BUFFALO, N.Y. — Twenty-eight-year-old Nakeem Haynes appeared in court for the final time Monday afternoon where he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after pleading guilty last month to murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon charges.
The sentencing comes nine months after Haynes shot and killed 63-year-old Atlas Johnson with an illegally obtained weapon outside the laundromat at Broadway and Sears where Johnson worked.
Buffalo police that were on routine patrol nearby responded to the call. Haynes proceeded to roll on the hood of a police car, shot through the windshield and struck the gun holster around the waist of one of the officers.
His actions prompted an on-foot pursuit caught on an officer’s body camera footage in which Buffalo police shot and later detained Haynes.
He was taken to ECMC and treated for a torso injury.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn ruled that the actions by Buffalo police were justifiable.
“Tragic that a 63-year-old man died at the scene, but it could have been much worse,” Flynn said Monday afternoon. “If they weren't there, right when it happened, it might have went unsolved.”
Haynes pleaded guilty to four different counts resulting in four separate sentences, which the judge decided to run concurrently following his admission of guilt.
The DA said he believes justice has been served with a potential life sentence and hopes the parole board will extend his sentence closer to that life maximum when his case is reviewed 30 years down the line.
“Anything with life on the back end, I'm going to say justice was done,” Flynn said.
But Johnson’s family remains shattered by the irreparable loss of their loved one
“He damaged our family,” his sister Patricia Donovan said. “Nakeem damaged our family, and it'll never be the same.”