Man Sentenced to 40 Years Following Jury Conviction, Guilty Plea for Fatally Stabbing 2 Men in 2020
NORFOLK, Va. – L. C. Grant III, 36, will serve 40 years in prison for two murders he committed in Norfolk in 2020: the stabbing deaths of 31-year-old Donta Antonio Jackson, for which Mr. Grant was convicted by jury, and 50-year-old Michael Dewayne Mizzell, for which Mr. Grant pleaded guilty.
On Oct. 27, 2020, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Grant had been driving around in a white Mitsubishi Mirage belonging to Mr. Jackson’s girlfriend. At some point, the two parked outside of a restaurant off North Military Highway near the intersection with Hoggard Road in order to have sex. After their sexual encounter, Mr. Grant stabbed Mr. Jackson numerous times and drove off in the Mirage, leaving Mr. Jackson mortally wounded at the scene.
Bleeding and in distress, Mr. Jackson approached a nearby business on Hoggard Road and told patrons he had just been stabbed by a man who drove off in a white Mitsubishi Mirage belonging to his girlfriend. Norfolk Police and emergency personnel responded, and Mr. Jackson died shortly after being transported to Sentara Leigh Hospital. Mr. Jackson had nine superficial cut and deep stab wounds, with a fatal 4-inch wound to his chest. Detectives saw evidence of a struggle outside the restaurant and a trail of blood leading to the other business. Mr. Grant’s DNA was also recovered from Mr. Jackson’s body due to their sexual encounter.
Detectives interviewed Mr. Jackson’s girlfriend, who confirmed that Mr. Jackson borrowed her white Mirage that day to run an errand and meet with a friend — not Mr. Grant — but that communication between the two of them ceased shortly thereafter.
After the stabbing, Mr. Grant drove to the Richmond area to visit a woman he was dating. The two were seen on video surveillance footage the following day making a purchase at a grocery store. The woman testified that she broke up with Mr. Grant after he was acting oddly during the visit, including having unexplained cuts to his hands and sleeping in a white car that she did not recognize from his previous visits. Mr. Grant then returned to Norfolk. On his way back from Richmond, Mr. Grant was seen again on video surveillance stopping at a Newport News 7-Eleven and making a purchase inside the store.
Multiple people reported to detectives during their investigation that they believed Mr. Grant to be Mr. Jackson’s killer. The individuals knew Mr. Grant only by the nickname “Luke” and advised that he was from the Coleman Place area of Norfolk. Detectives canvassed the area and recovered the abandoned white Mirage from a parking lot off Early Street. After executing a search warrant on the vehicle, detectives found blood inside as well as purchase receipts from the Richmond grocery store and the Newport News 7-Eleven.
On Nov. 2, 2020, a woman who knew Mr. Mizzell from church reported him missing after not hearing from him since Oct. 24, 2020. On Nov. 5, 2020, a Norfolk Police missing persons detective performed a wellness check at Mr. Mizzell’s apartment on Little Bay Avenue. After smelling what he believed to be a dead body and noticing flies around the windows and door to the apartment, that detective contacted homicide detectives. After entering the apartment, they found Mr. Mizzell’s body in an advanced state of decomposition wrapped in linens inside a closet. A medical examiner determined that Mr. Mizzell died after being stabbed in his torso, neck, and head more than two dozen times. According to Mr. Mizzell’s family, Mr. Grant lived with Mr. Mizzell and acted as his caregiver.
On Nov. 4, 2020, a local bail bondsman took Mr. Grant into custody for neglecting to pay his bill for a previous bond on prior charges out of Virginia Beach unrelated to either murder. Among the items the bail bondsman confiscated from Mr. Grant after his arrest were three large knives and an EBT card belonging to Mr. Mizzell. Mr. Grant charged the EBT card during his trip to the Richmond area after he killed Mr. Jackson.
Based on the information gathered from the investigation into Mr. Jackson’s death, detectives obtained a warrant to collect Mr. Grant’s DNA for their investigation into Mr. Mizzell’s death. Mr. Grant’s DNA confirmed his presence in Mr. Mizzell’s apartment. The case against Mr. Grant for Mr. Mizzell’s killing was circumstantial but pointed to Mr. Grant as the killer.
In December 2020, Norfolk Police charged Mr. Grant with the second-degree murder of Mr. Jackson. In June 2021, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office secured indictments from a grand jury against Mr. Grant for the first-degree murder of Mr. Jackson, using a weapon in the commission of Mr. Jackson’s murder, carjacking Mr. Jackson, the first-degree murder of Mr. Mizzell, using a weapon in the commission of Mr. Mizzell’s murder, and credit card theft.
In November 2023, the Office presented its case against Mr. Grant — pertaining only to the charges involving Mr. Jackson — to a jury. On Nov. 30, the jury found Mr. Grant guilty of the second-degree murder of Mr. Jackson as well as the use of a weapon in the commission of his murder and carjacking.
On March 8, Judge Robert B. Rigney sentenced Mr. Grant on those charges to an active term of 40 years in prison plus a term of post-release supervision. That sentence was significantly higher than the high end of Mr. Grant’s advisory sentencing guidelines.
On Thursday, Mr. Grant pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Mr. Mizzell. Judge Rigney accepted his plea agreement, dismissing the use of a weapon and credit card theft charges and imposing an active sentence of 40 years to run concurrently with the sentence for Mr. Jackson’s murder. The Office extended this plea agreement with the blessing of Mr. Mizzell’s family, who above all wished for Mr. Grant to admit his guilt and take responsibility for killing their loved one.
“Mr. Grant murdered someone for whom he served as a caretaker. Then he murdered someone with whom he had just been intimate. He murdered both of his victims with a knife, which requires violence, up-close contact, and effort,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. Jackson and Mr. Mizzell died painful and difficult deaths, but the jury, the judge, and our office have held Mr. Grant accountable for his crimes. He has earned his sentences.”
Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Gordon C. Ufkes and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Caswell W. Richardson prosecuted Mr. Grant’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth. Norfolk Police Detective Kyle D. Austin and former Norfolk Police Detective Matthew J. Walsh led the investigation, and the Office would like to thank Norfolk Police Officer Michael M. Chaffee and FBI Special Agent Harrison Putman for their forensic contributions to this case.
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