Ex-pastor convicted in North High staffer's slaying

Updated: January 27, 2012 - 10:01 PM

It took a jury six hours to convict Derrick Trevor Griffin of murder.

Kristopher C. Miller

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An ex-Minneapolis church pastor will spend the rest of his life in prison following his conviction Friday for the murder of a popular North High School staffer.

After a two-week trial and six hours of deliberation, a Hennepin County jury found Derrick Trevor Griffin, 41, guilty of first-degree murder while committing a drive-by shooting. The conviction carries a sentence of life without parole.

Griffin was charged with the jealousy-fueled May 10 shooting death of Kristopher Miller, 28. Charges say Griffin, who was separated from his wife, watched her from his car that night as she joined Miller and others for dinner at a restaurant. Minutes after Miller wished the woman well and went home, he was gunned down.

The body of Miller, a father of two and a member of the North High support staff, was found by his mother on the front steps of his apartment building. Investigators used cellphone records, a bullet from Miller's body and surveillance cameras to trace the killing to Griffin. The onetime associate minister at True Vine Missionary Baptist Church was arrested the day after the killing.

ABBY SIMONS