On May 18, 2023 Jamaal Griffin was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison after a Mecklenburg County jury found him guilty of the June 2018 murder of 32-year-old Churchill Zoker in Charlotte, NC.
Churchill was murdered on June 30, 2018 at the Extended Stay hotel located on E Mccullough Dr.
Patrol officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call for service at the motel. Churchill was transported to Carolinas Medical Center with life-threatening injuries from being shot. He was pronounced deceased a short time later at the hospital by medical staff.
Several people were arrested and charged with the murder, but as of yet, only Jamaal has been convicted.
The trial began on May 1, 2023. The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Homicide Team tried Jamaal for first degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
After deliberating for less than two hours, the jury found Jamaal guilty of first degree murder under all three theories of the charge which were premeditated and deliberated, the felony murder rule, and lying in wait.
The jury also found Jamaal guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The judge sentenced Jamaal to the mandatory sentence of life in prison without thepossibility of parole, as well as an additional 14-26 months in prison.
Charges remain pending against a co-defendants in this case.
