A man who chased down and killed his friend outside a Gwinnett County hotel during a fight over $40 was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Donald Steele, 22, of Duluth, was arrested in 2019 after investigators said he repeatedly stabbed his friend during a botched drug deal.
Norcross police were called to the Guest Inn on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard on Sept. 24, 2019, and found 22-year-old Kevin McGruder Jr. lying on the ground outside with three stab wounds. He was rushed to Northside Hospital-Lawrenceville, but later died of his injuries.
Authorities said McGruder was killed after arranging to meet with Steele and sell him $40 worth of THC vape cartridges. Steele told police McGruder took his money, but never handed over the cartridges.
Surveillance footage from the hotel showed Steele and McGruder fighting in the parking lot, Gwinnett prosecutors said in a news release. The footage also showed an unarmed McGruder running away as Steele chased after him with the knife.
“By this time McGruder had already been stabbed and fell to the ground,” prosecutors said in the release.
Authorities said Steele took his $40 back from the 22-year-old before stabbing him again. After the stabbing, McGruder got up and walked a short distance before collapsing a second time, authorities said.
Steele remained at the scene and admitted to the stabbing, reportedly telling Norcross police that McGruder had threatened him and that he was angry about having his money stolen.
At trial, Steele claimed he acted in self-defense, but prosecutors said the surveillance footage showed the victim never had a weapon and appeared to be running away when he was killed. Steele was convicted of murder and aggravated assault.
The trial was the first in Gwinnett court since jury trials resumed following a 13-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
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