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Jury Selected In Haffa Case, Trial To Begin Next Week

MAYVILLE — The retrial of a Cheektowaga man accused of attempted murder of a Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputy will begin next week in county court.

The final four jurors were selected Wednesday following more than a week of selection in the first-degree attempted murder case of Justin Haffa. Alternate jurors are expected to be selected by the end of the week.

Haffa has been jailed following a mistrial in September after his defense claimed a report regarding DNA evidence had been withheld by the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office.

Haffa’s charges stem from a Sept. 11, 2016, incident in which he allegedly attacked a sheriff’s deputy as she attempted to administer a field sobriety test on Route 60 in the town of Pomfret following a crash in the early morning hours. A National Grid employee testified at Haffa’s first trial that he was driving his service truck when he came across the accident and dialed 911.

The employee said he found Haffa and his girlfriend, both of whom appeared uninjured but nervous, when he stopped to assist.

During the field sobriety test, Haffa reportedly pinned the deputy to ground, injured her with a knife and fled with her gun. He was found on Putnam Road by Sheriff Joe Gerace and Lt. James Quattrone of the Sheriff’s Office.

Gerace testified in September that he and Quattrone were responding that morning after being tipped that Haffa may have been walking on Putnam Road. They arrived to find the Cheektowaga man walking with the deputy’s gun.

The sheriff fired a shot after he said Haffa began to turn toward the pair with the gun in his hand. The shot missed, and Haffa was subsequently taken into custody.

The District Attorney’s Office rested its case in September shortly before the mistrial was declared. Patrick Swanson, district attorney, declined to comment on the beginning of next week’s trial.

Haffa, who is being represented by the Public Defender’s Office, is also facing charges of first-degree robbery and aggravated assault on a police officer. If convicted he faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

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