Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio on Thursday granted a motion from the district attorney’s office to dismiss an indictment against a Buffalo man accused of setting fire to the hotel of Buffalo City during a 2020 protest in Niagara Square.
District Attorney John J. Flynn directed Assistant District Attorney Nicholas C. Bussi to seek the dismissal of the indictment against Courtland Renford, 22, “in the interests of justice” after Renford allegedly was sentenced to five years in federal prison for the same criminal behavior.
Renford was indicted by an Erie County grand jury on third-degree arson and third-degree burglary for two separate incidents that occurred on May 30, 2020. He was charged with intentionally throwing a burning box through a first floor window of the town hall. , which started a fire that was quickly extinguished by members of the Buffalo Fire Department. Renford was also charged with entering an Elmwood Avenue convenience store through a broken glass door and stealing a drink and several packs of cigarettes.
The incidents took place during nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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