Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - A trial date has been set in the federal death penalty case against the gunman of the racially motivated Tops mass shooting back on May 14, 2022 that left 10 Black people dead and three others wounded.
Both parties involved in the federal case returned to the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse on Friday in Downtown Buffalo for another status conference, where both sides deliberated for about 90 minutes on a number of talking points before the death penalty trial is slated to begin.
The prosecution and defense in this case argued whether or not there was a need to set a trial date to begin with. However, Judge Lawrence Vilardo says the purpose of the date set on Friday was for everyone to work for that date to be ready to go to trial.
When all was said and done, Judge Vilardo set the trial date for Sept. 8, 2025, though adds nothing is firmly cast in stone, as he is open to adjusting dates forward or backwards if needed. However, he does not think an advanced start time for a trial date is all that likely.
While a trial date is now firmly set for the death penalty case against the Tops shooter, many of the families are still unsure of what the trial will even look like.
"Are family members going to testify? I don't know. I think for me, that's the biggest piece that I'm thinking about," said Zeneta Everhart, Buffalo Common Councilwoman and mother of Zaire Goodman, who was one of the three wounded in the shooting. "How do we prepare Zaire for that mentally? As you see, he doesn't come to court now. How is that gonna affect him, him having to be here?"
Among the pre-trial matters addressed and scheduled for finalization on Friday included the submission and review of discovery from the defense, challenges to the constitutionality of the death penalty, a professional mental health expert evaluation, and jury selection for the trial.
One part of Friday's discussions that was frustrating for Everhart was the defense team's attempts to stall certain dates to move the pre-trial process along. This included the submission and review of discovery, which the defense tried to claim that a March of 2024 deadline was too soon, though the prosecution said the defense team has had complete discovery since September of 2022.
"I don't know what they're stalling for, or why they're stalling. But, I mean, get on with it already," Everhart said. "You need six months, and they need another six months for this and another six months for that? Why do you need so much time? To me, it's just annoying to keep hearing them push for more time, push for more time. Just get on with it already."
Prosecutors estimated they will need three to four months to select a jury for the capital punishment case. The trial itself is expected to last five to six weeks.
Both parties on Friday also spent a good amount of time arguing over a pair of motions leading up to the pre-trial process: Pre-trial detention records and jury records.
With the motion for pre-trial detention records, prosecution was requesting a proposal to seek six categories of records:
- Non-legal communications (texts, calls, etc.)
- Visitor logs
- Records/other documents and notes of interactions with defense teams
- Commissary transactions
- Non-legal correspondence
- Internet search history while in custody
At this time, the prosecution is not pursuing any medical records until that may become an issue. They add a filter team will go through and request each record if necessary.
However, the defense team argued staunchly against some of those categories, saying they want the categories to be more pristine.
In the end, Judge Vilardo said he wanted more clarity on the matter, and gave prosecution three weeks the set some parameters on the request, which the defense team will then issue its reply in early March.
In addition, the motion for jury records remains pending, as both parties have agreed to a potential conference call with the jury admin about potential options going forward.
Payton Gendron, 20, was not present in court on Friday for the status conference. He is already serving a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole after pleading guilty to state charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism in the 2022 attack.
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