By Eliot Kleinberg
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
WEST PALM BEACH — Being a lousy shot might well have saved Marshall Hugo Grant's life.
After Grant fired three times Monday from the doorway of the King IGA grocery store, manager Marino Hernandez made a split-second decision not to fire back.
"I was afraid he was going to keep shooting, but I already had in mind that he wasn't a good shooter," Hernandez said Tuesday.
Grant, 73, appeared Tuesday morning before Judge Nancy Perez, who ordered him held without bond while he undergoes a psychiatric examination.
Grant was a daily customer who'd never been a problem, said Hernandez, who manages the large supermarket at 1000 36th St.
On Monday afternoon, Grant and Hernandez argued after he tried to enter the store through the exit.
"I said, 'You know what? Take your business elsewhere,'" Hernandez said.
Grant then drew a handgun. Assistant manager Roberto Espinal, behind a side counter, drew his gun. When Grant turned that way, Hernandez pulled his.
It was 5 p.m., and the store was jammed with customers, loading up for dinner on their way home, who hadn't counted on a 3-way Wild West standoff.
Grant made the first move. He backed out of the store and started firing.
One bullet struck the front wall above the doorway, one hit the wall to the side of the door, and one imbedded in the ceiling over the cash registers.
One cashier, all of 16 years old, was on her first day on the job.
"A lot of chicken was left on shopping carts," Hernandez said. "Customers started screaming, going for the floor."
But, he said, "I'm a quick thinker. When I saw the first bullet hit high, right away I knew I was dealing with someone that was not a good shooter."
The two managers surrounded Grant as he backed into the parking lot, hid behind a car, and fired a fourth shot.
"He said, 'You calling the police?'" I said, 'Hell yeah I am.'" Hernandez said. "I said, 'Put the gun down. Put the gun down. It's not worth it.' Then he said, 'You're going to beat me up if I put the gun down.' I said, 'I'm not going to beat you up.'"
Police then arrived and took Grant away. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault with a firearm and carrying a concealed firearm.
