BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Days after a federal judge in Buffalo denied a motion to move the federal death penalty trial for Payton Gendron, the Buffalo mass shooting gunman, to New York City, lawyers have filed a request to have the trial moved to Rochester.
Last week, the judge did not rule out the possibility of moving the trial outside the Buffalo District of the Western District of New York.
Gendron, who planned and coordinated his attack at Tops on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo on May 14, 2022, "has the right to a fair and impartial jury," Justice Lawrence Vilardo said.
The racist attack killed 10 Black people at the grocery store. Three others were hurt and survived.
WATCH: 'History of systemic racism': Tops mass shooting gunman wants federal trial moved from Buffalo to Rochester
In the court filing, obtained by the 7 News I-Team, Gendron's attorneys write,
"...the saturation of the Western District by prejudicial pretrial publicity, the devastating impact of the crimes on the Buffalo community and the region as a whole, and the history of systemic racism and discrimination in the City of Buffalo preclude the possibility that a fair, impartial and diverse jury can be seated if the case is tried in this district."
Beyond that, the defense wants the trial moved to Rochester because of "the significantly greater possibility of seating a diverse jury that is representative of the community..."
"A transfer to Rochester will concededly result in inconvenience to the Court, the parties, some witnesses, and the families of the victims. However, this inconvenience is clearly outweighed by the tangible and significant array of advantages outlined above," the defense argues.
"I can't overstate the importance of having the trial in Buffalo," Assistant US Attorney Joseph M. Tripi argued last week in federal court.
He said if moved to Rochester, many families would have trouble getting there.
"Support systems are here in Buffalo, not Rochester," Tripi said. "It's not as simple as a bus ride down the Thruway."
Tripi said there could be upwards of 90 victims. We've learned the federal government will call almost 200 witnesses. Tripi said more than 130 witnesses are from Buffalo.
The government will now file a response to this latest motion. The judge in this case said he'd make his decision about the motion in the next couple of weeks.
A jury in this case is expected to be selected in August. The trial itself is expected to begin — at the earliest — in October.
