The former CEO of the African Heritage Food Co-op, who previously admitted to a gun possession charge, will serve three years of probation as his sentence, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.
State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens on Monday sentenced Alexander J. Wright, 44, who pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor gun charge.
Wright, a founder of the co-op, resigned after his arrest in July following an early morning traffic stop on William Street, near Sherman Street, in which police found a gun, cocaine and an open whiskey bottle in his vehicle.
Shortly after his arrest, the African Heritage Food Co-op announced that Wright had severed all ties with the organization and added that Pastor Kinzer Pointer had assumed the role of chief executive officer. Kinzer then noted that the food co-op project remained worthwhile as he asserted his commitment to bring the food co-op to the Fruit Belt community.
People are also reading…
Wright was eastbound on William Street about 1:30 a.m. July 8 when he was stopped near Sherman Street by Buffalo police for a traffic violation. According to officers, Wright was driving without headlights.
During the traffic stop, an officer saw Wright take what appeared to be a handgun from the front passenger floorboard and place it inside the center console, which prompted officers to search the vehicle. They recovered from the center console a loaded, illegal handgun, along with the open bottle of whiskey and a bag containing 4.5 grams of cocaine.
Wright, a graduate of Nichols School and the University at Buffalo School of Law, was initially charged with two felonies: second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
He also was initially charged with driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and four traffic violations.