Erie County District Attorney

09/24/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/24/2021 08:46

Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Murder for Fatally Stabbing Woman Inside Her Town of Tonawanda Apartment

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 34-year-old Clarence H. Simmons of Buffalo pleaded guilty this morning before State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller to one count of Murder in the Second Degree (Class "A-I" felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the only charge in the indictment against him.

The defendant admitted to causing the death of 22-year-old Arielle Johnson by stabbing her multiple times while inside her apartment on Parkedge Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda on March 19, 2020. The defendant and the victim were known to each other.

Simmons faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Friday, October 29, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. He continues to remain held without bail.

DA Flynn commends Det. Lt. Thomas Moore, Det. Jeffrey Campanella and Officer Phillip McDonald of the Town of Tonawanda Police Department for their work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ashley M. Morgan of the Homicide Bureau.