This area has been a major problem for a quite a while now.
Man riding bicycle on Minnesota Avenue shot in thigh
Jul. 5, 2008--A 20-year-old Buffalo man riding his bike Friday night shooting of was shot in the thigh, police said, Joseph Tillman, was riding his bike with another person on the 400 block of Minnesota Avenue when someone opened fire at about 11:30 p.m. (Buffalo News)
Tonawanda driver victim of carjacking and beating in University District
Jul. 17, 2008 --A Town of Tonawanda man was robbed, pistol whipped, and carjacked by four men Wednesday night in the city's University District, police reported today.
The victim was driving his pickup east in the 400 block of Minnesota Avenue at about 6:45 p.m. when a man walked off a porch and approached his vehicle, while a second man walked in front of his vehicle to make him stop, Northeast District Police said. One of the men then ordered the victim out of the vehicle, took him to a rear yard where two more men joined them. Police said one of the four men displayed a silver gun and struck him on the head with the gun. (Buffalo News)
Pair of shootings occur overnight
Dec. 25, 2010 --Gunfire erupted twice in Buffalo late Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning, city police reported. Late Friday, a man was shot in the thigh amid a large fight that broke out outside a Minnesota Avenue home where a party was being held, Northeast District officers said.
The incident was reported just before midnight. The victim, Dwight Mitchell, no age or address given, said he had attended the party at the house in the 200 block of Minnesota. A large fight broke out in front of the house. (Buffalo News)
Police probe connection in three carjackings
Dec. 29, 2007 --Northeast District police are attempting to determine if the same thugs were involved in three carjacking crimes reported in the same area of the city Friday night.
Officers said an East Side man was robbed of his car shortly before 6 p.m. at the intersection of Bailey and Minnesota avenues. The man said five thieves approached him, and one pointed a handgun at him.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., another carjacking took place at Bailey and Minnesota, where a University District man was robbed at gunpoint of his 2007 Honda van. Police recovered the vehicle in good condition on Shirley Avenue. Two thieves were involved. (Buffalo News)
3 charged in assault on taxi driver at University Plaza
Feb, 2010 Three people punched and kicked a taxi driver during a fracas in the University Plaza on Thursday evening, and one of the assailants was a woman who beat the cabbie with her metal cane, Amherst police reported.
He then was punched and kicked by the other man and two women, and struck over the head with the metal cane, police said.
The two youngest combatants, Jessica Robins, 22, of Minnesota Avenue, Buffalo, and Henry Robins, 27, of Langfield Avenue, were charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. (Buffalo News)
Man mugged at Bailey and Minnesota
Nov. 24, 2007 --A Walden Avenue man was mugged at gunpoint by three robbers near the intersection of Bailey Avenue and Minnesota Street at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Police said the muggers pointed a gun at the victim and hit him in the face with a bottle before taking $230 in cash from him. (Buffalo News)
6 people shot in 3 incidents; teenager dies
Oct, 2009 Northeast District officers also responded to reports of gunfire in the 200 block of Minnesota Avenue in the University District at about 8:30 p. m.
Edward Battles, 17, was struck by gunfire while driving a Chevy Lumina eastbound on Minnesota. He then collided with two parked cars. Battles was in critical condition in ECMC.
A 14-year-old girl who was standing in a nearby driveway on Minnesota also was struck by gunfire, police said. (Buffalo News)
Former high school football star gets 5 years for plot to kill pregnant girlfriend
Aug. 28, 2008 --A former Buffalo high school football star was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for hatching a scheme to kill a teenage girl pregnant with his twins.
The gunman, Terrence J. Martinelli, 20, of Minnesota Avenue, was sentenced Aug. 11 by State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to 8--years in prison on his guilty plea to first-degree attempted assault. (Buffalo News)
Four members of gang admit roles in stabbing
Feb. 19, 2009 --Four gang members, including two currently facing lengthy prison terms in a fatal shooting, pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted assault charges for the stabbing of a 19-year-old Buffalo man on a Metro Rail train on Jan., 8, 2008.
Gerald Gibson, 18, of Alexander Avenue, Cheektowaga, and Dijon Thomas, 17, a former Buffalo resident living in Roseridge, N. C., were told by State Supreme Court Justice Penny M. Wolfgang they each face one to four years in prison for their roles in the attack.
Gibson, who will be sentenced March 17 to 21 to 25 years in prison, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Jermain Martin, 19, of Shirley Avenue last June 7. Thomas faces 10 to 13 years in prison when sentenced April 2 on his first-degree manslaughter plea; he gave Gibson the handgun used to shoot Martin.
Also on April 2, Wolfgang will sentence Byron Brown Jr., 20, of Minnesota Avenue, and Demario Goldston, 19, no permanent address on their attempted assault pleas in the stabbing. Brown, who is not related to Buffalo's mayor, and Goldston face one-year terms for their roles in the attack. (Buffalo News)
GPS device leads police to suspect's hiding spot - a garbage tote
Dec. 10, 2010 --A garbage tote might seem like a fairly safe hiding place for a bank robber carrying about $2,500 in stolen cash. But the tote was no match this afternoon for the latest technological device used by Buffalo police, in conjunction with local banks -- a GPS tracking device.
The tracking device led Buffalo police officers right to the garbage tote where the suspected bank robber was hiding, not long after the robbery at the Bank of America branch at East Delavan and Bailey avenues early this afternoon.
Police arrested Angelique Guillory, 24, of Minnesota Avenue, and charged her with first-degree robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. (Buffalo News)
3/26/10 Shots fired an hour apart Wednesday afternoon caught one man in the foot on Minnesota Avenue and narrowly missed an East Side mother and an infant in a May Street house, Buffalo police said. Police said Montell Jones, no age or address listed, was walking on Minnesota between Bailey and Comstock avenues shortly before 5 p. m. when he was shot in the right foot. He told police he had no idea how he got shot or who did it. He was taken by Rural/ Metro Medical Services to Erie County Medical Center. (Buffalo News)
2/4/10 A 20-year-old man who was assaulted and robbed by three men at midnight Thursday night on Minnesota Avenue was taken to Erie County Medical Center with head and forearm injuries, Buffalo police reported. He told Northeast District police that he was robbed of his cell phone, book bag, paycheck and other items after being attacked while entering the front door of the home. (Buffalo News)
Police gave chase and noticed one man giving a semiautomatic handgun to another, who tried to hide it in a house. Police also chased down another man, who fought with them when apprehended. Police said two of the men were found with crack cocaine after they were in custody. Javon Hayes, 19, of Shirley Avenue, faces charges that include felony possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence. Charges against Freddie Brown, 60, of Rounds Avenue, include felony possession of a weapon, tampering with evidence, hindering prosecution and promoting prison contraband. Jorden Davis, 19, of Minnesota Avenue, was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing police, tampering with evidence and promoting prison contraband. (Buffalo News)
1/4/10 Phillip M. Perry, 30, of Camden Avenue, was charged with assault by Buffalo police Sunday.
Officers said Perry is accused of stabbing a Hartwell Avenue man in the arm and head during an incident on Minnesota Avenue early on the morning of New Year’s Day. Buffalo News
1/3/10 A man was shot during an attempted robbery Friday in a University Heights neighborhood, Buffalo police said Saturday. Leon Garner, no age or address available, was shot in the right shoulder.
The shooting occurred at Minnesota Avenue and Suffolk Street about 9:30 p. m. Friday, according to police. The victim told police he was accosted by four males who tried to rob him. Buffalo News
1/11/09 Apparently this is one of two violent-crime incidents that happened within an hour of each other. The other incident which occurred at approximately 9:30 P.M., the same night near the address of 46 Minnesota. A young woman was walking on Minnesota (en route home?) and was attacked at gunpoint. The perpetrator was apprehended and taken to the Ferry Street Detention Center and
avoided being arrested and taken to jail, because of his age.
9/10/09 The operator of a Bailey Avenue video rental business was arrested today by Buffalo police and federal agents who called him one of the region's major cocaine suppliers. Sean Washington, 40, of Englewood Avenue, was arrested after more than six pounds of cocaine and four handguns were found in a "stash house" he allegedly operates on Eller Avenue. "[Washington] is a big cocaine supplier, a dangerous individual and we're glad to get him off the streets," said Charles Tomaszewski, resident agent in charge of the Buffalo DEA office. "He has a past record of felony drug convictions and we believe he has supplied a number of drug rings in the area for years. "SWAT teams from Buffalo and the Town of Tonawanda took part in the arrests of Washington and his son, Lamar Washington, 19, of Minnesota Avenue. They face felony charges of drug distribution, drug possession and gun possession. (Buffalo News)
4/30/09 Northeast District police charged a 16-year-old and two juveniles in a gang-related robbery late last week. Buffalo police said Rahim Dunston of the 400 block of Minnesota AVE. Two juveniles, kicked, punched and threatened a man and robbed him of $200 Saturday at Minnesota Avenue and Suffolk Street. The three were charged with first-degree robbery. The victim suffered a broken jaw in the attack. (Buffalo News)
8/14/08 At about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, 16-year-old Tymonn Lee was walking east on Minnesota Avenue, near Bailey Avenue, when someone fired twice at him, police said. One bullet struck a finger of his left hand. Police said Lee was seeking treatment in the emergency room of Sisters Hospital.
6/16/08 Marcellas Hutcherson, 16, was sitting on a porch on Minnesota Avenue, near Bailey, around 12:25 a.m. Sunday when a car pulled up and several shots were fired, hitting him in the right side of his back. He was listed in fair condition in ECMC.
5/7/08 A Buffalo woman escaped injury Monday night when someone fired two shots into her home in the University District, police reported. The woman was inside her home in the 400 block of Minnesota Avenue when gunfire erupted at about 11 p.m., police said. One slug damaged the outer door, a newly installed glass storm door and the hallway wall.
1/26/08 A masked gunman robbed a Williamsville man who was walking to a store at Bailey and Minnesota avenues, Northwest District police said.
12/30/2007 Officers said an East Side man was robbed of his car shortly before 6 p.m. at the intersection of Bailey and Minnesota avenues. The victim said five people accosted him, and one pointed a handgun at him.
The problems on Minnesota Ave. started just about the time Byron Brown got elected. So what his answer to this... bogus gun buy back programs and tax cuts, yeah that'll do it. And, as usual, our apparently none too useful, missing in action City Councilwoman Bonnie Russell is no where to be found.
