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Copyright 1998 The Buffalo
News
The Buffalo News
October 23, 1998, Friday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 581 words
HEADLINE: FBI RULES OUT JOINING PROBE OF
SLAYING
BYLINE: DAN HERBECK and HAROLD McNEIL; News
Staff Reporters
BODY:
The Buffalo FBI office has decided not to
join the investigation into the beating death of Gary Trzaska.
As brutal as it was, the crime does not appear
to have the elements of a "hate crime" as defined by federal laws, Special
Agent Gregory Jennings said Thursday.
"We are not going to be investigating this
case. We've been in close contact with the Buffalo police, and based on
their information, this does not appear to have
been a crime motivated by hatred toward any
particular group of people," he said.
Trzaska, 41, who was gay and white, was beaten
and stomped to death on Oct. 2, near the intersection of Broadway and
Titus Avenue. Police said his attackers were
three black youths who were seen laughing and exchanging celebratory high-fives
during the assault.
About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil
in Trzaska's memory Thursday night in St. John Kanty Church on Broadway
and Swinburne Avenue, a block from where
the Cheektowaga man was slain.
A handful of uniformed police officers stood
outside the church as an apparent precaution, but a respectful calm prevailed
as area residents, including a small number
of African-Americans, walked inside the church, where they were handed
purple ribbons to wear in Trzaska's memory.
The brief service included remarks by Trzaska's
nephew, Randy Ashby of Alden, and Susan Nardozzi, a resident of the city's
East Lovejoy neighborhood and an organizer
of the vigil.
"I find it totally incomprehensible how anyone
could inflict such pain on another human being," said Mrs. Nardozzi.
She later said that she was moved to hold
the vigil to help offer solace to Trzaska's family and to try to heal
rifts in the community after his slaying and recent accusations
of racially motivated hate crimes committed by white youths in Lovejoy.
"We have got to get along," Mrs. Nardozzi
said after the service. "We have to begin caring for each other again.
If we work at it, maybe we could save some the people
out there with this kind of rage in them."
Her sentiments were echoed by Ashby during
the service. "It's sad that people waste a lot of time with hate. If Gary
were here, I think he would want healing,"
Ashby said.
Erie County Executive Gorski was among a
small number of public officials who attended the vigil.
"This was a terrible crime," he said after
the ceremony. "I do not believe it was a hate crime, but a random act
of senseless violence. As a broad community, we are
going to have to (be determined) to take pride in ourselves, our community
and our children in order that something like this does not happen again.".
The brutality of the slaying led Trzaska's
family to ask the FBI to investigate the incident as a hate crime, to
see whether Trzaska was singled out because of his race
or sexual preference.
After discussions with the family and Buffalo
police, Jennings said the FBI has decided to stay out of the case. U.S.
Attorney Denise O'Donnell said authorities consider an incident a hate
crime if it is motivated by hatred "based on a person's race, religion,
sexual orientation, ethnicity or national
origin."
Buffalo police said they believe his attackers
singled out Trzaska for no other reason except that he crossed their path
at a particular moment.
William Nance, 17, of Miller Avenue, has
been charged with second-degree murder in the case. He confessed to taking
part in the crime, but now claims he was tricked
by police into giving a false confession.
GRAPHIC: Calm prevailed at Gary Trzaska's
memorial vigil. CHARLES LEWIS/Buffalo News; Dorothy Furtney, a friend
of Gary Trzaska's, was one of
some 100 participants at Thursday's candlelight
vigil.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 25, 1998
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2
Copyright 1998 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
October 24, 1998, Saturday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1C
LENGTH: 407 words
HEADLINE: FBI KEEPS THE DOOR OPEN ON JOINING
PROBE INTO TRZASKA;
BEATING DEATH
BYLINE: DAN HERBECK and JANICE L. HABUDA;
News Staff Reporters
BODY:
The FBI softened its position late Friday
on whether it will investigate the fatal beating of Gary Trzaska as a
possible hate crime.
Bernard Tolbert, special agent in charge
of the Buffalo FBI office, said in a prepared statement that the office
has not yet decided whether it will join the investigation.
A Thursday announcement by the FBI, saying
it would not enter the Trzaska investigation, was premature, Tolbert said.
"We are taking a closer look at this whole
situation before a final decision is made," said Special Agent Paul Moskal.
"We made an error Thursday in saying that a final
decision has been made."
Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was beaten and
stomped to death near Broadway and Titus Avenue the night of Oct. 2. One
of three suspects has been arrested.
The victim's family asked the FBI to investigate
to determine whether Trzaska was attacked for racial reasons -- Trzaska
was white and his attackers were black -- or
because he was gay.
"I would be happy if they continue their
investigation for that reason," Arlene Slachciak, his sister, said Friday
night.
"I have been getting tons of people coming
to the house, calling me. 'How can it not be a hate crime?'they're saying,"
Mrs. Slachciak said. "Everybody is in an uproar."
Another family member says the FBI now appears
willing to investigate a theory they presented about why Trzaska was killed.
It has to do with a problem at an apartment
house that Trzaska owned, according to his nephew, Randy Ashby.
A tenant was thrown out of his apartment
on Broadway by drug dealers who "pirated" the place, Ashby said Friday
night. "Gary got wind of it from his other tenants
and called the police."
"These guys knew he had them all thrown out
and they were just waiting for their opportunity to get him," Ashby said
he told the FBI.
"This is probably more of a premeditated
. . . payback," Ashby said.
Ashby said he also has heard, from witnesses,
that there were more than three assailants, and that the vicious attack
lasted more than the one minute estimated by police.
Buffalo police, meanwhile, have said they
do not believe the incident was a hate crime. They have said they believe
Trzaska's attackers singled him out for no other
reason except that he crossed their path at a particular moment.
About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil
in Trzaska's memory Thursday night in a church about a block from where
he was slain.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 25, 1998
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3
Copyright 1998 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
November 20, 1998, Friday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C
LENGTH: 329 words
HEADLINE: SECOND SUSPECT ARRESTED IN BEATING,
STOMPING DEATH OF;
CHEEKTOWAGA MAN
BYLINE: JANICE L. HABUDA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
A second suspect was arrested Thursday in
the October beating and stomping death of Gary Trzaska.
Dennis Straughter, 19, of Laurel Street was
taken into custody at his attorney's office, according to police Capt.
Joseph Riga, Homicide Bureau chief. Straughter had
been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder. He is being held in
the city lockup pending arraignment this morning.
His was the second arrest following the death
of the 41-year-old Cheektowaga resident after he was attacked on Broadway,
near Titus Avenue, the night of Oct. 2.
Police said three attackers were seen laughing
and exchanging high-fives during the assault.
Arrested nearby shortly after the attack
was William M. Nance, 17, of Miller Avenue.
The third attacker remains at large; Riga
declined to comment Thursday on the continuing investigation.
Because the assailants were black and Trzaska
was white -- and gay, questions have been raised on whether the attack
constituted a hate crime, as defined by federal law.
Buffalo police have said they do not believe
so. They have said they believe Trzaska's attackers singled him out for
no other reason than that he crossed their path at a
particular moment.
But the FBI still is considering the question,
leaving the door open on a possible federal investigation of the crime.
"The determination hasn't been made as to
whether or not that particular incident involved what we would term a
'hate crime,' " Special Agent Paul Moskal, an FBI spokesman,
said Thursday evening.
A hate crime conviction results in stiffer
federal penalties than those provided by various states. New York has
not enacted hate crime legislation.
The FBI needs to determine whether the crime
was the result of a "preformed, negative bias against persons, property
or organizations based solely on race, religion,
ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation
or disability," Moskal said.
"It will take awhile to sort that out," he
said.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
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4
Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
January 29, 1999, Friday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C
LENGTH: 218 words
HEADLINE: TWO INDICTED IN SLAYING; ONE MAY
FACE EXECUTION
BODY:
An Erie County grand jury today recommended
a Laurel Street man face a possible death penalty in the fatal beating
of Buffalo landlord Gary Trzaska.
Dennis Straughter, 19, and William M. Nance,
17, of Miller Avenue, were both indicted on murder charges in the vicious
attack Oct. 2 on Broadway. But the grand
jury only lodged a first-degree murder charge against Straughter.
Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark
said he will have 120 days after the defendants are arraigned next Friday
to decide if he should seek the death penalty against
Straughter.
He noted that the state's death-penalty law
mandates that suspects must be at least 18 at the time of the crime but
declined to comment further on the case.
Nance was indicted on second-degree murder.
Authorities still are looking for a possible
third suspect. Straughter and Nance both have been jailed for more than
two months. The grand jury also lodged robbery
charges against both suspects.
Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was attacked
late at night on Broadway near Titus Avenue after collecting rent from
tenants at properties in that area. Although authorities
initially thought Trzaska was a hate-crime victim because he is gay, they
later concluded he was only killed because he was in the wrong place at
the wrong time.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 31, 1999
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5
Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
September 24, 1999, Friday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4C
LENGTH: 324 words
HEADLINE: YOUTH ADMITS ROLE IN DEATH OF LANDLORD
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
A youth admitted Thursday he had participated
in killing Gary Trzaska of Cheektowaga, who was stomped to death on Broadway
after collecting rent on properties
he owned in Buffalo.
William Nance, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree
manslaughter as a third day of jury selection was about to get under way
before Erie County Judge Sheila A.
DiTullio in his trial on charges of second-degree
murder. The judge told Nance he still faces a prison term of 20 to 25
years when he is sentenced Nov. 3.
With several members of Trzaska's family
in the courtroom, Nance admitted that he and others took part in the fatal
attack, but he did not publicly identify his accomplices.
None of Trzaska's relatives would comment,
but Sharon Simon, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said
a family member might make a statement to
the judge during Nance's sentencing.
Dennis Straughter, 19, is scheduled to stand
trial in January on first-degree murder charges in the case. But Thomas
J. Eoannou, his attorney, has filed a series of pretrial
motions attacking the validity of the first-degree murder charge against
his client.
Nance could not be charged with that more
serious felony because he was 16 at the time.
Trzaska, 41, was attacked late Oct. 2 on
Broadway near Titus Avenue. Although authorities and family members initially
thought Trzaska -- who was gay and white
-- had been the victim of a hate crime victim -- those accused of the
attack are black -- investigators later concluded he was killed because
he was in the wrong place at the wrong
time.
Authorities have said they still were trying
to pin down enough evidence to arrest at least one more person in the
slaying.
After first confessing to the crime, Nance
recanted and maintained for months that he had been wrongly accused of
complicity in the slaying. But when DiTullio today
asked him if he had killed Trzaska "aided by others," he replied, "Yes."
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 21, 1999
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6
Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
October 2, 1999, Saturday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS, Pg. 1A
LENGTH: 936 words
HEADLINE: MAN ACCUSED IN SLAYING MAY BE FREED
BYLINE: DAN HERBECK; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
Dennis "Comfort" Straughter sat very uncomfortably
in the Erie County jail for the past 10 months with a first-degree murder
charge and a possible life prison term
hanging over his head.
But police recently came to believe what
Straughter has been telling them since the day of his arrest -- he is
innocent.
Straughter is charged with killing Gary Trzaska
in one of the most notorious crimes in recent years in Western New York.
Horrified witnesses watched as three youths
kicked and jumped on Trzaska. The killers laughed and exchanged high-fives
as their victim lay bleeding on a Broadway street corner, witnesses said.
Based on eyewitness identifications and a
tip provided by one of the killers, Straughter was arrested six weeks
after the slaying a year ago today.
But detectives who arrested him recently
received new information, and they no longer believe he committed the
crime. Sources close to the case said the charges of
first-degree murder and robbery against Straughter could be dropped soon.
"It's scary to be in jail for something you
didn't do. I wasn't there. The police know I didn't do it. It's time for
them to just let me go," said Straughter, 20, at the Erie
County Holding Center, where he has been since Nov. 20.
"This boy has done some things that were
wrong. He's been around the wrong people, and he's been in the wrong place
at the wrong time," said his mother, Bertenia
"Tina" Flood of Laurel Street. "But he's not a murderer. He's always been
a meek person."
"Dennis Straughter is no angel, far from
it," said one law enforcement official. "But it looks more and more like
he didn't commit this crime."
Defense lawyers Thomas J. Eoannou and Michael
D'Amico said Straughter has repeatedly allowed police to question him.
He also voluntarily took -- and passed --
a lie detector examination. Straughter's family paid $ 350 for the polygraph.
While polygraph tests are not admissible
in court, they are sometimes used by police in screening suspects. And
it is unusual, police said, for a suspect to offer to take
repeated polygraph tests.
Eoannou's statement about Straughter's cooperation
in the case was backed by law enforcement officials.
Capt. Joseph A. Riga, head of the Homicide
Bureau, and Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark did not rule
out Friday the possibility that Straughter will be
released.
"I'm only going to say the case remains under
investigation," Clark said.
Riga said, "We still believe there are people
out there who were involved in this crime and haven't been charged. We're
still working on it."
Other law enforcement officials said they
strongly believe Straughter will be released, because police recently
received information that exonerates him. The specifics
were not disclosed.
Meanwhile, Eoannou filed court papers on
Friday asking that Straughter be released on bail while Clark considers
the matter.
The murder of Trzaska outraged the community
and made some national news reports. The Cheektowaga resident who owned
rental properties on the East Side was
stomped to death at Broadway and Titus Avenue.
As Trzaska lay on the pavement, witnesses
said, at least two of the three teen-age attackers repeatedly jumped high
into the air, landing with both feet on Trzaska.
Trzaska's wallet, reportedly containing hundreds
of dollars he had collected in rents, was stolen. But his killers left
$ 200 in his pocket, and then ran away giggling,
witnesses told police.
Because Trzaska was a gay white man beaten
to death by blacks, Buffalo police and the FBI initially considered the
killing a possible hate crime. But investigators later
concluded that the incident was more of a "thrill-killing."
Police began investigating Straughter almost
immediately because William Nance, 16, who was arrested at the murder
scene, told them Straughter was his accomplice.
"Straughter was not targeted by the police.
His name just came up in normal course of the investigation. He was a
victim of circumstances," said one law enforcement
official. "Later, four witnesses told homicide (detectives) that Straughter
was there. They picked him out in a lineup."
Straughter has been arrested several times
for charges including auto theft, harassment and gun possession. Dispositions
of the charges were unavailable.
He has been shot twice -- in drive-by shootings
on the East Side in 1997 and 1998.
Straughter had a falling-out with Nance's
family after his sister had Straughter's baby, authorities said. She wound
up getting an order of protection against Straughter.
"The Nance family hates Dennis, which is
one more reason why Dennis would not be out with William Nance committing
robberies and murders," Eoannou said.
On the night of the murder, Straughter insists,
he was baby-sitting his 2-year-old daughter, Dennecia, in his mother's
house.
"I was there all night, until my mother came
home around midnight," Straughter said. "The next morning, the police
called my mother, asking where I had been.
And then I found out they were looking at
me in the murder."
Nance was arrested the night of the murder
after witnesses pointed him out as one of the killers. Several hours later,
he gave police a statement confessing to the crime,
implicating Straughter as one of the killers.
But days later, Nance tried to recant, telling
police that neither he nor Straughter was involved.
Nance was about to go on trial for murder
last week, when he decided to take a plea deal, admitting to first-degree
manslaughter. He faces a prison term of at least
20 years when he is sentenced in November.
GRAPHIC: JAMES P. McCOY/Buffalo News; Bertenia
Flood outside the holding center housing her son Dennis Straughter.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 5, 1999
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Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
October 7, 1999, Thursday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 550 words
HEADLINE: STRAUGHTER LOSES BID FOR BAIL IN
SLAYING CASE
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
Murder suspect Dennis "Comfort" Straughter
will spend a few more weeks in jail before his pleas for freedom can be
answered.
A judge Wednesday refused to allow Straughter,
20, to be released from custody on $ 25,000 bail amid the probe into the
killing of Gary Trzaska, a Buffalo
landlord.
Straughter, who is being held without bail,
has spent almost a year in jail and still could face a term of life without
parole in Trzaska's murder, a killing
Straughter's lawyers say he didn't commit.
Chief defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou
claims Straughter was home taking care of his baby daughter when the slaying
took place.
That prompted Erie County Judge Sheila A.
DiTullio to order prosecutors and police to speed up their investigation
into the fatal beating.
She wants wants to see them back in her courtroom
in two to three weeks.
The judge told chief prosecutor Brian Clinton
Mahoney that if the investigation confirm the defense claims, she wants
prosecutors to file a dismissal motion.
Mahoney declined to comment on the status
of the probe, but court sources confirmed he met with three Buffalo homicide
detectives shortly after the court
session.
Trzaska was beaten to the ground and stomped
to death by several young attackers on the pavement near one of his rental
properties on Broadway near Titus
Avenue, according to accounts police received
from witnesses.
Eoannou, who couldn't be reached to comment
after Wednesday's court appearance, reportedly gave police the name of
a murder suspect who has never been
charged in the Trzaska fatal beating.
On Sept. 23, during the third day of jury
selection at his murder trial in the case, William Nance, 17, pleaded
guilty before DiTullio to a first-degree manslaughter
charge, admitting he took part in the attack
on the gay white property owner but refusing to disclose his accomplices.
Sources close to the case confirmed that
Nance, who faces a prison term of 20 to 25 years when Di
Tullio sentences him Nov. 3, was extensively
questioned by prosecutors and homicide detectives hours after his guilty
plea.
In an interview with a Buffalo News reporter
last week, Straughter, who was indicted on a first-degree murder charge
and faces a mandatory term of life without
parole if convicted, stressed his innocence
in the slaying.
Straughter has been in custody since his
arrest six weeks after the killing.
The arrest was based on police information
provided by eyewitnesses and an alleged tip from a possible accomplice.
Eoannou told the judge Straughter passed
a lie-detector examination about the killing and noted that his family
paid $ 350 for him to take the test.
Straughter, in his interview with The News,
said he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out with the Nance
family after William Nance's sister bore
his child.
Straughter is still slated to stand trial
in January before DiTullio on first-degree murder charges in the case.
Prosecutors didn't opt for the death penalty
and could only charge Nance with second-degree murder because he was 16
at the time of the crime.
An active investigation into the killing
has continued since the arrests of Straughter and Nance as authorities
try to pin down enough evidence against at least one
more person, sources confirmed.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: October 9, 1999
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8
Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
November 1, 1999, Monday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 5B
LENGTH: 538 words
HEADLINE: JUDGE WANTS ANSWERS ON MAN HELD
IN SLAYING
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
A judge today ordered Erie County prosecutors
to respond in two days to questions about what she called the "extremely
disturbing" case of a Buffalo man who
has spent the last year in jail in the thrill-killing
of landlord Gary Trzaska -- in spite of the fact that he reportedly has
been exonerated by his convicted
co-defendant.
Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio ordered
prosecutor Brian Clinton Mahoney to respond to her questions about the
reopened investigation of the case against
of Dennis "Comfort" Straughter, 20, of Laurel
Street.
Thomas J. Eoannou, Straughter's chief attorney,
charged prosecutorial foot-dragging and vowed to publicly disclose the
identities of Trzaska's real killers. The
judge pressed Mahoney for new information
as she considers Straughter's bail status.
Eoannou unsuccessfully sought to get Straughter
out of jail on $ 25,000 bail Oct. 6 in light of William Nance's Sept.
23 guilty plea to a reduced charge of
first-degree manslaughter in the case and
his statements purportedly clearing Straughter. Today the attorney complained
that it is wrong to keep Straughter jailed
without bail when he has been "exculpated."
The defense attorney told the judge that
two eyewitnesses to the Oct. 2, 1998, attack on Broadway had "recanted"
claims that Straughter was part of the three-man
attack.
DiTullio is scheduled to sentence Nance,
17, on Wednesday.
Straughter has been jailed since his arrest
six weeks after the killing. He was taken into custody based on police
information provided by witnesses and an alleged
tip from a possible accomplice.
Straughter claims he was was home baby-sitting
his daughter at the moment of the attack.
Eoannou today reminded the judge that on
Oct. 6 she gave prosecutors two to three weeks to come up with answers,
but the Straughter defense team willingly
gave them more time, only to find them today
demanding even more time to complete their reinvestigation of the killing.
"Something's got to be done" on Straughter's
bail, Eoannou argued.
The attorney said it is wrong "to keep delaying
court proceedings. The defendant's mother could be heard in the courtroom
crying and saying: "It's not fair!"
Mahoney refused to comment after today's
court session, but Eoannou said that authorities "have embraced" Nance's
statement. "On one of the worst murders in
the history of this county," he said, "they
now want it both ways, and that is completely wrong."
Nance, who reportedly recently gave Erie
County probation officers a third version of the fatal attack, faces a
prison term of 20 to 25 years from DiTullio on his
guilty plea, which came on the third day
of jury selection for his murder trial in the case.
Technically, Straughter faces a first-degree
murder trial in January and, if convicted, would be sentenced to a mandatory
term of life in prison without parole.
Trzaska, 41, of Cheektowaga, was attacked
near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue and stomped
by several of attackers as he lay on the
ground.
In a recent interview with The Buffalo News,
Straughter claimed he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out
with the Nance family after William
Nance's sister bore his child.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: November 3, 1999
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9
Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
November 4, 1999, Thursday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 11B
LENGTH: 423 words
HEADLINE: MAN HELD 10 MONTHS POSTS BAIL IN
SLAYING AFTER ANOTHER;
CONFESSES TO THE CRIME
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
Still facing the possibility of spending
the rest of his life in prison for a Buffalo murder he claims he didn't
commit, Dennis "Comfort" Straughter was released
from jail Wednesday for the first time in
10 months.
Indicted on first-degree murder charges and
still facing a possible January trial in the beating death of landlord
Gary Trzaska of Cheektowaga 13 months ago,
Straughter was released after prosecutors
agreed to the $ 25,000 pretrial bail sought by his attorneys, Thomas J.
Eoannou and Julian Johnson.
Released at the second-floor bail office
at County Hall in downtown Buffalo about 3:10 p.m. Straughter, 20, of
Laurel Street, said he wanted to thank his
attorneys "and my family" as he and his mother,
his infant daughter and about a dozen other people left the courthouse
together.
Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio approved
the $ 25,000 bail after saying there are "some questions as to Mr. Straughter's
liability in this case." She also
agreed with a prosecutor's demand that he
remain under scrutiny of the Erie County Probation Department.
Also Wednesday, the judge delayed until Jan.
26 the sentencing of William Nance, 17, on his guilty plea to a reduced
charge of first-degree manslaughter in the
case.
Hours after Nance entered that plea Sept.
23, he told investigators Straughter was not involved in the Oct. 2, 1998,
attack.
Trzaska, 41, was attacked near one of his
rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue and stomped by several
young attackers.
In a recent interview with The Buffalo News,
Straughter claimed he was wrongly accused because he had a falling-out
with the Nance family after William
Nance's sister bore his child.
Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark
said Wednesday the Trzaska murder investigation is continuing.
Bertenia Thomas, Straughter's mother, said
she was "just glad my baby is coming home. Thank God!
"He was at home when it happened, with his
own daughter," she said.
Eoannou and Johnson said they felt the questions
they have raised about the murder case, in light of Nance's eight-page
statement to authorities, forced
prosecutors to agree to bail for Straughter.
On Monday, DiTullio ordered prosecutors to
give her answers by Wednesday about the murder case in light of defense
efforts to get Straughter released.
Straughter still faces a possible trial in
January on his first-degree murder indictment in the case. If convicted,
he faces a mandatory prison term of life without
parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death
penalty.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: November 6, 1999
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10
Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
January 4, 2000, Tuesday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 4B
LENGTH: 333 words
HEADLINE: JUDGE WARNS DA STAFF IN MURDER
CASE
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
A judge Monday warned prosecutors that, in
the face of months of delays, she is considering dismissing Dennis "Comfort"
Straughter's 14-month-old
first-degree murder indictment in the fatal
stomping of landlord Gary Trzaska. Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio,
rejecting a prosecution bid for an
open-ended probe of other suspects in the
October 1998 slaying, rescheduled the start of jury selection in Straughter's
trial to Jan. 18 and told prosecutors they
have to decide whether he should even stand
trial.
Brian Clinton Mahoney, the head of the district
attorney's Felony Trial Bureau, told the judge that prosecutors and detectives
are searching for "several witnesses
in the case.
William Nance, 17, pleaded guilty to a reduced
charge of first-degree manslaughter in the case four months ago.
Mahoney conceded that the missing witnesses
are in connection with "other individuals, not Straughter.
Trzaska, 41, was fatally stomped by several
attackers near one of his rental properties on Broadway near Titus Avenue.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou
noted that the murder indictment and a possible life sentence without
parole have been hanging over Straughter,
20, of Laurel Street, for more than a year.
"I think the possibility of a dismissal is
certainly one of the options, the judge said.
After the court session, both Mahoney and
District Attorney Frank J. Clark said the renewed murder investigation
-- prompted by statements made by Nance after
his Sept. 23 guilty plea -- continues to
be a high priority. After Monday's court session, Eoannou said Straughter,
who has been forced to wear electronic
monitoring devices since his Nov. 3 release
from custody after 10 months behind bars, is living with his mother and
getting vocational training while still trying
to get a job.
His attorney said electronic monitoring devices
and a pending first-degree murder trial make life difficult for Straughter,
who has always maintained his
innocence.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 6, 2000
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11
Copyright 2000 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
January 12, 2000, Wednesday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: LOCAL, Pg. 5B
LENGTH: 476 words
HEADLINE: BAIL REVOKED IN SLAYING, DEFENDANT
RETURNS TO JAIL
BYLINE: MATT GRYTA; News Staff Reporter
BODY:
Dennis "Comfort" Straughter was returned
to jail today after prosecutors told a judge the man charged with killing
Buffalo landlord Gary Trzaska recently violated
strict court mandates governing his release
from custody.
After spending about 10 months in jail awaiting
trial on first-degree murder charges, Straughter had been free on $ 25,000
bail since Nov. 3. He was taken back into
custody shortly before 11 a.m.
Thomas J. Eoannou, his attorney, said he
is consulting civil attorneys about a federal civil rights suit against
prosecutors.
Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio, who
had allowed Straughter to leave jail, revoked his bail and stressed her
latest ruling is based on prosecution claims that he
violated mandates attached to his release
as well as on undisclosed evidence in the murder case.
Straughter, 20, is scheduled to stand trial
Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge in slaying of Trzaska, 41, who
was stomped to death by several young attackers
in October 1998 near one of his rental properties
on Broadway near Titus Avenue. The judge, however, clearly indicated his
trial would be rescheduled.
After today's court session, Eoannou stressed
that he plans to sue Erie County District Attorney Frank J. Clark and
unnamed others, accusing them of violating
Straughter's federal civil rights.
But Clark stuck to his guns.
"They can file any lawsuits they might well
choose, but we have a grand jury that returned first-degree murder against
Straughter, and there is no reason that
indictment should be set aside as we speak,"
he said.
The district attorney noted that Eoannou
seems to be basing his complaints on statements of unnamed individuals
and William Nance, 17, Straughter's co-defendant.
Nance remains jailed, awaiting sentencing
after pleading guilty Sept. 23 to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter.
During today's court session, prosecutor
Brian Clinton Mahoney told the judge that although prosecutors and police
are trying to track down unnamed witnesses
linking others to the killing, four individuals
identified Straughter for the grand jury in late 1998 as a participant.
Mahoney, who is about go into private practice
after an 11-year career with the prosecutor's office, also said other
grand jury evidence, which he refused to make
public in court, substantiates Straughter's
direct involvement in the landlord's slaying.
After the court proceedings, Clark stressed
that DiTullio has copies of the full grand jury transcripts and can rule
on the legal sufficiency of the criminal case, should
Straughter's lawyer press the issue.
In court, Mahoney and a county probation
officer told the judge that in the past month or so, Straughter has missed
two scheduled sessions with probation officials,
violated court curfew orders and failed three
tests for marijuana use.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: January 14, 2000
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