Buffalo man sentenced to 15 years to life prison after fatal West Side shooting

By: Abigail Jacobson Posted BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo man has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison Tuesday morning after a fatal shooting on the city’s West side in July 2025.

According to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office, Moises Cortijo, 49, was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon July 2026.

Investigators said that on July 13, 2025, Buffalo police responded to a shooting on the 300 block of Busti Avenue. The victim, 35-year-old David Ortiz-Ramos, was taken by ambulance to ECMC, where he was pronounced dead. The DA’s investigation determined that Cortijo was a participant in the deadly shooting.

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