Demario Stukes (front) and Keion Griffin (rear) appear in an Horry County court room for bond hearings in June 2008.
By Graeme Moore
Sunday, November 01, 2009 at 7:17 p.m.
Read more: Local, Corey Brooks, Murder, Killing, Shooting, Keion Griffin, Demario Stukes, Myrtle Beach, Bikefest, May Bike Rally, CCU, Gun
A trial will begin Monday for one of the men accused of murdering Coastal Carolina University Student Corey Brooks during a fight over a parking space, the Horry County Solicitor's office said Sunday.
Brooks was with a group of friends at a friend's home on 3rd Avenue North when he died May 25, 2008 from a single gunshot wound to the back.
Myrtle Beach police detectives said the shot was fired as Brooks tried to break up the fight between his friend and a group of young men trying to park at the home.
Police arrested three of the men in that group including a 16-year-old juvenile, 17-year-old Demario Stukes and 18-year-old Keion Griffin who has a prior criminal record. The juvenile pleaded guilty to a gun charge and was sentenced to five years in juvenile detention.
Griffin's trial begins Monday, though no trial date has yet been set for Stukes. Deputy Solicitor Fran Humphries said testimony could begin Monday afternoon in Griffin's case.
Police said in the weeks following the shooting that Griffin pulled the trigger, but in South Carolina the "hand of one is the hand of all," and that's why Stukes also faces a murder charge. Police also charged both men for being in possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
The killing happened during the early morning hours of the last day of the 2008 Memorial Day Bikefest. Some have suggested the Brooks' killing spurred the push by the Myrtle Beach City Council to end the bike rallies.
Others, however, pointed out that Brooks and the three suspects lived in Horry County and that it wasn't unusual for all of them to hang out at the beach.
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