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Former Lancaster cop federally charged in Buffalo airport gate breach

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | By Ryan Zunner,
Jim Fink
Published June 6, 2025 at 5:21 PM EDT
Buffalo Niagara International Airport handles approximately 110 daily flights, with nonstop service to 23 airports. The BNIA serves over 5.2 million passengers annually from its facilities.
FILE
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BTPM NPR
Buffalo Niagara International Airport handles approximately 110 daily flights, with nonstop service to 23 airports. The BNIA serves over 5.2 million passengers annually from its facilities.

A Depew resident who allegedly, on May 20, drove his pick-up truck through a gate at Buffalo Niagara International Airport and across several runways is now facing federal charges.

James Muench Jr., 45, who’s LinkedIn identifies him as a former Town of Lancaster police officer and FBI taskforce member, is facing a pair of federal charges related to the incident including illegal entry of airport property, and breach of a secured aircraft operational area.

The destroyed security fence at Buffalo Niagara International Airport sits on a flatbed truck.
Jim Fink
/
BTPM NPR
The destroyed security fence at Buffalo Niagara International Airport sits on a flatbed truck.

According to the NFTA and Police Chief Brian Patterson, Muench allegedly drove his GMC Sierra pickup truck through a security fence along Luiz Kahl Way, and across a taxi way and runway before stopping on an inactive runway and training airplane. Muench surrendered peacefully during the May 20 incident, Patterson said.

The federal charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000. He also faces several state charges.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy allowed Muench to be released, with conditions. Future court dates have not yet been set.
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Ryan Zunner
Ryan is the assistant managing editor of BTPM NPR. He first joined the organization in the summer of 2018 as an intern, rising through the ranks to weekend host and junior reporter before leaving in 2021. He then had stints in public service, Top 40 radio, and TV news production. It was there he was nominated for a New York State Emmy Award for coverage of the May 14 Mass Shooting in Buffalo. He re-joined BTPM NPR in August of 2024. In addition to editorial management duties, Ryan leads BTPM NPR’s Indigenous Affairs Desk. He is an enrolled Oneida citizen of Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve.
See stories by Ryan Zunner
Jim Fink
A Buffalo native, Jim Fink has been reporting on business and economic development news in the Buffalo Niagara region since 1987, when he returned to the area after reporting on news in Vermont for the Time-Argus Newspaper and United Press International.
See stories by Jim Fink
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