Buffalo man receives maximum sentence for strangulation and attempted robbery

Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini

7 minutes ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo man was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum sentence for attacking a female victim and attempting to rob an elderly woman in 2022, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Michael Sawyer, 34, was sentenced as a second-time violent felony offender to fifteen years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Just after 10:30 p.m. on April 1, 2022, Sawyer strangled a woman unconscious in a Buffalo home. He then took her phone and keys and stole her vehicle.

Four days later, Sawyer used the vehicle to drive to a Cheektowaga grocery store to commit the robbery. He grabbed an 80-year-old woman’s handbag while she was driving, knocking her to the ground and seriously injuring her.

The final protection orders remain in effect until April 2050 on behalf of both victims.