Man apprehended in Plattekill guilty in killing

A murder suspect arrested in Plattekill in 2014 was convicted in an Alabama court of killing his cousin.

Evidence obtained by Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies and the testimony of local law enforcement officers helped lead to the conviction of an Alabama man who murdered his cousin, the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

Christian A. Grissom, 32, of Jacksonville, Fla., who was wanted in Alabama for the murder of his cousin and was arrested on Aug. 10, 2014, by Ulster County Sheriff’s deputies and Plattekill police, was convicted Friday after a week-long trial, the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

Grissom murdered his cousin Keonte Chavis, 19, in August 2014, according to a press release and media reports. Chavis was strangled on Aug. 7, 2014, and her body was found in a wooded area two days later, media reports said.

Grissom was convicted of murdering Chavis in Russell County, Ala., and then traveling to a residence in Plattekill, where he was arrested after local police responded to reports of a fight in progress on Peace Lane.

Sheriff’s detectives executed a search warrant at that residence and on the vehicle in which Grissom traveled to New York. Deputies obtained evidence, the vehicle’s headliner, which Alabama authorities later confirmed was stained with Chavis’ blood.

On Aug. 29, five members of the Sheriff’s Office and a former Plattekill police officer traveled to Phenix City, Ala., and testified at Grissom’s trial, according to the press release.

Grissom was convicted of Chavis’ murder after about 30 minutes of jury deliberations.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 9 and faces 15 years to life in prison.