Jury Convicts Niagara County Man of Murder

Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman announced that a jury has found 24-year-old Joshua Z. Chandler of Lockport guilty on all charges connected to a deadly 2023 shooting. Chandler was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for the July 2nd incident that claimed the life of 27-year-old Rakeem Hamilton and left a female passenger seriously wounded.

According to prosecutors, Chandler opened fire with an illegal handgun on a vehicle during what authorities described as a dispute with the driver.

“This defendant opened fire with an illegal handgun on a car full of people over some dispute with the driver. Well, the driver escaped unharmed, but one passenger in that car was killed and another, a young lady, was shot in the face,” Seaman said in a statement following the verdict. “We will be asking the judge to impose a maximum sentence on this defendant for these outrageous crimes.”

The shooting unfolded just after 10pm outside a bodega near Locust and Walnut street when Lockport police officers responded to a “shots fired” call. Officers arriving on scene located a female victim who had sustained a gunshot wound to the face. She was transported by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo for treatment.

Nearby, officers recovered a spent shell casing and discovered Hamilton’s body approximately 100 feet from where the injured woman was found. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have indicated that Chandler and Hamilton were acquainted, and testimony during trial suggested the shooting was targeted rather than random.

The case was investigated by the Lockport Police Department and prosecuted by First Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffmann and Assistant District Attorney Christine Savoia. Chandler faces up to 65 years to life in prison when he returns to court in December for sentencing before Acting Supreme Court Justice Mario Giacobbe.

Jury Convicts Niagara County Man of Murder