Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the death penalty trial for the shooter in the racially motivated mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market along Jefferson Avenue will take place in Buffalo.
Attorneys for Payton Gendron had sought to move the trial out of the city, arguing in a court filing it would be difficult to seat a diverse and impartial jury. Defense attorneys requested the trial be moved to Rochester.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo ruled that while jury selection may take longer, the case should remain in Buffalo, balancing the interests of victims with the defendant's right to a fair trial.
The decision is no surprise to attorney John Elmore, who represents some of the families of the 5/14 mass shooting.
"There are people in the Southern Tier that didn't see a lot of news and weren't affected by it. People in Cattaraugus County, Allegany and Orleans counties. They are going to get fair jurors, who weren't prejudice by the trial publicity," said Elmore in an interview with WBEN.
Gendron is serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to multiple state charges, including murder. He killed 10 Black people and injured three others when he opened fire at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue on May 14, 2022.
Elmore says the judge is going to receive jury questionnaires from Western New Yorkers. The prosecution and defense will have a chance to review them. The defense, he added, could renew the motion for a change of venue again.
"It's important that this defendant receives a fair and impartial trial because you don't want to have the case tried again," Elmore noted.
Jury selection is expected to begin in August, with the trial scheduled to start in September.
