Assault case may be retaliation

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Two western New Yorkers are facing a judge Wednesday morning, in an assault case that may be connected to a brutal July homicide.

Seventeen-year-old Kentie Crump, of Cheektowaga, and twenty-two-year-old Erie Smith, of Tonawanda, allegedly had a verbal argument with a 23-year-old man in August, over his cooperation with police in the homicide investigation.

It is alleged that, in retaliation for the man’s cooperation with authorities, Smith handed Crump a loaded revolver and Crump fired at the cooperating witness. The witness was grazed by the gunfire, but innocent bystander 22-year-old Sharlene Session suffered a serious physical injury.

Crump and Smith are both charged with first-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The District Attorney’s Office says Crump and Smith each face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.