Man Convicted in Florida Tourist Slaying : Courts: John Crumitie, 18, is found guilty of first-degree murder in the 1993 killing of a Briton during a bungled robbery at a highway rest stop.

A teen-ager was convicted of first-degree murder Saturday in the 1993 killing of a British tourist at a highway rest stop, one of a series of crimes that drove visitors away from Florida.

Juries in two earlier trials had deadlocked because of a lack of physical evidence tying John (Billy Joe) Crumitie to the slaying of Gary Colley during a bungled robbery at an Interstate 10 rest stop near Monticello, about 35 miles east of Tallahassee.

As the verdict was read, Crumitie, 18, put his head down on the table with a soft thump.

“It’s horrible. It’s horrible,” said Crumitie’s mother, Susie Mae Johnson, blaming the conviction on a change of venue to Pensacola. “The town ain’t nothing but a damn redneck town, and Monticello is just the damn same.”

A jury in Monticello voted 11 to 1 and another in Gainesville split 9 to 3, both in favor of a conviction.

Crumitie testified that he was home asleep when Colley, 34, was killed.

In closing arguments, defense lawyers focused on the deals that criminals were given for their testimony implicating Crumitie.

Defense lawyer Dwight Wells accused those witnesses of lying to help themselves, and said the prosecution made “a deal with the devil.”

Co-defendants Aundra Akins, 16, and Deron (Lowlife) Spear, 18, testified that Crumitie participated in the crime with them. They have not been sentenced yet.

Akins, who admitted shooting Colley, was allowed to plead guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder with a sentence of no more than 40 years.

Spear pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and accessory after the fact to murder with the promise of a 10-year cap. He said he drove the getaway car.

Also, rest stop attendant Donald Spivey identified Crumitie as one of the assailants, and four other witnesses--Crumitie’s hairdresser, his neighbor and two jail inmates--said he confessed to them.

The latest jury deliberated nearly three hours Saturday before finding Crumitie guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, robbery and shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Colley’s longtime companion, Margaret Jagger, 37, was wounded in the Sept. 14, 1993, shooting. She declined comment after the verdict.

Assistant State Atty. Michael Schneider said he believed that the outcome was different this time because “the witnesses were better.” He said they appeared to be more comfortable in a smaller courtroom.

The state is not seeking the death penalty, so Crumitie faces life in prison without parole for at least 25 years on the murder conviction alone.

Circuit Judge Nikki Clark set sentencing for Oct. 19.

Wells said he plans to seek a new trial on grounds that only five blacks were in the 50-member pool from which the jury was selected. Crumitie is black and the victims white.