Suspect Charged for Deadly Bar Shooting in Buffalo

The man named last week as a suspect in a fatal shooting outside a long-time staple bar on Hertel Avenue has been arrested.

Buffalo Police announced Monday afternoon that William Quinones, 27, was arraigned in the courtroom of State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller. He was charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree possession of a weapon. Both are felony charges. If convicted, Quinones faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Police first identified Quinones as a suspect in the shooting of Madjid Elbert, 26, just last week.

Quinones is next due in court on July 12 for a pre-trial conference with State Supreme Court Justice Paul Wojtaszek and is currently held without bail.

Elbert has been described as a chef at various restaurants around Buffalo, including the former Pano’s on Elmwood Avenue, and his family said he dreamed of operating his own food truck.

Contrary to initial reports, it is now believed Quinones and Elbert did not know or interact with each other prior to the shooting, just after 1 a.m. on May 7. Video footage made available last week shows Elbert arriving around 9:30 p.m. to watch a basketball game and the suspect not arriving until 12:30 a.m., sitting on the opposite end of the bar. It was a short time later that Elbert went outside, spoke with the shooter for a brief interval before he appears to try and punch the other man, who stepped back and pulled out a gun before shooting Elbert.