Yvette Johnson had just celebrated her 54th birthday and was preparing to move to Atlanta when she and her 16-month-old grandson, Kyrie Johnson, were fatally shot outside her Grape Street home on July 2, 2018. (Provided photos)
Kenyatta Austin was sentenced Monday to 64 years to life in prison in the killings of a grandmother and her toddler grandson who were both shot outside the woman's Grape Street home in the early morning hours of July 2, 2018.
Erie County Court Judge Kenneth F. Case sentenced Austin to 25 years each for his Feb. 18 convictions on two counts of second-degree intentional murder, and seven years each on two counts of second-degree assault, District Attorney John J. Flynn said during a news conference in his office after the sentencing.
"Today, the family of the victims here finally got justice by Mr. Austin being sent away to prison," Flynn said.
Yvette Johnson's family had just celebrated her 54th birthday at a picnic in Martin Luther King Jr. Park on the night of July 1, 2018, and were gathered outside her Grape Street home when several people opened fire. Johnson and her grandson, Kyrie – who was just shy of 17 months old – were both fatally wounded. Johnson's brother, Darren Works, who was holding Kyrie, and Kyrie's father, Devery Johnson, were also wounded, but not fatally.
Kenyatta Austin was found guilty in the killings of a grandmother and her toddler grandson who were both outside her home on Grape Street when gunfire erupted early on the morning of July 2, 2018. Erie County Court Judge Kenneth F. Case announced the verdict Tuesday following a bench trial in January. Austin was found guilty of two counts
The double homicide involving a baby and his grandmother caused outrage across the city, prompting the mayor, police commissioner and other city leaders to take to the streets, handing out flyers in the Fruit Belt neighborhood asking for witnesses to come forward.
Austin was arrested July 3 in Niagara Falls on a weapons charge, and ultimately was indicted on murder and assault charges in the quadruple shooting.
"It is my hope that he spends the rest of his life in jail for what he did to this 17-month-old child, and that child's grandma," Flynn said Monday.
He also commended two witnesses who testified in the case.
Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn publicly credited the two witnesses for their testimony, which he called “extremely important” in convicting Kenyatta Austin of murder in a quadruple
"I want to recognize them again. It is not easy to come forward. It is not easy to have the specter of someone, perhaps, taking retaliation against you for coming forward but, fortunately, in this case right here, we had two brave witnesses who did come forward and testify at trial, which led to the subsequent prosecution of Mr. Austin," Flynn said.
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One of the witnesses was Austin's girlfriend. The other was a woman who overheard Austin talking about the shooting.
Flynn also noted a recent rise in both fatal and non-fatal shootings that have, so far, gone unsolved.
"One of the main reasons why a lot of the cases are unresolved and people are not being arrested is because people are afraid to come forward. People are not only afraid to come forward, but there are others who just refuse to come forward out of some street code sense," Flynn said.
"We had two individuals here who defied both of those codes. They were not afraid to come forward because they realized they wanted to do the right thing to get justice for a 17-month-old child and his grandmother, and they were not bound by some street code where they were not going to snitch," he added.
Flynn said prospective witnesses should be assured that there are measures that the District Attorney's Office can take to help protect them from harm.
During his bench trial, Austin was also found guilty of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
A year has passed since Yvette Johnson and her 17-month-old grandson were fatally shot outside her Grape Street home. The grief is still fresh for Johnson’s
"The gun charge carried a sentence of 15 years, but, by operation of law, that is to be concurrent. We, unfortunately, could not take that on consecutively," Flynn said.
In September, Austin also was sentenced in Niagara County Court to three years in prison for possessing an assault rifle in Niagara Falls. That sentence, Flynn said, will be served consecutively.
Flynn said it is difficult to achieve closure in such a horrific case.
"When you have a 17-month-old child who is shot and killed, it obviously tugs at your heart. To this day, we still don't know the motive. I still don't know why this happened ... The family members who came here today, I can't look in their eyes and give them a reason why this happened, and that's terrible," he said.
"I can now give them some criminal justice closure, but we're never going to get full closure here."
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November 24, 2020 at 07:38AM
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Kenyatta Austin gets 64 years to life in prison in Grape Street killings - Buffalo News
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