NIAGARA COUNTY COURT
Man who pleaded guilty in van robbery gets 15 years
LOCKPORT — A Buffalo man who five years ago caused a fatal van-pedestrian crash, shot at a police officer and committed a kidnapping, a carjacking and another vehicle theft, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in state prison for the Niagara Falls portion of the crime spree.
“I’ve done some dangerous things. I made some wrong choices, but I’m not a dangerous person,” said Cornelius Cross, 33, formerly of Fernhill Avenue, before he was sentenced by Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza on his guilty plea to attempted first-degree robbery. That covered his gunpoint theft of a van from a cable television installer on Lafayette Avenue in Niagara Falls.
Sperrazza denounced Cross’ statements, calling his criminal record “deplorable.” She said the Feb. 18, 2004, incident was not unique, but was “a continuation of a pattern of violence.”
Cross said his carrying a gun was “just like fighting for your country.” Sperrazza replied, “That statement was insulting to me and to all veterans.”
After stealing the van, Cross drove it through the border barrier at the Rainbow Bridge and struck and killed a 40-year-old woman who was getting out of her car in Niagara Falls, Ont. He fired at Canadian police before being subdued.
Cross pleaded guilty June 2 in State Supreme Court to stealing a Lackawanna man’s car at gunpoint next to the Northeast District police station in Buffalo.
He stuffed the driver into the trunk and abandoned the car on the Robert Moses Parkway in Niagara Falls before stealing the van.
Justice Christopher J. Burns has said Cross’ 15-year sentence on the carjacking would run concurrently with the one Sperrazza imposed.
The carjacking came after Cross’ ex-girlfriend, who had been held against her will for five days, escaped from a home on Alma Avenue in Buffalo and headed for the police station. A kidnapping charge was dropped in a State Supreme Court plea bargain.
In June 2005, a Canadian court sentenced Cross to 12 years for the fatal crash. Sperrazza said the sentence she imposed will begin after that prison term ends. Cross isn’t eligible for parole in that case until 2014.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments