Man gets 50 years for fatal shooting of Clemson Univ. student

PICKENS, S.C. - A judge has sentenced a man to 50 years in prison for the fatally shooting a Clemson University student while he was trying to rob the student's roommates of drugs.

The Greenville News reports a Pickens County, S.C., jury found 20-year-old Lester Mosley Jr. guilty Wednesday of murder, first-degree burglary, two counts of attempted armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Prosecutors say Mosley and three other men wearing masks entered the students' home through an unlocked door in December 2012 because they heard someone in the house had a large amount of marijuana and wanted to rob him.

Authorities say while the others searched for the drugs, Mosley pistol-whipped the residents. His gun fired, killing 23-year-old Steven Grich, of Fort Mill, S.C. No one else was hurt.

"He was a wonderful man," the victim's mother Jeanne, who was in court Wednesday, told the paper. "He had so much to offer this world.... Our hearts are broken today."

The News reports Mosley apologized to Grich's family prior to sentencing.

Mosley testified in his own defense and denied being in the home. The other three suspects pleaded guilty and testified against Mosley at the trial.