In the early hours of a Sunday morning in South Buffalo, the life of 63-year-old Daniel J. Wolfe, a male resident of West Seneca, was brought to a tragic and abrupt end. On January 10, 2021, inside an apartment on Geary Street, Wolfe was fatally shot. The incident prompted a swift response from the Buffalo Police Department, who were called to the scene around 4 a.m. for a report of a shooting.
Upon their arrival, they discovered Wolfe deceased from a gunshot wound.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect, a man identified as Michael Rattle, who was 61 years old at the time. Rattle, an acquaintance of Wolfe, was taken into custody and subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting. He was arraigned in Buffalo City Court and held without bail.
The legal proceedings that followed ultimately saw the initial charge against Michael Rattle reduced. Two years after the fatal shooting, in January 2023, Rattle was found guilty of manslaughter for the death of his friend. In a decision that drew an objection from the Erie County District Attorney's office, the State Supreme Court Justice sentenced Rattle to five years of probation. The conditions of his probation included a prohibition on the use of alcohol and drugs, regular blood tests, and travel restrictions.
