TAYLOR (WWJ) - A Sterling Heights man has been convicted of first degree murder, armed robbery, carjacking and other charges in connection with a shooting spree last year.
A Wayne County jury on Friday returned verdicts for former truck driver Vernest Griffin; finding him guilty on all counts in the death of 60-year-old Keith Kitchen of Garden City.
Authorities said Griffin pre-planned a February 1, 2018 rampage, first stopping at his former employer, trucking company BSD Linehaul in Taylor, where he shot Kitchen multiple times.
Griffin then stole a semi-truck and fled to Pontiac where he allegedly fatally shot 58-year-old manager Eriberto Perez at Aluminum Blanking. Sheriff Mike Bouchard has said Griffin knew exactly what he was doing, walking up to a sliding glass door that was open and shooting Perez in the back with an AK-47 as he sat at his desk.
Following the Pontiac shooting, Griffin headed to a third business, Assured Carriers in Waterford, where investigators said he sought, but couldn't find, a third potential victim.
The spree came to an end when Griffin was shot in a gun battle with Waterford police, after crashing during a chase down Dixie Highway.
Taylor police said Griffin had been fired from his job at BSD, and that he went back there one time before the shooting, armed and making threats. He was arrested and charged following that incident, police said, and was out on bond at the time of the shooting spree.
Griffin faces life in prison without parole when he's sentenced in two weeks.
He still faces additional charges in Oakland County.