Granite City man sentenced to life for drug-related homicide

Greg Murray, 22, of Granite City was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in a drug-related homicide.

Murray received the sentence after a two-hour contested sentencing hearing in federal court in East St. Louis on Jan. 5.

Murray was charged along with D'Laurentis Trice and Brian Hines with the drug-related murder of Shannon Harper in Brooklyn in September 2002.

According to trial testimony, Murray accompanied Trice and Hines to meet with Harper where they were to buy half a kilogram of cocaine from Harper.

During the transaction, Murray pulled a gun and shot Harper in the head and then fled with Harper's cocaine and Trice's money. Harper died the next day from the gunshot wound. Murray was later apprehended in Arkansas.

Trice and Hines were previously sentenced in the case to 40 and 30 years respectively.

Murray's first trial in August of 2004, ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked. His second trial in August 2005, ended with a guilty verdict after less than 15 minutes of juror deliberations.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, The United States Marshal's Service and the Illinois State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tom Leggans.