BUFFALO, N.Y. — A Buffalo man is now facing charges for the late night theft of a city fire engine and the alleged burglary of a downtown restaurant.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office says Yassin A. Abdikadir, 25, was arraigned Friday morning on a variety of charges related to the theft of the firefighting vehicle, which is the Engine 1 pumper truck based at the fire station at Ellicott and South Division.
Prosecutors say the fire truck was taken from the intersection of Main and West Huron streets about 11:50 p.m. while the crew of firefighters was responding to an EMS call at that location. As they normally would do, they left the diesel powered rig running while handling the medical call.
2 On Your Side spoke with Buffalo Fire commissioner William Renaldo, who told us, "There was nothing untoward that our firefighters or officers on the scene did. Everyone performed as expected, and nothing was done wrong."
He added that: "This is the first time I can recall since being here in 1982 that one of our apparatus was actually stolen. So yeah, we will look internally, looking at policies, procedures and SOPs (standard operating procedures) and we will see, 'Hey, can we do things a little differently so something like this can't happen down the road.' "
Renaldo says they are fortunate that no one was hurt and that there wasn't more damage from the heavy rig, which the suspect was driving down narrow streets.
The DA's office says Abdikadir drove off in the vehicle and then it struck three parked cars and numerous street signs before he stopped on Delaware Avenue near Allen Street. They say he jumped from the truck and fled as the truck's air brakes started to smoke.
Commissioner Renaldo says the smoking brakes occurred because the suspect was not able to disengage the air-brake system. He says it was like trying to drive a car with the emergency brake on.
Renaldo says that may have lowered the speed of the truck.
The owner of the Colter Bay Restaurant told 2 On Your Side that an employee used a fire extinguisher to try to cool the brakes off before other fire crews and police arrived. They are still checking for any further damage to the truck and a reserve engine is now being used as a temporary replacement.
Prosecutors say earlier on Thursday at 2:30 a.m. the suspect unlawfully entered a restaurant in the 200 block of Ellicott Street and broke into a storage cabinet to steal approximately 50 bottles of alcohol valued at $2,000.
Abdikadir faces numerous charges for the alleged theft of the fire truck. They include:
- One count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Class “E” felony)
- One count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (Class “E” felony)
- One count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor)
- One count of Obstructing Emergency Medical Services (Class “A” misdemeanor)
- One count of Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in the Third Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor)
- One count of Reckless Driving (unclassified misdemeanor under Vehicle & Traffic Law)
- One count of Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree (unclassified misdemeanor under Vehicle & Traffic Law)
- One count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting Property Damage (violation under Vehicle & Traffic Law)
He also faces separate charges for the alleged burglary:
- One count of Burglary in the Third Degree (Class “D” felony)
- One count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Class “E” felony)
- One count of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor)
Abdikadir was released on his own recognizance as the charges do not qualify for bail. He is due to return to court for both cases at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, August 26.
If convicted of the highest charge he faces a maximum of seven years in prison.