Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

Myrtle Beach teen found guilty in student's slaying

A 19-year-old Myrtle Beach man was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of shooting to death a Coastal Carolina University student in May 2008.

A jury of 10 men and two women deliberated for a little more than five hours before they found Keion Griffin guilty of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime on May 25, 2008, for fatally shooting 20-year-old Corey Brooks outside a home on Third Avenue North in Myrtle Beach.

Circuit Court Judge Larry Hyman sentenced Griffin to life in prison for the murder charge and five years in prison for the weapon charge.

"Somewhere along the line, human life has been cheapened in your views," Hyman said before he sentencedGriffin. He said he feared if Griffin was released, he would commit another murder because Brooks was shot in the back while face down on the ground.

Griffin maintained his innocence throughout the trial and said his co-defendant, Demario Stukes, was the shooter in the incident.

"I can get along with anybody. I got a lot of friends," Griffin said before he was sentenced. "I wish that Corey Brooks was here right now so the family could have him with them and so he could tell everyone who the shooter really was."

Brooks' aunt, Debbie Alford, read a statement to Hyman on behalf of the family before the sentencing.

"Corey was a wonderful son," Alford said of the CCU junior who had hoped to be a pharmacist. "We pray and sincerely hope that no other family has to go through this. ... We'd like you to send a message that is loud and clear that we will not put up with blatant disregard for human life."

The jury reached its decision about 15 minutes after they told Hyman they were deadlocked. At that time, Hyman sent them back to continue deliberating.

Griffin did not testify during the trial that began on Monday, but two others also charged in Brooks' death testified against him. On Tuesday, Demario Stukes, 19, also charged with murder in Brooks' death, testified for the prosecution that Griffin had a gun and fired one shot into Brooks as he lay on the ground.

The incident began as Stukes, Griffin and Darius Priest, now 17, walked from the Landmark Hotel toward their homes and saw a car with three girls inside trying to park outside the house, Stukes testified. Several men at the house told the girls they could not park there.

Stukes testified Griffin went up to the girls, whom the men knew, and told them they could park there, and some of the men, who were intoxicated, got upset. One of the men said he was calling the police, but Griffin slapped the man's cell phone from his hand and then pulled out a gun, Stukes said.

At that time, Stukes said he began fighting with another man, and Brooks came and jumped on his back to help his friend in the fight with Stukes. Griffin hit Brooks in the back of the head with the gun and knocked Brooks and Stukes to the ground, Stukes testified.

On Monday, Priest testified and recounted a similar description of the events. Priest was charged as a juvenile at the time of the incident and is serving a juvenile sentence. Priest testified that he brought a .22-caliber pistol to Ocean Boulevard the night Brooks was killed, but said he gave the gun to Stukes. Before the night was over, Griffin ended up with the gun and used it to shoot Brooks, he said.

The girl driving the vehicle, Asia Harris, testified she and her friends came from Columbia for the Memorial Day bike festival and were trying to find a place to park.

"I stopped, and I noticed through my rearview mirror that somebody pulled out a gun and shot," Harris said. "My first time going to bike week, and I witnessed a murder. That was crazy."