw the book at you! You killed my brother!"
