Bradenton man convicted after 20-year-old found in crashed car with 3 gunshots to head
A Bradenton man is facing up to life in prison after being convicted of shooting his crack cocaine dealer dead in 2018.
Richard Griffith was found guilty as charged by a jury late Friday of second-degree murder with a firearm following a week-long trial. Griffith will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Stephen Whyte at 2 p.m. May 11.
On the night of Dec. 14, 2018, Bradenton police found 20-year-old Rosby Peterson dead sitting inside a car that had crashed into a palm tree in the 800 block of 21st Street West. Peterson had been shot three times in the head at close range and had called 911 before dying from his injuries.
“I am very pleased with the jury’s guilty verdict and hopefully Mr. Petterson’s family can find a little comfort with that,” said James Curulla, lead homicide detective in the case.
Under Florida’s 10-20-life law, Griffith faces a minimum of 25 years of prison. The State Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that it will be seeking the prison release re-offender sentencing enhancement which if granted would means that Griffith faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
“We are thankful for the extensive efforts of both the Bradenton Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office in solving and building a solid case,” Assistant State Attorney Charlie Lawrence, lead prosecutor in the case, said in an issued statement. “We are pleased that the jury was able to weigh all of the evidence and reach a just decision.”
During the five-day-long trial, Griffith took the stand claiming that he had shot the victim in self-defense even though he had previously detectives that he didn’t kill Peterson.
Griffith — who lived only a block and half from the crash scene — left behind his prescription eyeglasses and a gun that had been stolen from his father in the car.
Detectives had traced the sale of the .357 Taurus revolver they found in the car with the victim to Griffith’s father. Griffith had sent a text message to his father claiming that he traded the gun for $100 cash and $100 worth of crack cocaine.
On one of Peterson’s two cellphones found in the car, a flip phone commonly used for drug dealing, showed an incoming phone call about three hours before the shooting from a cellphone number detectives knew had belonged to Griffith.
Griffith is still facing a possession of a firearm charge as part of the same case. No trial has yet been set but a case management hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 9.
