Erie County prosecutor arrested for allegedly sharing information about cases
"It's an outrage that this behavior took place."
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A now-former Erie County prosecutor has been arrested for allegedly sharing information about cases with outside parties, officials said Thursday.
Prosecutors allege that De'Lenci Shannon-Brown, 28, who was working as an assistant district attorney for the Erie County District Attorney's Office, electronically shared information about cases with others.
An investigation began earlier this week. Buffalo Police said they were investigating an unrelated case and while checking cell phone records, a phone number belonging to Shannon-Brown came up sharing the info.
The case was investigated throughout the day Wednesday, leading up to his arrest around 6 p.m. He is charged with one misdemeanor count of official misconduct as well as one count of DWAI-drugs, connected with him allegedly being high on marijuana during a traffic stop. He was fired upon his arrest.
Officials said that Shannon-Brown had only been working for the DA's office for five weeks after starting in June. He was assigned to Buffalo City Court, mostly handling vehicle and traffic matters. He also worked for the DA's office as an intern in 2021 and then had a stint as a temporary employee before he passed the New York State Bar Examination, which he eventually did at the end of May.
The case will not be handled by the Erie County DA's office, as is procedure when it involves someone affiliated with the office. He will be arraigned Friday morning on the DWAI charge, and then for the official misconduct charge on Aug. 14.
"It's an outrage that this behavior took place, it's an outrage that he violated that trust," said Erie County District Attorney Michael Keane at a news conference Thursday. "At the end of the day, we're dealing with human beings. And if somebody wants to share information and violate their oath, they can do that. And it's unfortunate."
The office said they do have a good idea of what information about other cases he had access to, but will continue to investigate.
"Anytime there's a violation of public trust by anybody standing up here in our profession, it puts lives at danger, it puts the community in danger," Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said. "There's an expectation that we have to be a step above, that we have to be above that fray. And we are certainly going to come down as hard as possible."
You can watch Thursday's full news conference in the media player above.