LOCKPORT — A Falls man pleaded guilty Thursday in a deal with prosecutors to a violent attack on a LaSalle gas station cashier.
Darrion A. Cotton, 59, of the Falls, entered his plea to a single count of first-degree assault in connection with the January 2024 robbery at a gas station complex at 63rd Street and Buffalo Avenue. Cotton admitted that he seriously wounded a cashier by hitting her in the head with a hammer during a robbery.
He was originally charged with one count of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree assault. The robbery charge will be dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Cotton faces a possible state prison term of between 14 and 20 years. Acting Supreme Court Justice Mario Giacobbe made no commitment on sentencing in accepting Cotton’s plea.
“This was a vicious and unprovoked attack,” Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman said. “We will be seeking the full 20-year sentence.”
A tip from a Falls police patrol officer led detectives to Cotton as a suspect in the robbery and assault. The tip, from Falls Police Patrol Officer Joshua Salada, provided what detectives called “critical information” in their investigation.
Detectives said Salada had “a previous encounter with Cotton” and, as a result of that encounter, he believed that Cotton could be a person of interest in the case.
“He felt that Cotton met some of the elements of what we were looking for,” an investigator said. “And he passed that information on to Detectives (Kevin) Henderson and (Kenneth) Redmond.”
Police brass said Henderson and Redmond, along with Crime Scene Unit (CSU) detectives, were then able to develop a case that led to Cotton’s arrest.
Cotton was accused of entering a small store, part of a gas station complex at 63rd Street and Buffalo Avenue, near the north Grand Island Bridge exit of the I-190, at 7 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2024. The assault and robbery were captured on video by security cameras at the gas station.
Detectives said the video showed Cotton entering the small convenience store toward the rear of the gas station property. After entering the store, police said Cotton immediately attacked a 57-year-old female clerk, beating her violently about her head with a hammer.
“It was brutal and very difficult to watch,” one detective said of the video.”(The suspect) just walked in and hit her repeatedly in the head with a hammer.”
Police said the unidentified woman suffered “serious injuries” and was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for treatment. The victim was then transferred to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo for further treatment.
Investigators said Cotton stole an undetermined amount of cash as well as cigarettes and other merchandise before leaving the store. He was last seen in the video walking east on Buffalo Avenue from 68th Street.
Detectives said Salada knew that Cotton lived in the neighborhood near the gas station.
Police said that during the course of the robbery, a male customer, who was driving a black Acura sedan, came into the store. Detectives said the customer “had an interaction with the suspect,” and the suspect “appeared to pretend that he was the store clerk.”