BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Mark Talley, whose mom Geraldine was killed in the racist mass shooting at Tops on Jefferson Avenue in 2022, said his car was full of gifts for children when it was stolen outside the Tops on Elmwood Avenue on Friday.
Talley said he received a call from his girlfriend that his gray Kia Sorrento (License Plate: LPN-8024) had been stolen during a 15-minute stop at Tops.
“I do have a crowbar that you put on the steering wheel, but unfortunately, she didn’t put it on the steering wheel,” Talley said. “In its place there was another Kia…Apparently, a group of Kia Boys came there in a stolen Kia, then stole my Kia and left the Kia they drove in there in its place.”
For Talley, it’s the location that adds to the pain.
On May 14, 2022, his mother, Geraldine, was one of the 10 people murdered at the Tops location on Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo’s East Side.
“Just hurtful irony,” Talley said. “It especially hurts more that it was at a Tops, given the history. I’m not saying I wish it would have happened at a Wegmans, but it just hurts knowing the history.”
Over the past three years, Talley has become an outspoken advocate for Buffalo’s East Side, spending December collecting and distributing Christmas gifts for families in need.
To make matters even worse, Talley said there was $3,000 worth of donated Christmas presents sitting in his trunk, from a multi-week toy collection run by Queen City Revival.
WATCH: Car full of gifts for children stolen in Buffalo
“It’s like punch after punch after punch, hitting me everywhere,” Talley said. “The gifts were donated to me a week ago, and I just left them in the car until I was going to drop them off at our clinic. I probably should have dropped them off prior.”
If you’d like to help replenish the toy donations, Talley is running another holiday drive on Jefferson Avenue on Christmas Eve (1319 Jefferson Ave.).
Talley’s car has not yet been found. The license plate LPN-8024, and he asks neighbors to be on the lookout.
He’s also accepting donations to help him get a new car through his nonprofit, Agents for Advocacy — https://www.agentsforadvocacy.org/
