Attorneys for the Tops mass shooter are suing the Erie County DA, claiming he’s illegally withholding state case records needed for the federal trial.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The lawyers representing the Tops mass shooter in the federal case are now suing the Erie County District Attorney, claiming he’s wrongfully withholding important records.
The petition argues the district attorney illegally denied a public records request for documents from the state prosecution of Tops gunman Payton Gendron.
The public defender’s office says the state case has been closed for more than two years, and that there’s no legal reason to keep those files secret.
They’re asking a judge to order the district attorney to turn over the records.
The District Attorney argues releasing those documents could interfere with the federal death penalty case.
Gendron previously admitted in state court to traveling to Buffalo from his home near Binghamton and opening fire at the Jefferson Avenue supermarket on May 14, 2022, killing ten Black people in what prosecutors describe as a racially motivated mass shooting.