Falls murder suspect pleads guilty

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

Jun. 23—LOCKPORT — A Falls teen, accused of gunning down a man during a mid-summer rush hour on Ferry Avenue in 2020, has pleaded guilty to murder and weapons charges.

Geoffrey O. Sandiford, 18, of Cleveland Avenue, entered his plea to single counts of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon during a hearing before State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. in Lockport. Kloch told Sandiford he would give him a sentence of 15 years to life in prison in return for his plea.

Sandiford was accused of gunning down Nathan Craft in the second of two homicides to hit the city in a 16-hour period on July 21.

"The Niagara Falls Police Department has been tireless in investigating and solving crimes during the most violent stretch in memory," Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman said.

The first of the homicides occurred in the early morning hours that day in the area of 17th Street and Pierce Avenue. Craft's slaying happened on Ferry Avenue near 12th Street.

Craft, 29, of the Falls was found, around 5:35 p.m., lying in a pool of blood between his car and the curb on Ferry Avenue.

Criminal Investigation Division detectives said, at the time, that Craft had apparently been involved in a fight before he was shot "several times." He was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

Sandiford fled the area after the slaying and was tracked down by Falls police detectives, assisted by members of the U.S. Marshals Felony Fugitive Task Force, six days later, without incident, in Avoca, N.Y., a town in the northwest corner of Steuben County.

A Niagara County grand jury also indicted a Falls man as an accomplice in the Ferry Avenue murder.

The indictment charges Rohmeo Lewis,19, with single counts of second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

While Sandiford was always accused of being the triggerman in the case, prosecutors have not elaborated on what role Lewis played in the murder.

Lewis has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his case remains pending.