Buffalo Man Sentenced On Rico Charge Involving Gang Shooting

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Deon Allen, also known as “Slick,” 21, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of committing a violent crime in aid of a racketeering enterprise, was sentenced to 120 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also ordered to pay $20,529.91 in restitution to Independent Health, Medicaid and Univera Health Care for medical bills incurred by the victims in the case.  

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony M. Bruce and Assistant Erie County District Attorney Paul Parisi, who is working as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Allen was a member of the Bailey Boys, a criminal gang involved in distributing cocaine and acts involving murder and robbery. In an effort to raise his standing with other members of the Bailey Boys, the defendant and others committed a drive-by shooting on July 29, 2011 at 211 Shirley Avenue in Buffalo which left three individuals wounded. Two of the victims suffered superficial wounds but a third, identified as “JM,” was shot in the shoulder and spent more than two months in the Erie County Medical Center recovering from his injuries.

Allen was arrested along with 10 other Bailey Boys Gang members. He is the first conviction in the case.  The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  

The sentencing is the result of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the Bailey Boys and other criminal gangs being conducted by the United States Attorney’s office in close cooperation with the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, under the direction of District Attorney Michael Flaherty, the Homicide Bureau of the Buffalo Police Department, under the command of Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, under the Direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, and the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy B. Howard.