He shot at cop, then himself; now faces charges

He is accused of going on a weekend crime spree in which he shot a police officer, beat his girlfriend, threatened his brother-in-law, almost killed his step-daughter, and then tried to kill himself. And today, thirty-six year old special constable Charles Grant appeared in Magistrate’s Court where he was hit with a whopping eleven charges. Grant pled not guilty to six of the lesser charges of harm and threatening words against Alma Balona, damage to property, theft of a firearm from his workplace, and one count each of aggravated assault for shooting at his brother-in-law Luis Balona and step-daughter Rosa Esquivel. The remaining five offences are indictable however, and will be tried in the Supreme Court. They are: the attempted murder, grievous harm, and use of deadly means of harm against police officer Ian Geban, damage to property, namely a police vehicle, and aggravated assault of Constable Joel Grinage. Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord remanded Grant to prison until his next court date on March twenty-eighth.

The incidents in question took place over the weekend of January twenty-first and culminated with Grant shooting at a police vehicle. The bullet passed through the windshield and lodged just under the skin of Geban’s forehead. Grant then shot himself in the temple in an apparent suicide attempt but recovered from his injuries.