BUFFALO, NY – Nearly six months after the brutal slaying of an East Side restaurateur, the first of what is expected to be three defendants was arraigned Wednesday in connection with his murder.
Shanita Chapman, 29, of Buffalo, appeared in Erie County Court where she was arraigned on charges of 2nd Degree Murder and Robbery.
Chapman plead not guilty and remains held without bail.
The victim, 79-year-old Upender Bawa, was beaten to death on July 17, according to prosecutors, in his apartment above the Taste of Life restaurant which he operated for 20 years at 889 Sycamore Street near Fillmore Avenue.
“He was a beloved member of the community,” said Erie County’s Acting District Attorney Michael J. Flaherty Jr. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family members and those who knew him.”
Following her court appearance, Chapman’s Attorney Andrew LoTempio told WGRZ-TV, “My understanding is that my client is not even alleged to have been on the scene of the homicide."
However, under New York State law, Chapman didn’t need to be present to be charged, according to Flaherty.
“In New York, one can be held criminally responsible for the acts of another, so long as we can prove that she aided, abetted, planned or had some sort of assistance in the commission of these crimes," he said.
“We're going to have to wait and find out how she's connected,” said LoTempio. “Then determine where she fits in.”
In open court, the prosecutor handling the case revealed a bit about how the connection to Chapman was made.
“Shortly after his (Bawa’s) body was found, this defendant and two other individuals were located in Ohio outside of Cleveland in the victim's vehicle,” said Assistant District Attorney John Patrick Feroleto during Chapman’s arraignment.
Flaherty declined to identify the other two persons located in Ohio with Chapman, but did state, “I anticipate her accomplices will be brought in for arraignment in the next couple of weeks and then you will learn their identities at that point.”