Buffalo Tops supermarket shooter gets life without parole in prison

The gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racially-motivated shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket last May was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday.

Payton Gendron, 19, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, after pleading guilty in November to state murder and domestic terrorism charges. Gendron is the first person in New York state to be charged with domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries an automatic life sentence.

“There is no place for you or your ignorant, hateful and evil ideologies in a civilized society,” Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan said, as she handed down Gendron’s sentence. “There can be no mercy for you, no understanding, no second chances.”

“The damage you have caused is too great, and the people you have hurt are too valuable to this community,” she added. “You will never see the light of day as a free man ever again.”

Gendron drove three hours from his home in Conklin, N.Y., to the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Buffalo, to commit the massacre last spring. 

The self-proclaimed white supremacist planned the attack for months, visiting the store on multiple occasions to scout out the location. He showed up on May 14 dressed in tactical gear and equipped with a modified semiautomatic rifle that could be loaded with high-capacity magazines. thehill.com

UPDATED $0 BAIL STUDY: Yes They are "More Likely" to Re-Offend
Suspects released on $0 Bail had twice the felony rearrests, three times the violent crime re-arrests

YOLO COUNTY - Zero-dollar bail: It's a controversial topic. Last year, a local study from the Yolo County DA's office found 70% of suspects released on zero-dollar bail, reoffended. But were they *more likely* to re-offend? An updated study indicates the answer may be, yes. 

The new study compared the rearrest rate of suspects who were released without posting bail in Yolo County, to those who had to post bail. The data show suspects released on zero-dollar bail were twice as likely to be rearrested for felonies and three times as likely to be rearrested for violent crimes compared to those who had to post bail.

The study compares “a random sample of 100 suspects released on zero-dollar bail between 2020 and 2021 … to 100 suspects who did have to post bail in 2018 and 2019,” Yolo County DA Jeff Reisig said.

“The whole point of this study is not to debate the merits of some type of bail reform. It’s to look at the issue of zero bail where people are being automatically released,” Reisig said.

Under the zero-dollar bail system, Reisig said suspects were released by jailers, not judges. “I’m convinced, based on the data, that judges would have held people on bail,” he said.

Read the full study below.  Zero Bail vs Posted Bail Study

Arrest after arrest, victim after victim, according to data compiled by the Yolo County DA's office, hundreds of suspects were released on zero-dollar bail during the pandemic – and then re-arrested in Yolo County alone.

Last year, the Yolo County District Attorney ran the numbers and found, out of the 595 people released on zero bail over the 13 months the policy was in effect in that county, 420 were rearrested – more than 70%.

The Yolo County study was cited on the California State Assembly floor and was widely believed to have helped kill a bill related to zero bail.  cbs.com

Retail Businesses Express Alarm Over 'Rash of Robberies'

A team of an Oakland police sergeant and six officers will begin their patrols next week after local businesses expressed concern over public safety following a rash of robberies.

Oakland will send a police foot patrol to walk the city's retail corridors — an effort to address public safety concerns expressed by local businesses and to attract more shoppers in the city.

Mayor Sheng Thao, Acting Police Chief Darren Allison and business leaders revealed Tuesday that the team of one sergeant and six officers will begin patrolling different business corridors next week.

"We are committed to a safe Oakland for every person who lives here, who works here, who visits and who plays here," Thao said.

The announcement comes as businesses express alarm over robberies and the city struggles to address public safety concerns amid police staffing woes. The department currently has 713 sworn officers — the highest number in nearly a year.    officer.com

About Time Mayor Addresses Staffing Crisis & Open-Air Drug Dealing

SF Mayor Breed asks for $28M amid 'severe' S.F. police shortage

Without the additional funding, Breed warned that the department could have to implement a hiring freeze and pause overtime spending. That would result in fewer police officers on duty for a department already widely criticized for failing to respond in a timely fashion to crimes like home break-ins.

Separately, Breed announced a second piece of legislation that would offer the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office a $200,000 funding boost. It would pay for three additional prosecutors focused on open-air drug dealing.

The budget increased by $56.6 million in this year’s budget, bringing total spending to $714 million.    sfexaminer.com

LA Launches Pubic Safety Alternative To Police Response

All the News - One Place - One Source - One Time

Thanks to our sponsors/partners - Take the time to thank them as well please. If it wasn't for them The Daily wouldn't be here every day for you.  

Teamsters Pushing Amazon About "Unsafe Secret Quotas"

South Dakota Senate Hearing Puts Spotlight on Amazon Injuries

Legislation Would Bring Transparency to Secret Work Quotas

(PIERRE, S.D.) – The South Dakota State Senate held a hearing Tuesday on the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, legislation being pursued in states across the country to rein in dangerous quotas in Amazon warehouses.

“When an Amazon warehouse comes to town, injuries go up and wages go down,” said Tom Erickson, President of Teamsters Local 120 and Director of the Teamsters Warehouse Division. “Our union is fighting for good jobs for all warehouse workers, and we will hold Amazon accountable for its unsafe, secret quotas.”

In Amazon warehouses, workers race against an invisible clock as they hope to meet the company’s secret quotas, leading to injuries. The legislation would require Amazon and other major warehouse companies to provide workers with a copy of any quotas and ensure that quotas do not interfere with legally protected breaks. Similar laws have already been enacted in California and New York and have been introduced in six other states so far this year.

While the committee voted not to advance the legislation, the hearing was an opportunity for elected officials and the public to learn more about the high number of injuries at Amazon warehouses.  teamsters.org

Tulsa, OK: The group referred to as ‘The Texas Ticket Switchers’ had hit 3 Home Depot stores in Green County on Monday. The Home Depot Loss Prevention team has been tracking this group since January of 2022. The group had been responsible for thefts in both Texas and Oklahoma. Tulsa Police along with The Home Depot Loss Prevention Team stopped the group on Monday attempting to steal over $3000 of merchandise. Police also recover the group’s vehicle with 49 boxes of flooring materials. The group would swich the bar code on the expensive flooring ($75 per box) with a upc for $1.00 and proceed thru the self check out registers. fox23.com

Pierce County, WA: Investigators with Pierce County Sheriff's Department arrested two people last month suspected of being involved in an identity-theft ring that deputies say took information from at least 22 victims and used stolen credit cards to make fraudulent purchases. One purchase used a credit card stolen from a person's mailbox to buy $6,215 worth of merchandise from a Home Depot, deputies said. According to court records, the alleged thieves bought so much they couldn't fit it all into a Dodge pickup. About $2,000 worth of items was left in the parking lot.

Deputies caught wind of the suspects Jan. 9 when the victim of the fraudulent purchases made a police report, and investigators were able to obtain surveillance video of a vehicle tied to it. Deputies said another fraudulent credit card charge for $2,638 made at a Lowe's was declined. Investigators identified the three suspects using video from surveillance cameras. A 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were arrested Jan. 31 while driving the Dodge in Spanaway. The truck was impounded for a search warrant, and, in a news release issued Monday, deputies said "numerous" documents belonging to other identity theft victims were found. chronline.com

Edinburgh, IN: Police have arrested two people accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from the Edinburgh Outlet Mall. “Generally, we get a few items here and there but this is somebody that made a plan, had a plan, and probably had a list that we didn’t find or at least some ideas of what they needed to get,” said Chief Doyne Little with the Edinburgh Police Department. Friday afternoon, Edinburgh Police were called to the outlet mall for a couple of suspected shoplifters. One of the suspects reportedly ran away from mall security. Police ended up tracking down and arresting Dayani Penate and Yariel Gabian. Both suspects are from Tennessee. Detectives allegedly found their van loaded with stolen items such as jeans, bras, shirts and shoes. A total of more than $4,500 in stolen items. “A large amount of our thefts that occur down here are from out of state,” Little said. “They will come here and steal and then go back and sell it at a cheaper price.” fox59.com

Suffolk County, NY: Two men stole 20 Smart Lighting Switches from Lowes, located at 100 Express Drive North, at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 17 and fled the scene in a gray Dodge SUV. The merchandise has a value of $2,900. Police are also looking for the man who stole merchandise from a Commack store last month. He stole items, including two televisions, from BJ’s Wholesale Club, located at 2 Veterans Memorial Highway, on Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. The items were valued at more than $500. huntingtonnow.com

Best Buy – Mount Laurel, NJ – Robbery C-Store- Yuma, AZ – Armed Robbery C-Store – Jasper, TX – Armed Robbery C-Store – Colorado Springs, CO – Armed Robbery C-Store – Houston, TX – Armed Robbery C-Store – Kanawha County, WV – Armed Robbery Department – Cleveland, OH – Robbery Dollar – Akron, OH – Armed Robbery Grocery – Showell, MD – Armed Robbery Guns – Lansing, IL – Burglary Hardware – Tulsa, OK – Robbery Marijuana – Los Angeles, CA – Burglary Marijuana – Lynnwood, WA – Burglary Marijuana – New York, NY – Robbery Marijuana - Los Angeles, CA – Burglary Marijuana – Moore, OK – Burglary Pawn – Lewisville, TX – Armed Robbery / Owner killed Pharmacy – Chautauqua County, NY – Robbery Restaurant – Oakland, CA – Robbery Tobacco – New York, NY – Armed Robbery Vape – Lincoln, NE – Burglary Daily Totals: • 15 robberies • 6 burglaries • 1 shootings • 1 killed Click to enlarge map