Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Man arrested for discharging gun to scare away gang


From 1010WINS:

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (1010 WINS/ AP) – George Grier is out on bail after allegedly firing warning shots with a rifle at a group of suspected gang members over the weekend and now he’s in seclusion at his home in Uniondale.

George Grier with Attorney John Lewis Jr. (Photo/Kathleen Maloney)His wife, Ylana, said the family is shaken and afraid that the large group of men who invaded their property will come back.

“There’s that feeling of are they coming back to retaliate?” Ylana Grier said. “How can I still guard my home? We no longer have the rifle.”

Grier, 30, was arrested after he fired rounds into the ground and air from an assault-style rifle after arguing with 15 to 20 men — believed to be MS-13 gang members – gathered outside his Long Island home Sunday evening, Nassau County police said.

“They were literally on my lawn,” Grier’s wife said. “I felt they were going to invade my home, I thought my husband was going to be killed.”

No one was hurt in the incident.

Ylana Grier said her husband was merely protecting her and their two young daughters — ages 2 and 1 — from the men. She said the family did not know who the men were or why they swarmed the lawn.

Grier was arrested on reckless endangerment and weapons possession charges. He was released on $10,000 bond after his arraignment Monday.

A FedEx worker, Grier is the grandson of a local minister and is a church deacon himself, his sister, Caprice Rines said. Grier bought the rifle for self-defense amid concern about recent shootings in the area, Rines said.

The family is now relying on surveillance cameras and a pit bull for protection.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Huh?? 15 gang members swarm the mans property and he fires shots in the air to ward them off and they arrest HIM??

I certainly hope there is more to this...

Anonymous said...

I think the man should have the right to defend his property. Firing shots into the air is reckless though. Those bullets come down somewhere.

Babs said...

This man sounds like HERO to me.

Good for him!!!

Babs said...

Chances are he called the police on these idiots before and was ignored -

He shot up into the air - he probably knows how to use the gun. He is protecting his property. In Texas - they would be dead and no charges would be made.

Anonymous said...

One Republican with a gun vs a dozen tweeds?

Guess who is the bad guy.

Anonymous said...

"He shot up into the air - he probably knows how to use the gun. He is protecting his property."
Babs you are missing the point. I agree he is protecting his property, and I'm sure he likely knows how to use his gun. However, bullets fired into the air eventually return to the ground. While the likelihood of a falling bullet hitting someone is very small, it can and does happen with sometimes fatal results.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question281.htm

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/boy-most-likely-shot-264997.html

Anonymous said...

I do agree that was reckless, but when faced with the choice to shoot the perps or shoot up or down, what to do?

Anonymous said...

"Grier, 30, was arrested after he fired rounds into the ground and air"
sounds like he chose both

Anonymous said...

No, he didn't choose to shoot the perps, that was the question.

Anonymous said...

"I do agree that was reckless, but when faced with the choice to shoot the perps or shoot up or down, what to do?"

If you're going to pull out a gun, be prepared to use it.

I.N. Consistent said...

He is protecting his property.

Huh?

On another QC topic, Babs is pooh poohing a guy who doesn't want people having gay sex on his property.

Here she's defending a guy for protecting his family!

It's great to be consistent Babs!

I'm beginning to suspect that Babs is most likely a Tammany Hall operative. Her handlers should rein her in before we expose her!

Babs said...

I remember that story - very sad. But that was a "stray bullet" - shooting in the air is most often celebratory like the "21 gun salute" or at the start of certain events.

yes - I understand that there is a certain element of danger with a gun even in the hands of an experienced marksman - AND of course, that is why he was arrested and probably charged with reckless endangerment - but - what the hay? There is an element of danger in everything we do.

Did he use blanks or real bullets?

AND

Babs said...

"On another QC topic, Babs is pooh poohing a guy who doesn't want people having gay sex on his property. Here she's defending a guy for protecting his family!
It's great to be consistent Babs!"

I haven't "poo-pooed" anyone - I do not condone people having sex on other's property - that's absurb - BUT you are going nuts over something you have NO - zilch - nada - CONTROL OVER! The end.

This man has a dangerous GANG hanging out in front of his home - you CANNOT compare this with two enamored gay men making love outside on your driveway.

I know you will compare it of course anyway - but, you just make yourself sound silly by doing so.

Anonymous said...

"Did he use blanks or real bullets?"

If he used blanks there's no endangerment. And blanks are what they use in your 21 gun salute example.

Unanimous said...

I should probably keep my opinions to myself since I don't know the whole story. It seems though folks have to take the law into there own hands more and more since the law enforcement is there less less. All of all sudden I feel like watching Taxi Driver or Death Wish.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for this guy if it was MS-13 because he will more than likely end up in a body bag.

Anonymous said...

I feel sorry for this guy if it was MS-13 because he will more than likely end up in a body bag.

ew-3 said...

It's a union thing. Unless you are a member of the police union you can't defend yourself.
FWIW - the statistical probability of a round hitting someone from above is 1 in the millions. Firing into the ground is more likely to cause a problem as it will ricochet of a stone or cement...
As to those that say if you fire you better be ready to kill, I can tell you it sounds easier than it is.
Shame on the cops for busting this guys stones. Sends a very bad message. Our country needs to be retaken from the PC crowd.

Anonymous said...

call 911 wait for perps to enter home . then shoot to kill. trll the cops you retreated and feared for your life.

KG2V said...

actually, if you read other reports, he fired into his lawn, so bullets are not coming down anywhere

That said, NY is NOT a "Castle Doctrine" state - You may ONLY use deadly force (and any discharge of a firearm is considered deadly force under NY law) in order to end an immediate threat to your life, or the life of another - that's IT - in other words, if the person is not actively TRYING to kill you, no dice - a threat doesn't work - they are 20 ft away, NOT displaying a weapon, and not immediately coming at you, no dice - in fact, it's pretty much settled in NY that if you had time to fire a warning shot, no dice, you should not have fired - if the threat was not immediate enough to shoot to end the threat (which, using a firearm basically means shooting to kill - you shoot at center of mass until the threat stops), you are not allowed to fire

Sarah said...

“ A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ”

Sarah said...

“ A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ”

KG2V said...

No argument from me, just stating what IS

Anonymous said...

SARAH, i like your style. don't'quit.....

Anonymous said...

He fried all shots into the floor none into the air, He was arrested after he gave an account of what happened and openly admitted that the shots fired were from him alone.

The reason they give for him being wrong is that he should have waited till his life or his wife or children was in immediate danger, LOL seriously let us wait till 20 gang members force their way into my house and then I will shoot someone because warning shots mean I was not threatened enough. Moral to this story WAIT until they shoot you or a family member then you can blow their brains out otherwise if you try to avoid anyone dying you are going to jail. GOTTA LOVE IT!

georgetheatheist said...

AFTER her fired the shots, what did the vermin do? Scatter? High-tail their asses outta there?

www.nra.org

Do it now.

Anonymous said...

Umm, already a benefactor member
(above Life, there are some extra levels, mostly saying you've donated - all you get is a different color pin

Life
Endowment
Patron
Benefactor

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a bad married with children episode....

Anonymous said...

The man is protecting his family and home from assholes gathered in front of it. Where were the police otherwise before-hand?

The police probably ignore this area and folks are then free to gather and disturb and frighten others. I hope he has a good lawyer to get off this senseless charge.

Anonymous said...

Shots being fired into the air only come down after they lose their velocity. Gravity then gets control of them. When they fall they are no longer deadly propellants, just small, falling objects, and not very harmful at all.

Anonymous said...

A fence, good lighting and a visible well placed placed web cam would have discouraged trespassers very effectively at the onset.

No alleged gang members like to be photographed.

A central alarm system or a motion activated sprinkler system added to this...even better.

Nobody remains on a front lawn while getting soaked.

I'm not against guns for serious protection but it's standard military operational procedure to
secure your perimeter first.

Guns are employed (warning shots or actual fire) only when the area is about to be breached.

Now he has no weapon and, most likely, he won't be able to lawfully purchase another..

Discharging his rifle was a bad judgment call on his part.

Auntie Invasion said...

this is all propaganda whose intention is make sure we are not armed and can not defend ourselves if the need arises. And to lull us to sleep thinking that we can rely on civil servants to protect us.

The gang members are probably taking over his block/street , aided and abetted by the local police, illegal immigrant advocacy groups and religious entities such as the Lutheran Resettlement Agency or the Jewish Board.

Because gang members/drug dealers have constant contact with the CJS criminal justice system, they learn how to use it against people.

who called the police? the illegal immigrant drug dealers? how come they aren't being deported? that way they would be safe back home.

Joe said...

This is all Tom Suozzi's fault for building projects in that area. Its become a real Cesspool.
Cops wont go after gang members, ICE and INS wont come get them unless they kill somebody.
The Nassau county jails are busting at the seams, so much so they have people in tralors.

Anonymous said...

If the guy shot down the bullet detection system wouldnt have picked up and triangulated.
Now the cops are going to use that evidence against him. The MS-13 will be back for his wife and kids. You can bet the cops took all the guns in the house and the gang knows it.
Leave it to the scumbag democrat laws to arrest and disarm an innocent man

Joe said...

"Falling bullets"
Yep, an acorn hit me in the head this morning I have a small lump.
The top of that oak tree is around 60 feet
A lead bullet coming from the sky would weigh a lot more and have much more velocity and energy.

Queens Crapper said...

I think a bullet killed someone like that at the Polo Grounds once.

Anonymous said...

Did you know that the shot spotter system that is incorporated into this neighborhood will detect and alert the officers who have the laptops in their cars, "Officials admit there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out. So far, only 15 percent of the notifications have actually been gun shots.

One of those kinks is making sure the system is able to identify the difference between a gunshot, a car backfiring, fireworks and other loud noises. On Aug. 3, police responded to a house in Roosevelt after fireworks went off"

So the person who said it would not have worked if he fired downwards into the grass is wrong..

Anonymous said...

But as far as the rest of your statement I have to agree

Anonymous said...

Mr. Grier is charged with a crime that requires not only a risk of death from his actions but that his actions evinced a depraved indifference to human life. Mr. Grier showed a tremendous amount of restraint in firing into the lawn and not into the crowd. The only thing that was at risk of death that night was a few blades of grass. That’s just one legal argument. Even here in New York one can use deadly physical force (which Mr. Grier did not) when faced with what reasonable men in the same situation would believe is deadly physical force being used against them. I don’t think any reasonable person when threatened and then rushed by 20 or so gang members would think that deadly physical force was not justified. Both Mr. Grier and I have the utmost confidence in the New York criminal justice system. He will be vindicated!
A few facts that were omitted by the press:
1. George Grier came back outside because his cousin was still out there being pushed down a dark alley be the original 3 people.
2. George Grier did not use “deadly force” by firing into the ground but would have been justified if he did. The test would be if a reasonable man standing in the shoes of George Grier would have thought that “deadly force” was going to be used against him. It doesn’t require that a weapon be displayed or used. The threat of 20 people rushing you threatening your life and your family is way more than enough. For the record George Grier’s best friend was beaten to death by a group of MS13 gang members; no guns or knives were used.
3. Lastly the weapon used was not an ak-47 nor does it meet the more stringent test of New York law on what is an “assault weapon”

John R. Lewis, Jr., Esq.
Attorney for George Grier

Anonymous said...

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/Man-Fires-At-Gang-On-His-Lawn-Uniondale-20100909

Anonymous said...

The cops aint doing squat !!
This gang is rampaging and just robbed a bunch of kids a Hofsta down the street !!!

Unknown said...

Thank you, Mr. Lewis, for defending my cousin in the court system. I pray for his defense at his home. George has always been a humble man and the LOVE he has for his family is unconditional. He, just like any person, will do anything to protect all of them. We are all praying for George and the family...One Love!!!

Samiam said...

We need more people like George in this country and fewer gang members of course. But also we need fewer codependent enablers like this lame, metrosexual TV anchorman and the clueless DA.

I would be proud to have George as my neighbor and would just love to get on his jury so that I could aquit him, irrespective of some progressive judge's interpretation of the law.

Anonymous said...

Shoot them on your lawn and then drag them into your house.

No questions asked.