A man with a lengthy criminal history, identified as Jamel McGriff, is accused of murdering a couple in Queens. Interestingly, he is reported to have attempted to rob a Verizon store just weeks prior but fled after struggling with a clerk who wishes McGriff hadn’t escaped.
The clerk described an encounter on August 31 at a location in Manhattan, where he chased McGriff when he realized the suspect was supposedly armed. “Retailers often advise employees to comply with robbers since they have insurance,” a worker shared anonymously. Yet, in a moment of defiance, he thought, “I’m not giving you anything unless I see a real gun.”
McGriff allegedly stabbed and set fire to Frank and Maureen Alton in their home on a Monday. His link to the couple’s deaths was made when officers tracked a stolen card to Macy’s and a cinema in Times Square. Sources indicate that swift updates allowed officers to locate him.
Remarkably, McGriff mentioned he spent 17 years in prison and didn’t really have a smooth re-entry into society afterward, engaging in criminal activities soon after his release.
Upon entering the Verizon store, McGriff raised suspicions right away. Initially, the clerk thought it might just be a case of fraud. But when McGriff followed him toward the safe, things escalated. “He said, ‘I have a gun. Give me an F-King phone.’ I refused, putting my phone back in the safe and closing it in front of him,” he recounted.
Threatened with violence, the clerk noted that he caught sight of something shiny in McGriff’s hand. An altercation ensued when McGriff seemingly tried to grab a potential weapon. The clerk recalled, “After the first punch, he yelled, ‘It’s a fake, it’s a fake,’ and he didn’t even fight back. Eventually, he bolted from the store after a few hits.”
Regret lingered for the clerk, who felt he could have stopped McGriff. “I wish I had been able to hold him down so he could have been arrested instead of getting away. Maybe then the couple would still be alive,” he reflected.
McGriff, released from prison in 2023, had a history of robbery and sexual offenses but, oddly, was never registered as a sex offender. The details surrounding this oversight are unclear.
The Altons were remembered fondly by friends and neighbors, who described them as incredible individuals.
