BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo man found guilty of assault and gun charges after a shooting that paralyzed a man will spend over three decades behind bars.
Demetrius D. Williams was sentenced Thursday in Erie County court to a total of 35 years in prison and then 5 years of post-release supervision.
Last month, a jury found the 39-year-old guilty of one county of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Williams was acquitted of an attempted murder charge.
Williams received the maximum sentence of 25 years for the assault charge and 10 years for the gun charge; the sentences will run back-to-back.
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Prosecutors said Williams intentionally shot a 42-year-old man with an illegal firearm on Marigold Avenue near Central Park Avenue in Buffalo.
The victim was taken to Erie County Medical Center, where doctors discovered his spinal cord was severed, and he was paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the base of his skull. The 42-year-old continues to receive care from a long-term assisted living facility.