BLYTHEVILLE – A Mississippi County Circuit Court jury convicted Granville Murphy of aggravated robbery in the robbery of a utility worker the day after police say he fatally shot someone in a separate incident, Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said on Friday.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for less than an hour Thursday before returning with the guilty verdict on Murphy, 28. Circuit Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. then sentenced Murphy, of Starkville, Miss., to 15 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction. The jury also found him guilty of the use of a firearm enhancement and Wilson sentenced him to an additional five years in prison, Ellington said.
Murphy robbed a utility worker in Blytheville on Feb. 6. Police say he shot and killed Terry Marshall, 63, of Blytheville the night before. Murphy will be tried for first-degree murder in Mississippi County Circuit Court in Blytheville in October, Ellington said.
Mississippi County Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Curtis Walker Jr. and Gina Knight prosecuted the case. Marked Tree attorney Chet Dunlap represented Murphy.
“We appreciate the hard work of Deputy Prosecutors Walker and Knight as they prepared this case for trial and for the dedication and work of lead detective Jason Simpkins of the Blytheville Police Department,” Ellington said.
Ellington added that in regard to Murphy’s pending murder trial next month that the defendant, “as are all others, is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Press release
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