Attorneys representing the Tops mass shooter continue to try to have the federal case dismissed

BUFFALO, NY (WIVB) – Attorneys representing the man who killed 10 black people in Tops on May 14, 2022 continue to argue that the federal case against him should be dropped.

They argued Tuesday that justice has already been served since Payton Gendron has already pleaded guilty to state charges. He has already been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They also asked whether the U.S. Attorney General’s certification approving a death penalty can be reviewed.

Gendron’s lawyers, a team of public defenders, argued earlier this year that he should be exempt from the death penalty because of his age, 18 at the time of the crime. He is now 21 and serving time in the Livingston County Jail.

If the death penalty is taken off the table, he would serve the same life sentence he is already serving on the state charges.

Gendron drove more than three hours from Conklin, New York to Buffalo to commit the crime. He had planned his actions before the shooting and sought out a neighborhood with a large black population. His federal trial is tentatively scheduled to begin on September 8, 2025.

The victims’ families said he should be prosecuted federally.

“Without the federal prosecution, there would be no disclosure of the discovery. There would be no disclosure of the discovery, all the evidence obtained in this case,” said Garnell Whitfield, whose mother Ruth was among the 10 killed. “I strongly believe that this is in the public interest to be disclosed.”

Gendron was not present in court on Tuesday. Federal Judge Lawrence Vilardo recently ruled that he does not have to be in court, but ordered Gendron to write and sign an affidavit saying he understands he has the ability to be in court, but is waiving his right to appear.

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