Man convicted of murder in shooting outside Elmira bar gets prison

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[USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect] — A Massachusetts man convicted of murder for the 2024 shooting death of another man in Elmira learned his fate Dec. 19.

Dante M. Baldwin, 29, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, for the May 20, 2024, death of 43-year-old Norman D. Cherry, of no known address.

A Chemung County Court jury on Sept. 15 found Baldwin guilty on all charges after a weeklong trial.

On Friday, Chemung County Judge Ottavio Campanella sentenced Baldwin to 25 years to life in prison on the murder charge, and 10 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, on each of the weapons charges. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Charges resulted from shooting outside Elmira business

Around 10:52 p.m. May 20, 2024, officers responded to the report of a confirmed shooting with a victim outside of Gush’s Thirsty Bear at 351 E. Washington Ave., Elmira police said at the time.

Arriving officers were unable to locate a victim, but later determined Cherry, who was shot six times, had been transported by a private vehicle to Arnot Ogden Medical Center and later transferred to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, where he later died.

On Oct. 8 of last year, Baldwin was taken into custody by Springfield, Massachusetts, police on a superior court warrant issued in June by Chemung County Court.

He was returned to Elmira a few weeks later and has been incarcerated at the Chemung County Jail since then.

Baldwin testified on his own behalf at his trial and claimed the shooting was justified because the victim tried to pull a gun on him.

The jury rejected his claim and found him guilty after less than three hours of deliberation.