A Buffalo man has been sentenced to prison for a reckless, accidental killing. Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case delivered the verdict on Friday, October 1, 2021, according to the Erie County District Attorney John Flynn's Office. A Buffalo man, 33-year-old Luis E. Gonzalez, was given a prison sentence of 5 to 10 years behind bars.

On June 21, 2020, Gonzalez was unloading a lever-action rifle. While unloading, he accidentally killed 31-year-old Miguel Cordova, shooting him in the head. The victim died at the scene. The incident happened inside Gonzalez's home on Debra Lane in Buffalo.

Gonzalez was found guilty of all charges levied against him - one count of second-degree manslaughter and one count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon on August 24, 2021. The jury decision came after only one hour. The trial lasted three days.

Judge Case sentenced the defendant to an indeterminate sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison on the charge of Manslaughter in the Second Degree as a second felony offender. He was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on the charge of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, which will run concurrent to his sentence on the Manslaughter charge.

These Are The Top 5 Crimes Committed in Buffalo This Year, So Far

Based on the news headlines, you might think that murder is the biggest crime in Buffalo, but that's not the case. Actually, homicide did not make the top 5 crimes list.

The data was pulled from the Buffalo Police Department's statistics, which I sorted and analyzed. There was a total of 3,471 larcenies committed so far in 2021 (the statistics run from January 2021 to August 2021 for now). The second most committed crime in Buffalo this year, so far, was assault, with a total of 1,065. While murders didn't make the top 5, the statistics are still quite high. There have been 54 homicides in Buffalo from January to August of 2021. In 2020 there were 65 homicides. With three more months left in the year, 2021 could potentially be more deadly than 2020. There were 13 rapes in Buffalo from January to August, making it the lowest committed crime on the list, according to the stats provided by the police department. The other crimes that made the top 5 are listed below with the stats for each month.

5. Robberies committed (by month) in 2021, so far
46 August
58 July
52 June
55 May
32 April
30 March
35 February
52 January
Total: 360

4. Burglaries committed (by month) in 2021, so far
112 August
112 July
97 June
114 May
95 April
94 March
95 February
80 January
Total: 799

3. Motor Vehicle Thefts committed (by month) in 2021, so far
84 August
84 July
59 June
74 May
125 April
117 March
161 February
197 January
Total: 901

2. Assaults committed (by month) in 2021, so far
158 August
168 July
144 June
154 May
127 April
107 March
108 February
99 January
Total: 1065

1. Larcenies committed (by month) in 2021, so far
492 August
533 July
450 June
484 May
388 April
459 March
303 February
362 January
Total: 3471

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