Woman sentenced to decades in prison for killing SEPTA bus driver
Bernard N. Gribbin, 48, was driving a Route 23 bus in 2023 when he was shot six times by Zhontay Capers.
A 24-year-old Philadelphia woman was sentenced on Friday to at least three decades in prison for the fatal shooting of SEPTA bus driver Bernard N. Gribbin in 2023.
Zhontay Capers, formerly of the 4300 block of Reno Street in the Belmont section of Philadelphia, shot Gribbin six times as he sat in the driver’s seat of his Route 23 bus at Germantown and Abbottsford Avenues shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2023.
Gribbin, 48, of Abington, was pronounced dead minutes later at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital. He had been a SEPTA employee for 12 years.
Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Kyriakakis sentenced Capers to a minimum 33-1/2 years in prison, up to a maximum 67 years.
Gina A. Amoriello, Capers’ court-appointed lawyer, said she respected the judge and his decision, but disagreed with the length of the sentence and planned to appeal.
Amoriello said her client had a mental illness and the shooting appeared to be unprovoked. The original general murder charge against her client filed by the district attorney’s office had been negotiated down to third-degree murder, but the length of the sentence was left to the judge, Amoriello said.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office also could not be reached for comment.
Will Vera, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 234, said the courtroom was filled with fellow SEPTA employees and union staff to show support for Gribbin’s family.
“Bernard will never be forgotten,” Vera said in a phone interview.
Vera said he was personally unsure how he felt about the reduction of the charge to third-degree murder, but he understood that it led to Capers pleading guilty and that she may have gone to trial with a jury if she still faced a general murder charge or first-degree murder.
Vera said he was thankful the judge gave Capers the “max” for the third-degree murder conviction.
In a statement issued after the sentencing, SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. and General Manager Scott A. Sauer said Gribbin’s murder had a lasting impact on the agency and its employees.
“And as deep as our grief is, we know it does not compare to that of his wife Kristine, sons Justin and Jacob, his parents, siblings and many other loved ones. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with them,” Lawrence and Sauer said.
“Unfortunately, nothing can bring Bernard back to us. But in his memory, we are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safety and security of the hardworking men and women who provide the public transit services that hundreds of thousands of our residents rely on every day,” the SEPTA leaders said.
SEPTA is working with state lawmakers to pass the Bernard N. Gribbin Law to increase penalties for assaults against public transit operators, Lawrence and Sauer said.
