BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A judge has ruled that the federal trial for Payton Gendron, the man who shot and killed 10 Black people at Tops on Jefferson Avenue in 2022, will stay in Buffalo.
Defense attorneys for Gendron had filed motions to move his federal trial to New York City or Rochester. They argued he could not get a fair trial from a jury here in Buffalo.
In the court filing, obtained by the 7 News I-Team, Gendron's attorneys wrote:
"...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."
But prosecutors argued moving the trial would make it harder for victims and witnesses to be in court, and the judge has agreed.
A jury in this case is expected to be selected in August. The trial itself is expected to begin — at the earliest — in October.
Gendron is already serving a life sentence, convicted on hate crime charges, in New York State.
