Lawyers representing the top shooter continue to try to get the federal case dismissed

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Attorneys representing the man who killed ten Black people at Tops on May 14, 2022, are continuing their arguments that the federal case against him should be dismissed.

They argued Tuesday that justice has already been served since Payton Gendron already pleaded guilty to state charges. He has already been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They also asked for the U.S. Attorney General’s statement endorsing the death penalty to be revised.

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 is serving his sentence 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 charge.

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

Families of the victims said he should be prosecuted federally.

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

Gendron was not present in court Tuesday. Federal Judge Lawrence Vilardo recently ruled that he did not have to appear in court, but ordered Gendron to write and sign an affidavit stating that he understands he has the opportunity to be in court, but waives of his right to appear.

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