Seneca Niagara Casino Loaded Gun Incident Leads to Rapper’s Appearance in Court

Posted on: February 4, 2022, 01:09h. 

Last updated on: February 4, 2022, 10:11h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A 22-year-old rapper appeared in court Thursday on charges he tossed a firearm from the roof of a parking structure at New York State’s Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino. He was one of several men who were filming a rap video when the incident took place.

Seneca Niagara Resort police
A Niagara Falls, N.Y. police SUV, pictured above. A rapper charged by local police allegedly tossed a gun from the roof of Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino’s parking structure. (Image: Buffalo News)

Markiez A. Davis of Niagara Falls, N.Y., pled not guilty to second-and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment in Niagara County Court, the Buffalo News reported.

The incident began on Dec. 17 when casino security guards spotted six men filming the video. One of them had a gun. The men had not received permission to be on the roof and thus, Niagara Falls police were alerted.

Davis remained in custody late this week at the Niagara County Jail. He is being held without bail.

Firearm Almost Landed on Security Guards

When officers arrived, one man allegedly tossed the firearm to the sidewalk. It nearly hit casino security guards as it landed below, local TV station WIVB reported.

The firearm was loaded at the time, the Buffalo News quoted Assistant District Attorney Maria H. Stoelting. The firearm was later seized by police.

At first, the men filming the video claimed no one on the roof had a firearm, the news report said. Later, police also searched a car connected to the case and found suspected marijuana and “a large amount of cash hidden in the trunk,” the Buffalo News said.

Davis was arrested last Friday. Police also discovered that Davis was on parole related to a sentence of 2⅓ to seven years in prison for two robberies, the Buffalo News added, citing state prison online records. That means he should not have had a firearm in his possession and the incident is an alleged parole violation, the report said.

If convicted, Davis could face up to 15 years in prison for the second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charge.

Police have not said whether charges would be brought against the five other men who were on the roof.

Earlier Gun Incident

In an unrelated incident, a Niagara Falls man was sentenced in December to four years in prison for his role in a 2019 shooting outside the Seneca Niagara Casino. Julian Seright, 40, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

In another incident, charges are pending against a middle school teacher accused of an attempted sexual assault at Seneca Niagara Casino last February. The defendant is Brian H. Lasher, 56, of Amherst, N.Y. He is charged with committing a third-degree criminal sex act, third-degree attempted rape, and third-degree sex abuse, the Buffalo News reported.

Last month, Lasher pleaded not guilty to the charges before Niagara Falls City Court Judge James J. Faso, Jr., the report said. Lasher was placed on leave from his job as a middle school physical education teacher.