Fired Erie County ADA Now Also Charged With Drug Trafficking

De’Lenci N. Shannon-Brown, who was fired as an assistant district attorney after being arrested Wednesday on other charges, appeared in handcuffs Friday afternoon in Buffalo City Court.

Shannon-Brown, 28, of Buffalo, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted official misconduct, drug-impaired driving and possession of cannabis. The first two charges are misdemeanors, while the drug charge is a felony.

When they announced Shannon-Brown’s arrest Thursday, authorities said he was charged with misdemeanor official misconduct, accusing him of sharing confidential information with a longtime friend who was a convicted felon.

In court on Friday, Shannon-Brown was charged with attempted official misconduct.

Authorities intended to charge Shannon-Brown with official misconduct, but a box on a form was mistakenly checked, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.

Judge Rebecca Town was barred from setting bail on any of the charges, so Shannon-Brown was released on his own recognizance.

He was represented by defense attorneys Daniel DuBois and Brent Salevsky.

DuBois declined to comment after the indictment.

As part of their ongoing investigation into the former prosecutor, Buffalo police and other law enforcement agencies executed a search warrant at his home on Hartwell Road in North Buffalo, the department said in a news release.

Investigators found approximately 11.85 pounds of marijuana inside, police said in the release.

Shannon-Brown, who was released from custody after his arrest on Wednesday, was arrested on Friday morning following the discovery.

In the courtroom, Shannon-Brown was handcuffed with his hands behind his back. He was wearing a collared shirt and a jacket.

Under state law, a person is legally allowed to possess up to 5 pounds of marijuana in their home.

The complaint charging Shannon-Brown with possession of marijuana also stated that he was found in possession of 11.85 grams, not pounds, of marijuana. That, like the charge against Shannon-Brown for attempted misconduct, was an error and will be corrected, Gramaglia said.

According to court documents, the marijuana was found in three pressure cookers inside a bedroom.

The Niagara County District Attorney’s Office was appointed special prosecutor for the cases against Shannon-Brown.

Other agencies involved in the execution of the warrant at Shannon-Brown’s home included the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force.

Shannon-Brown was first arrested around 5:50 p.m. Wednesday by sheriff’s deputies following a traffic stop on Forest Avenue. He nearly hit a parked vehicle, which was the cause of the stop, according to court documents.

He failed several field sobriety tests and refused to take a blood test, court documents show. He was charged with driving while impaired by drugs.

Deputies also ticketed him for veering out of his lane in an unsafe manner.

Shannon-Brown, who is scheduled to return to court Sept. 5, was hired as an ADA in June. He was assigned to the Buffalo City Court office.

He also worked for several months in the district attorney’s office – under a practice order – before passing the bar exam. He also served as an intern.

His name came up during a Buffalo police investigation into a robbery, Gramaglia told The Buffalo News Friday. Shannon-Brown had no connection to the robbery, for which no charges have yet been filed, he said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Keane said Thursday that the allegations against his former prosecutor, if true, would be “outrageous.”

“We hire our lawyers and our support staff and we trust them with confidential information,” Keane said at a news conference. “And it’s an outrage that this behavior took place. It’s an outrage that he betrayed that trust.”