SANBORN, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo police officer has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder after police found a woman dead inside a home on Saturday.
According to the Lewiston Police Department, officers did a welfare check for a woman inside a home on Buffalo Street in Sanborn on Saturday just after 5 p.m. Upon arriving, officers found 35-year-old Alexis Skoczylas dead inside the home.
53-year-old Lance Woods, a Buffalo police officer, has been arrested and charged with one count of second-degree murder. Woods is awaiting arraignment on the charge in the Niagara County Jail.
According to Lewiston Police Chief Michael Salada, Woods was detained during a traffic stop by the town of Amherst Police Department between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
According to Chief Salada, Woods and Skoczylas were married and there were no calls in the past for domestic violence. Two children live at the home and are in the care of relatives.
The investigation is ongoing.
If there is any information relevant to the case, the Lewiston Police Department encourages the public to call their office, 716-754-8477.
I-Team investigator Ed Drantch has learned that Woods has been on the force since January 2008. He was once assigned as a school resource officer and had also served in the B-district, which polices much of the downtown area.
According to a Facebook post by the Buffalo Police Department, Woods was promoted to a detective rank in 2017.
The 7 News ITEAM has learned that Woods is not a member of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association (PBA) and exercised his Janus rights to leave the union.
The City of Buffalo Police Department released the following statement:
“At approximately 1 a.m. today, the Buffalo Police 911 Dispatch Lieutenant was contacted by the Lewiston Police Department in connection with a homicide in Niagara County. Lewiston Police were seeking the location of off-duty Buffalo Police Officer Lance Woods.
“Buffalo Police detectives worked in coordination with Lewiston Police, sharing resources to support the apprehension of Woods, including using investigative resources to attempt to locate the vehicle Woods was believed to be driving. Woods has subsequently been arrested and charged with Murder.
“Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b governing officer-involved deaths, the case has been referred to the New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation (OSI). Buffalo Police will continue to coordinate with OSI to support their ongoing investigation.
“The Buffalo Police Internal Affairs Division is also in the process of reviewing the timeline of events of this rapidly evolving situation.”
