Man charged with firing at U.S. Marshal in Buffalo

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Federal prosecutors outlined an incident on Monday in the City of Buffalo where a man attempted to shoot at U.S. Marshals attempting to carry out a federal arrest warrant at a residence on Glenwood Avenue.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, Michael DiGiacomo says 30-year-old Keith Holmes of Rochester is said to have fired at one of the U.S. Marshals in the incident, striking the Marshal's shield.

It was at approximately 3:25 p.m. Monday when members from the U.S. Marshals Task Force - a task force designed to go out and find those who have arrest warrants - conducted a planned operation to go arrest Holmes.

"There was an arrest warrant that they went to effectuate, and as I noted, they arrived at 861 Glenwood Avenue to execute the arrest warrant. They went in, they knocked and announced their presence, and as they approached the bedroom where Mr. Holmes was, Mr. Holmes began discharging a firearm, striking the shield, luckily, that was being held by one of the marshals," DiGiacomo said during a Wednesday press conference.

Holmes was shot shortly after, and is facing multiple federal charges as he recovers in the hospital in critical condition. This includes assault on a federal officer, and in doing so, using a deadly and dangerous weapon in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 111. That charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

In addition, Holmes has been charged, by way of complaint, that during and in relation to a crime of violence, he knowingly used, carried and discharged a firearm in furtherance of that crime. That charge carries a sentence of 25 years-to-life.

He's also charged with possessing ammunition, having previously been convicted as a prior felon. He was convicted of possessing ammunition that had traveled an interstate and foreign commerce, and that sentence also carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.

According to DiGiacomo, Holmes was on federal supervised release, based upon a 2020 conviction in the State of Maine for possessing fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking crime, of which he was sentenced to 96 months in prison.

On Dec. 12, 2024, President Biden granted an executive grant of clemency to Holmes and others, whereby his sentence of 96 months - of which he was originally sentenced to in the State of Maine - he was released from prison, but his term of supervised release remained. It was the violation of the conditions of that supervised release that was the basis for the Marshals Task Force to arrest Holmes.

Charges relating to violating his post-release supervision still have to be sorted out.

DiGiacomo says the handgun Holmes used in the shooting was a ghost gun.

There’s also a report that Holmes is connected to a potential homicide in the City of Rochester, but DiGiacomo couldn't add anything about that incident.