TAMPA, Fla. — A jury deliberated for four hours Thursday before finding a Tampa man guilty in the 2019 stabbing murder of a Tampa HART bus driver.
Justin McGriff was found guilty of first-degree murder.
What You Need To Know
- Justin McGriff found guilty of murder in 2019 stabbing death of Tampa HART bus driver
- Sentencing April 20
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McGriff was captured on surveillance video inside the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Bus walking behind the driver, Thomas Dunn, then plunging a knife into his neck.
Although Dunn was able to safely pull the bus over he died as a result of his injuries.
Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, but after McGriff was deemed not mentally fit to stand trial and sent for treatment, the State dropped its pursuit of the death penalty and opted for life in prison.
The defense still argued mental illness played a role in the attack but the jury of six men and six women rejected that idea.
The deadly encounter was caught on video, something prosecutors used to prove their own argument that McGriff knew what he was doing.
Sentencing is set for April 20. McGriff is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.