Buffalo Man Convicted of Stealing Construction Site Materials Receives Prison Sentence

Friday, August 30, 2024

Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that 38-year-old Sergio J. Brooks of Buffalo was sentenced this morning before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller. He received an indeterminate sentence of 2 to 6 years on prison.

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, at approximately 3:45 a.m., the defendant knowingly and unlawfully entered a construction site with the intent to commit a larceny. A building, located on Best Street near Michigan Avenue in the City of Buffalo, was partially completed at the time of the crime.

A security monitoring system alerted Buffalo Police Department. Responding Buffalo Police officers located the defendant, who was in possession of two bags, nearby. The defendant dropped the stolen property and ran, but was quickly apprehended by police. Police found pipes, circuit breakers, valves, copper, and other metal construction materials inside of the bags.

In July 2024, a jury found Brooks guilty of one count of Burglary in the Third Degree (Class "D" felony) and one count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Class "E" felony). Jurors rendered their decision after less than four hours of deliberation following a one-day trial, convicting the defendant of both counts in the indictment.

Acting DA Keane commends the Buffalo Police Department for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Anthony F. Perna of the Narcotics/Intelligence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Jia-Chir Chiu of the Felony Trials Bureau.