Judge rejects motion to dismiss death penalty in Tops mass shooting case
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss the government's notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the Buffalo mass shooting case, according to a district court filing Tuesday.
The rejection comes after the defense team for admitted gunman Payton Gendron argued last November that it should be unconstitutional for him to receive the death penalty because he was 18 years old at the time of the racially targeted attack, where he killed 10 Black people and injured three others in the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
Gendron's defense based its motion around the 'alleged abuse of the grand jury,' the decision said.
The allegations of abuse include the government using the grand jury process to 'compel irrelevant evidence,' by its questions 'having no relationship to the charges under consideration,' according to the filing.
Other reasons cited by the defense for the attempted dismissal of the death penalty were 'improper' questioning, including whether Gendron had different disabilities or whether he 'seemed to be racist,' which was said by the defense to be 'impermissibly obtained information.'
The government responded, in part, that whether Gendron 'exhibited racial animus' was 'plainly relevant' to the case's hate crime charges.
In 2023, Gendron received 11 life sentences on state charges. Only the federal case carries the possibility of the death penalty.
According to Tuesday's decision from U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo, the court said to allow for the death penalty's dismissal, Gendron would have had to show that the alleged abuse influenced the attorney general's decision to authorize the death penalty, which was not found by the judge.
The defense's request to stop the government from using 'any of this information at trial for any purpose' was also denied.
Gendron is still able to challenge the admissibility of the grand jury's testimony by filing a pretrial motion, the decision said.
In the post month, Gendron's defense has also filed motions to delay the federal trial and change the trial's venue.
You can view Judge Vilardo's decision and order below.
Katie Skoog joined the News 4 team in April 2024. She is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. You can view more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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