Buffalo Police Officer Lance L. Woods Arrested and Arraigned for Second‑Degree Murder

Lance L. Woods, 53, a Buffalo Police Department officer described in local reports as an active school resource officer, was arrested and arraigned after prosecutors say he shot his wife, 35-year-old Alexis Skoczylas, inside the couple’s Buffalo Street home in Sanborn on Saturday, February 14. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest and said her office will prosecute the case.

The Attorney General’s office released a direct statement: "While at home with his family, Woods allegedly shot his wife, Ms. Skoczylas, causing her death." Local reports say officers responded to a welfare check at the Buffalo Street residence Saturday evening and found Skoczylas deceased inside the home.

Buffalo Police Interim Commissioner Craig Macy said Lewiston police contacted Buffalo PD at about 1 a.m. Sunday and that Buffalo detectives "worked in coordination with Lewiston police" to locate Woods. WGRZ reported that Woods was arrested less than 12 hours after the discovery at the residence and was being held at the Niagara County Jail pending arraignment.

Woods was arraigned in Niagara County’s centralized arraignment part before Town of Somerset Justice of the Peace Pamela Rider. Court records reviewed by local outlets show Woods pleaded not guilty and Rider ordered him remanded into custody and held without bail pending a preliminary hearing in Lewiston Town Court. State law requires a defendant held on a felony charge to receive a preliminary hearing within five days to determine probable cause; as of Monday night no date had been set and it was not clear whether Woods would waive that hearing in favor of grand jury review. Reports did not identify whether Woods is represented by the Niagara County Public Defender’s Office or private counsel.

The New York Attorney General’s Office said its Office of Special Investigation evaluates every incident in which a police or peace officer may have caused a death under Executive Law Section 70-b and proceeds to a full investigation when appropriate. The OAG thanked the Town of Lewiston Police Department, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Niagara Falls Police Department, and the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office for their partnership in the response.

Local reporting and the OAG noted the couple had two children believed to be between ages 7 and 10 and that the children may have been in the home at the time of the alleged shooting. "Requests for comment from Woods’ attorneys and the New York State Attorney General’s Office were declined," WGRZ reported. One outlet said additional charges are expected when the case is presented to a Niagara County grand jury in the coming weeks.

The OAG press statement included the legal admonition that "Criminal charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty at trial or by plea." Anyone with information about the incident should contact the Town of Lewiston Police Department, the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, or the New York Attorney General’s Office.