Murder suspect takes plea

Rick Pfeiffer, Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·2 min read

Mar. 25—LOCKPORT — A beef over a drug debt will see an 18-year-old Falls teen spend the next 18 years of his life behind bars.

During a pre-trial hearing in State Supreme Court in Lockport Wednesday, Arion Darrell, also known as Arion Darnel, 18, of the Falls, pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree manslaughter in connection with the murder of John Bruso.

The plea was part of a deal offered by Niagara County prosecutors, who had originally charged Darrell with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. told Darrell he will send him to state prison for 18 years for his guilty plea.

Prosecutors had noted that their evidence against Darrell was "very strong." The shooting of Bruso, at close range as he sat in a car on Welch Avenue, was captured on video by security cameras at a nearby deli.

Darrell was picked up by Investigators three days after the murder at a home on the 600 block of Seventh Street. His arrest came just hours after Crime Stoppers of Western New York posted a $2,500 reward for information on his whereabouts.

Bruso, 18, was gunned down as he sat in the passenger seat of a parked car in the 1700 block of Welch Avenue. Witnesses said a gunman, later identified as Darrell, approached Bruso's car, opened the door and began firing.

The Falls teen was struck multiple times in the back.

Falls police, responding to a call of a shooting, said when they arrived at the scene they found a black sedan parked at the curb with blood in the passenger's seat. Bruso had already been taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center by a family member.

He was pronounced dead at NFMMC a short time later.

Sources said that Bruso had told family members, prior to the shooting, that he "owed a lot of money" to someone. The debt was reportedly linked to the sale of some marijuana between Bruso and Darrell.

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