WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsJudge sentences teen to life in prison for death of CCU student

Judge sentences teen to life in prison for death of CCU student

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - After re-entering deliberations Wednesday evening following a deadlock in the murder trial of Keion Griffin, a jury has found the 19-year-old guilty in the death of a CCU student.

Griffin, 19, is charged with murder in the shooting death of 20-year-old Corey Brooks on May 25, 2008.

A judge has sentenced Griffin to life in prison on his murder charge and an additional five years for a second weapons charge.

Just before sentencing, the aunt of Brooks spoke to the judge on behalf of the Brooks family and friends.

"We're not out for hate. Hate has nothing to do with this. We're not out for revenge. Revenge has nothing to do with this. We simply ask you for justice," Debbie Alford said as she asked the judge to give Griffin the maximum sentence.

Senior Assistant Solicitor Donna Elder and defense attorney James Galmore also addressed Judge Larry Hyman. Elder point out some of Griffin's previous run-ins with the law and his association with the "Bloods" street gang.

Galmore argued that Griffin is only 19 and still capable of change.

Griffin decided to speak to the judge as well. He maintained his innocence and made a reference to "so-called friend" Demario Stukes who was with him the night of the shooting.

"If I had one wish, I'd wish that Corey Brooks was here right now so family members could have him with them," Griffin said. "And so he could tell everyone who the shooter really was."

Hyman apparently was not convinced by the requests for leniency. He said he felt Griffin would surely kill again if he ever released from prison, and he felt the need to protect the community by keeping Griffin behind bars.

Earlier in the trial, prosecutors alleged Griffin and two of his friends got into an argument with Brooks and some of his friends while he was spending Memorial Day weekend in Myrtle Beach in 2008. Brooks and his friend, Josh Hughes, were staying at a home on 3rd Avenue North that was owned by Hughes' parents.

Prosecutors say Brooks, Hughes and other friends parked their cars in the front yard of the home, and when they returned to the house during the night, they found a car they did not recognize, parked in the front yard as well.

Horry County Assistant Solicitor Donna Elder told the jury earlier in the week that an argument started upon the discovery of the car and Brooks intervened.

"They wanted to show everyone just how tough they were, and if you didn't know it they were going to bring a gun, just to show how tough they were," Elder said about Griffin and his friends.

Elder claimed Griffin pulled out a pistol and hit Brooks in the head, knocking him to the ground. A witness who took the stand later supported the claim that one of the people in the argument with Brooks hit him in the head with a gun. However, that witness did not say Griffin was the person with the gun. He only gave a description that matched Griffin and his clothing that night.

Elder told the jury Griffin then shot Brooks in the back while he was lying on the ground. However, Griffin's public defender James Galmore argued no one actually saw Griffin pull the trigger.

"The solicitor told a wonderful story," Galmore said. "There's just one problem with it. Every time she said Keion Griffin she should have said Demario Stukes."

With that statement, Galmore made it clear the defense would point the finger away from Griffin and toward one of his friends who was there during the argument.

"We're going to demonstrate to each and every one of you that the shooter in this case was Demario Stukes," Galmore told the jury.

Demario Stukes has been named a suspect in the death of Brooks. However, charges against him are pending. Prosecutors do not believe he was the gunman.

The other teenager accused of being with Griffin and Stukes during the shooting is a juvenile who has been sentenced to a juvenile detention center until his 21st birthday.

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