Second man charged in murder

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

Sep. 24—BUFFALO — A second Buffalo teen has been charged in the shooting death of a Lockport man in March.

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced that Calvin D. Clemons, 18, of Buffalo, was charged and arraigned on single counts of first- and second-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the death of Trenten Jacob Sink. Clemons pleaded not guilty to the charges in front of Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan.

Eagan order Clemons held without bail pending further proceedings.

In August, Buffalo police arrested, and Erie County prosecutors charged a 16-year-old suspect in connection with Sink's murder. At that time investigators said they looking for "an adult co-defendant" in the case.

The 16-year-old, whose name has not been released pursuant to New York's Raise the Age Law, is charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree robbery. He has also pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bail.

Clemons was taken into custody in early September during a traffic stop by police in Gwinnett, Georgia. He was returned to Western New York after waiving extradition in court proceedings there.

Buffalo Police Homicide Squad detectives said the unnamed teenager and Clemons "conspired to rob Sink" by luring him to to a home on C Street in the city. Police said around 8:13 p.m. on March 29, the two suspects robbed Sink of his backpack while he was inside the C. Street home.

Detectives said that during the course of the robbery, Sink, 20, was shot in the "leg, chest and side of his body." He was rushed to the Erie County Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Sink was born in Newfane. He graduated from Barker High School, where he played football and then continued in the sport as a 6-foot-2, 200-pound tight end with the semi-pro Lockport Wildcats football club.

Sink's uncle, Ronny Rowles, said that in 2020, his nephew started a youth touch football team, the New York Lightning, and ran the six-team league. Sink's family has indicated that the league will continue in his honor.

"Trenten was a humble young man who wanted to see everyone succeed," Rowles said. "He was a positive influence on a lot of young men. He started going to Erie Community College and worked multiple jobs to fund the league himself. He ran everything himself."