Buffalo man pleads guilty to first-degree manslaughter

A Buffalo man pleaded guilty Wednesday before state Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek to first-degree manslaughter for his participation in a fatal beating, according to the County Prosecutor’s Office. ‘Erie.

Prosecutors said Christopher L. Busby, 40, pleaded guilty before trial to fatally assaulting Mikhail C. Scott, 25, inside an apartment building in the 100 block of Rodney Avenue, near Fillmore Avenue.

on December 17, 2022, Busby and two other men punched Scott several times, then dragged him down the apartment stairs to the sidewalk. Scott was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center where he died from what the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office determined was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

Last month, Busby’s son, Daiquan A. Busby, 21, of Buffalo, also pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the case. The two men face up to 25 years in prison when they are both sentenced on August 19. Both remain free on $300,000 bail each.

The third defendant in the case, Lewis A. Keys, 24, of Buffalo, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to eight years in prison.