On a summer night in Buffalo, New York, the life of 20-year-old Treyvon Dee Flood was tragically cut short. On July 30, 2023, Flood was one of five people inside a vehicle on the 100 block of Isabelle Street in the city's Riverside neighborhood when the car was riddled with bullets around 11:30 p.m.
Struck by the gunfire, Flood was rushed to Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival. Another passenger in the vehicle, 20-year-old DeMarkus D.
Manners, also sustained gunshot wounds and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on August 2, 2023. A third individual, a 19-year-old male, was also wounded in the shooting, having been shot three times in his upper back, but he survived after being treated and released from the hospital.
The Buffalo Police Department's Homicide Unit launched an investigation that led them to identify 21-year-old Clarence E. Thomas of Buffalo as the alleged gunman. Investigators accused Thomas of intentionally firing multiple shots into the occupied vehicle. His arrest followed, and he was initially charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of felony assault, and felony possession of a weapon.
Following his arrest, Thomas was arraigned in State Supreme Court and held without bail. On October 5, 2023, a grand jury indicted him on a series of more severe charges, including one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and three counts of second-degree attempted murder. The indictment also included charges of second-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted of the most serious charge, Clarence E. Thomas faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison without the chance of parole. He remained in custody and was scheduled for a pre-trial conference on October 17, 2023.
