Buffalo man pleads guilty to shooting victim on Kensington Avenue

Acting Erie County Prosecutor Michael J. Keane announces that Jerry L. Simpson, 30, of Buffalo pleaded guilty yesterday morning before State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens to one count of first-degree manslaughter (class “B” violent felony).

On Thursday, January 5, 2023, at approximately 10:39 a.m., the defendant shot two victims with an illegal firearm in the 900 block of Kensington Avenue, near Olympic Avenue, in the City of Buffalo. One victim, Jermaine Underwood, 37, was pronounced dead at the scene. The second victim, a 31-year-old man, was transported by ambulance to ECMC where he was treated for leg injuries and released from the hospital.

Simpson faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on Monday, July 8, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. He remains held without bail.

Acting DA Keane commends the Buffalo Police Department’s Homicide Squad and responding officers for their work in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Rebecca L. Schnirel of the Homicide Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Daniel N. Celani of the Justice Courts Office.