Michael Bliss' life was turned upside down in March while waiting on the corner of Main Street and Winspear Avenue. After watching a Buffalo Sabres game at the Steer Bar and Restaurant, he was attacked and assaulted.
Kevin F. Rowland, 23, was one of the three men accused of beating Bliss and leaving him permanently paralyzed. He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on Wednesday in a Buffalo courtroom.
"It's a little bit of closure - it was a step closer to getting these guys locked up," Bliss said about the guilty plea.
Rowland faces an eight-year prison term. State Supreme Court Justice Russell P. Buscaglia explained his lenient sentence is contingent on Rowland's cooperation with prosecutors in the future attempted murder and assault trial against Charles Jordan, 22, according to the Buffalo News.
"The trial is at the end of the year for the remaining defendant," Bliss said. "Hopefully I will get there and get better, we'll go from there."
Michael Gunderman, 23, a UB alumnus, who was a suspect in the case, was cleared of criminal responsibility by the Erie County Grand Jury.
In a March 26 Spectrum article, Michael DeGeorge, spokesperson for the Buffalo Police Department, said that Bliss was punched, kicked and knocked to the ground.
All three suspects were arrested at the site, though one suspect fled and then was returned to the scene. The three suspects were roommates at the time of the attack.
Bliss is on the road to recovery, according to www.mikebliss.weebly.com. He is currently undergoing physical therapy. The Michael W. Bliss Trust has been established to ease the burden of Bliss' medical costs.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
