(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. – A North Tonawanda man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally stabbing a 59-year-old man inside a North Buffalo apartment building.
John A. Rudes, 29, received the sentence Wednesday morning before Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan. He will also serve five years of post-release supervision.
Authorities say that on September 17, 2023, at approximately 3:46 a.m., Rudes stabbed Terry Jackson multiple times in the neck inside an apartment building on the 1000 block of Kenmore Avenue. Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rudes pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, in full satisfaction of the indictment.
In a separate case, Rudes also pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony. He was under investigation for stealing $3,763 from his former employer before the homicide. As a result, he received a concurrent sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.
The theft was reported in January 2023, when the victim alerted Depew Police that several checks had been stolen from his business. Investigators determined Rudes, a former employee of the victim’s landscaping company, wrote and deposited the checks for personal gain. Surveillance footage supported the case, and Rudes agreed to pay full restitution.
The investigation was conducted by the Buffalo Police Department and the Depew Police Department. The case was prosecuted by multiple attorneys from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
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