Charges dropped in N.Y. shootings

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A prosecutor dropped charges Sunday against a parolee initially accused of killing four people and wounding four others outside a downtown Buffalo restaurant, and said the real shooter appeared on surveillance tape.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III asked a judge to dismiss four murder counts against Keith Johnson, 25, of Buffalo, in light of new evidence.

“We can see the race, gender, the height, build, the clothing of the perpetrator,” Sedita said after City Court Judge Patrick Carney granted the request. “You can see many of the perpetrator’s actions. We have him shooting on video.”

Still, investigators pleaded for witnesses to speak up and warned that the person responsible for the City Grill shootings continued to elude them.

“We have somebody running around out there who shot eight people,” Sedita said. “We have an armed man who’s extremely dangerous loose in our community.”

Johnson was released on parole in July after serving two years for assault. He remained in jail Sunday on an alleged parole violation for being at the bar Saturday, and investigators said he could be a witness in the City Grill case.

Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda said many people saw the Saturday shootings. More than 100 people were outside the restaurant when police arrived shortly after 2:30 a.m., he said. An altercation at the City Grill prompted managers to close the restaurant. As people were leaving, a man began shooting, police said.

The police commissioner stood by Johnson’s arrest.

“We acted on what we had. If we had the same information today and were given the same scenario we would have had the same result,” Derenda said.