Buffalo supermarket gunman in court on hate crime counts

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white man who shot to death 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket made his first appearance in federal court on hate crime charges. The judge on Thursday urged prosecutors to quickly decide whether to pursue the death penalty given the “substantial” cost of those cases.  In a brief proceeding, presiding Magistrate Judge Kenneth Schroeder said that Payton Gendron was eligible to be represented by public defenders based on his financial situation. Answering a series of questions from the judge, Gendron said he had not worked in a year, had $16 dollars in a bank account, had no car and two shares of Disney stock.