BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Jefferson County jury on Thursday convicted 65-year-old Michael Kermit Murray of provocation manslaughter in the 2023 shooting death of locksmith Darnell Michael Puidokas at a Birmingham gas station during a dispute over $200.
The case stemmed from a Feb. 11, 2023, confrontation at the Chevron on Bessemer Road after a disagreement over payment for locksmith work, according to local reports. Birmingham police said Puidokas, 36, was pronounced dead at the gas station.
Murray had been charged with murder before the jury returned the lesser verdict.