In the early morning hours of August 6, 2015, 65-year-old Michael Bemus, a well-regarded taxi driver from Austell, Georgia, was found deceased in his vehicle outside the Allround Suites hotel on Northwest Parkway in Marietta. A 911 call shortly before 3 a.m. led police to the scene where they discovered Bemus had been fatally shot in the head while in the driver's seat of his Victory Taxi cab.
Known affectionately as 'Mikey' by his friends and regular customers, Bemus was remembered as a kind-hearted man who would often go out of his way to ensure people got home safely, sometimes without accepting a fare.
The investigation quickly led Marietta police to a person of interest. Within hours of the discovery of Bemus's body, they arrested 34-year-old Justin Marquis Graves of Marietta. Graves, a previously convicted felon, was subsequently charged with murder. The motive for the killing appeared to be robbery, as prosecutors stated that Graves had taken money from Bemus to pay for his room at the extended-stay motel where the shooting took place. He was captured on video paying the bill shortly after the estimated time of the murder.
In October 2017, a Cobb County jury took just an hour to convict Justin Marquis Graves on all seven charges against him, which included malice murder, three counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. During the trial, Graves took the stand in his own defense, admitting he had initially lied to the police. He was subsequently sentenced for his crimes. The swift arrest and conviction brought a sense of closure to the many friends and family members who mourned the loss of the beloved cab driver.
