Buffalo teens charged with stealing vintage weapons from naval park

Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Feb. 7—Two Buffalo teens are facing burglary and weapons charges after they were caught with vintage pistols stolen from the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park.

Abdikfi Saleh,18, of Buffalo, and Tyler G. Newman, 19, of Buffalo, were arraigned on Friday before Buffalo City Court Judge Shannon M. Heneghan. They were both charged with second-degree burglary (class "C" felony), third-degree criminal possession of stolen property (class "D" felony), and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (class "A" misdemeanor).

Buffalo Police officers were called to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park about 11:20 p.m. on Feb. 1 for a reported burglary. Officers said they saw Saleh and Newman walking on Oak Street near Genesee Street in possession of a handgun. They were eventually charged with stealing two vintage pistols from the USS Littlerock.

Saleh and Newman are scheduled for a felony hearing today. While prosecutors requested that the defendants be remanded. Both were released under supervision.

If convicted of the highest count, Saleh and Newman face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, according to Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn.

The burglary case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Thomas J. Comfort of the Felony Trials Bureau.

Newman has a separate pending criminal case, Flynn added. On Dec. 1, he was arraigned before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case on an indictment charging him with one count of second-degree robbery (class "C" violent felony).

Newman, while acting in concert with a co-defendant and juvenile offender, is charged with forcibly stealing property from a victim on South Buffalo Street in the Village of Springville on June 30. The defendants are accused of hitting and kicking the victim in order to steal his backpack, which contained various personal property. The victim was treated for minor injuries at Bertrand Chaffee Hospital.

At that arraignment, prosecutors requested that Newman be held on $50,000 bail. Judge Case continued his release under supervision. Newman is scheduled to return on Feb. 22 for a pre-trial conference.

Flynn said his office will file a motion to request the court revoke Newman's bail on the robbery charge and hold him without bail for being charged with committing a felony involving harm to an identifiable person or property while he was released on a pending felony charge.

The robbery case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Joelle M. Marino of the Felony Trials Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Denise A. Herman of the Raise the Age Unit.