Police Arrest Buffalo Man for Driveby Shooting That Killed Senior Citizen

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By Jenny Rizzo

A local musician and innocent bystander was on his way to dialysis when he was gunned down in broad daylight this summer. Now police say they've finally caught his killer.

Adrian Traylor told police that he didn't intend to shoot Larry Crosland. But during the daytime driveby, the senior citizen was struck by a stray bullet. Traylor is now facing a murder charge.

It was a heinous crime that was caught on tape - 61-year-old Crosland was exiting his apartment on a hot summer day to head to a routine medical appointment when he unexpectedly wound up in the crossfire.

"This was to me, very disturbing in the effect that it was a senior citizen who was an innocent victim in a random shooting that occurred that day," said Buffalo Police Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson at a news conference on Friday afternoon.

At the exact same moment, a NFTA metro bus was passing by and a camera mounted inside the vehicle recorded the action at the intersection of William and Filmore Avenue.

"I think it was certainly instrumental helping identify the car and helping find that car," said C. Douglas Hartmayer, NFTA spokesman back in August of 2009.

The "buscam" footage helped police locate the car involved in the drive-by. And once they found the driver they were able to find the passengers, in particular the person whose hand was spotted hanging outside the Subaru Outback holding a gun. Police now believe that person was 22-year-old Adrian Traylor of Buffalo.

"The suspect did not intend to shoot the victim, he was firing at some other individual in the other car, and in that random firing of several shots, one of them arced up, went quite a distance and struck Mr. Crosland," said Gipson.

Police arrested Traylor and charged him with murder in the second degree. To Crosland's family, the intent of the shooter doesn't matter. Its what happened as a result of his actions that will affect them the rest of their lives.

"Bullets never have a name on them. And they land anywhere. So when you shoot them they have to land somewhere. And unfortunately a bullet landed in my father's eye," Carlcey Terrell, Crosland's son told Eyewitness News back in August of 2009.

Crosland succumbed to his injuries and died at ECMC on August 14, 2009, two days after he was shot. He was a popular local musician. Traylor was arraigned on Friday morning and is being held at the Erie County Holding Center.

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