DOVER, Tenn. – A 16-year-old boy was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday for shooting his school bus driver after she reported him for using smokeless tobacco on the bus.
Jason Clinard was 14 when he killed Joyce Gregory in front of his home in March 2005, but prosecutors tried him as an adult. He now faces up to life in prison.
During the trial, his defense attorney acknowledged that Clinard shot the 47-year-old bus driver, but he asked the jury to consider the lesser charge of manslaughter. He said Clinard had been depressed and suicidal and was hearing voices.
Prosecutors argued that Clinard planned the killing. His football coach, Myles Holliday, testified that he heard the teenager say he hated Gregory. When the driver opened the bus door to pick him up that day, he shot her six times, prosecutors said.
Clinard did not testify.
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