Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 51-year-old Michael J. Cremen of Mountain Home, Arkansas, formerly of Franklinville, New York, pleaded guilty this morning before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to one count of Menacing in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime and one count of Bail Jumping in the Second Degree (Class “E” felonies). The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest charges in full satisfaction of both indictments against him.
On Friday, August 28, 2020, at approximately 6:30 p.m., the defendant used racial slurs while threatening protesters with a knife during a demonstration on Hertel Avenue near Parkside Avenue in the City of Buffalo. The defendant pushed one protester during the incident.
The defendant, who was released on his own recognizance in the hate crime-related case, repeatedly failed to appear in court. A bench warrant was issued after defendant knowingly failed to appear for a court proceeding in February 2022 and failed to appear for the re-scheduled court appearance in March 2022.
In December 2022, the defendant was taken into custody in Arkansas by the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding bench warrant and an indictment warrant for bail jumping. Cremen was extradited back to Western New York by the U.S. Marshals Service to face prosecution. He was held without bail.
Cremen faces a maximum of 4 years in prison when he is sentenced on Friday, January 12, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. Today, he was released on his own recognizance.
