JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was found guilty of first-degree murder for a fatal shooting outside an auto shop business on Edison Avenue near Stockton Street in 2021, the State Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
The shooting happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when officers arrived at the business in Mixon Town and found a man, who was identified as 31-year-old Justin Sumlar, shot to death.
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Multiple witnesses told authorities that the Sumlar was standing in front of the auto shop with others when Greggory James walked up wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt that concealed his face and fired nine shots, seven of which hit the Sumlar.
Witnesses to the murder reported a black Nissan with a Texas license plate was seen driving erratically away from the area after the shooting. Responding officers spotted the vehicle and pursued it until it crashed.
Before the crash, a .45-caliber handgun was thrown from the vehicle. After the crash, officers detained Greggory James III, 20, and Delquan McGriff, 24, was charged with fleeing from an officer and leading police on a pursuit since he was the driver.
When ballistics from the gun and DNA from a sweatshirt matched James, he was also charged with murder. Police are expecting to fill additional charges against McGriff, who was driving the vehicle when that crashed.
James was found guilty of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent. He faces a mandatory sentence of life and will be sentenced at a later date.