LOCKPORT – Christopher W. Cessna-Carter, whose attorney said he has been shot three times in the past year and a half, was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison and three years of post-release supervision for illegal possession of a handgun.
Cessna-Carter, 20, of North Avenue, Niagara Falls, had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for having a gun in his car July 9, 2011. Falls police were chasing the vehicle, which Cessna-Carter crashed into a tree on 24th Street.
The arrest came four days after Cessna-Carter had been shot in the leg. On Aug. 18, 2011, he was wounded in the abdomen by a shot fired through the basement window of a home on Walnut Avenue. No information was available on the third shooting. Cessna-Carter said he had the gun for protection.
Assistant District Attorney Brian D. Seaman said, “We have a growing problem in Niagara Falls, where people who are victims of violent acts take matters into their own hands.”
Defense attorney Angelo Musitano said the gun was unloaded; the bullets were on the floor of the car. “He’s got no prior record. Why should he be the example?” Musitano asked Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas.
Cessna-Carter, 20, of North Avenue, Niagara Falls, had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for having a gun in his car July 9, 2011. Falls police were chasing the vehicle, which Cessna-Carter crashed into a tree on 24th Street.
The arrest came four days after Cessna-Carter had been shot in the leg. On Aug. 18, 2011, he was wounded in the abdomen by a shot fired through the basement window of a home on Walnut Avenue. No information was available on the third shooting. Cessna-Carter said he had the gun for protection.
Assistant District Attorney Brian D. Seaman said, “We have a growing problem in Niagara Falls, where people who are victims of violent acts take matters into their own hands.”
Defense attorney Angelo Musitano said the gun was unloaded; the bullets were on the floor of the car. “He’s got no prior record. Why should he be the example?” Musitano asked Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas.