An Olean, N.Y., man pleaded guilty prior to trial Tuesday for
negligent homicide in the death of another man last July – and the
Cattaraugus County District Attorney later voiced his displeasure
to the media regarding residents who refused to cooperate with the
investigation.

Tyrone Malone, 30, of 207 N. 11th St., Olean, entered a guilty
plea prior to trial in Cattaraugus County Court to one count of
criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony. He had been facing
charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a
weapon.

Malone was charged in the July 13 stabbing death of Kurtis
Billingslea Jr., 30, in a parking lot near the corner of West State
and North Fifth streets. Billingslea died from a stab wound to the
chest.

District Attorney Edward Sharkey described the facts that Malone
admitted to in the plea.

“The victim brought a knife to the area where Malone was talking
on a cell phone,” Sharkey said. “He pulled a knife on Malone. The
knife got into Malone’s hands. The victim got stabbed and
ultimately died.”

As for a reason for the altercation between the two men, that
never really became clear during the course of the investigation,
Sharkey said.

“We haven’t been able to establish that they knew each other.
They were both upset for different reasons. Beyond that, they were
both in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he explained.

Fern Adelstein, Malone’s attorney, said, “under the
circumstances, Ty really felt he had no chance but to take a
plea.”

She explained that there was a sentencing commitment made with
the plea that Malone will serve one year in the Cattaraugus County
Jail. If convicted of a murder charge, he could have been sentenced
to 15 years to life in prison.

Malone will be sentenced June 5, she said.

“From Ty’s perspective, he felt like he was fighting for his
life twice,” Adelstein said. “He was defending himself from some
guy who came up to him with a knife totally unprovoked,” and then
had to defend his actions again in the courtroom.

“He was attacked by somebody with a knife and felt he was
totally justified in his actions. What would you do?” she said.

Referring to the plea, she said, “Under the circumstances, he
felt this was a decision he needed to make for his family.”

Sharkey said that even the judge, Cattaraugus County Court Judge
Larry Himelein, “pointed out on the record that he felt this was a
fair resolution” to the matter.

The district attorney explained there were several matters which
complicated the prosecution of the case.

In the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials
became suspicious that the witnesses to the incident, which
happened “outside Don’s Tavern in Olean,” Sharkey explained, were
not completely truthful.

“We didn’t get any cooperation,” Sharkey said. “Some of the
people were from prominent families.

“We don’t think these witnesses were telling us everything they
knew. A lot of people shaded what they told us. A lot of people got
to where the events occurred and then stopped, and then picked up
their stories again after the fact,” he said.

In some cases, information given by witnesses was proven to be
inaccurate.

“We chased a lot of information needlessly,” he said, expressing
his frustration with wasted resources. “We can’t do our jobs
effectively unless we have help.

“If you see something, it is important you tell everything to
the police so we can do our jobs,” he stressed.

However, the troubles with the case did not end there.

“In addition to the problems with witnesses and the fact that
(Billingslea) brought the knife to the fight, there was no DNA
evidence that linked Malone to the weapon,” Sharkey said.

“There was DNA from the man who threw it or moved it, there was
DNA from the victim and a third (unknown) person’s DNA,” he said.
“Malone’s was eliminated.”

Sharkey added again that the plea was a positive resolution for
Billingslea’s death.

He said also the district attorney’s office and Olean City
Police were grateful for the support from the New York State Police
for their help in the investigation.

Sharkey also explained the area where the stabbing occurred has
been the site for other altercations in the past. He said police
patrols have been stepped up in that section of the city since it
was identified as a “trouble spot.”