Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt
The Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office is declining to press charges in a 2024 fatal shooting incident in Jamestown.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt said on August 16, 2024, 25-year old Corey Johnson of Buffalo sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head during an altercation with other individuals in an area behind the Wine Cellar, located at 309 North Main Street.
The incident was thoroughly investigated by Jamestown Police Department and processed the scene with assistance from the Chautauqua County Forensics Investigation Team. Between the two, police recovered numerous items of physical evidence, including a defaced 9mm semi-automatic handgun used in the incident, obtained multiple surveillance video recordings capturing the shooting event from different viewpoints, and identified and interviewed numerous witnesses, including people present before and during the altercation which resulted in Mr. Johnson’s death.
Schmidt said in a media release, “…as a result of our analysis, and after careful review of all evidence developed by Jamestown Police and later analyzed by the New York State Police Forensic Lab, I have determined that a homicide prosecution under the facts and circumstances of this shooting would run contrary to applicable law, and I will therefore not be pursuing charges in this matter.”
Schmidt said his conclusion is based on the fact that Johnson was the only person with a gun, who demonstrated his intent to use the gun by chasing after and repeatedly attempting to shoot that person; and that Johnson’s actions led to a physical struggle between the two during which Johnson was fatally shot with his own handgun. He said, “Under these facts, the deadly physical force provisions of New York’ s self-defense/justification law provide an absolute defense to the person who may have pulled the trigger during the final struggle resulting in Mr. Johnson’s death.”
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