Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane announces that 51-year-old Frederick “Fred” C. Hartman of no permanent address was sentenced before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan to 3 to 6 years in prison. He was sentenced as a second felony offender.
On Sunday, June 11, 2023, at approximately 4:35 p.m., the defendant was sitting inside of a parked vehicle when he was approached by an Erie County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Fuhrmann Boulevard in the City of Buffalo. Sheriff’s Office investigators located the vehicle in the area through its GPS tracking device. The vehicle, a 2023 Ford Raptor with an estimated value of $85,500, had been reported stolen from an auto dealership on Transit Road in the Town of Elma earlier the same day. A door window at the dealership had been broken overnight, which lead to the key and the vehicle being stolen from the property.
During the traffic stop, the defendant refused the deputy’s commands to exit the vehicle and drove off, continuing southbound on Fuhrmann Boulevard. The defendant abandoned the vehicle in a restaurant parking lot near the waterfront after the tire was damaged. He entered the restaurant and jumped into Lake Erie from the patio in an attempt to evade arrest. He was taken into custody after he swam to a nearby floating dock.
In February 2024, Hartman pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree and one count of Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree (Class “D” felonies) in full satisfaction of the indictment against him.
Acting DA Keane commends Detective David Zamorek, Detective Jonathan Hanna, Detective Justin Bauer, Deputy Raymond Kuhn, Deputy William Granville, Deputy Matthew Albanese, and Deputy Joseph Reeves of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office for their work in this investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Milton D. Gordon of the Felony Trials Bureau and assisted by Chief Ashley M. Morgan of the Felony Trials Bureau.
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