Uniondale man who fired gun into lawn not indicted

A Nassau County grand jury has voted not to indict a Uniondale man who fired his gun into his lawn in September to scare off a group of men he said were menacing his family.

George M. Grier, 30, said Friday through his lawyer that he is relieved at the news and hopes to go back to his job delivering packages, from which he has been suspended since his arrest.

"He can go back to his life," said his lawyer, John R. Lewis of Farmingdale.

A spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice confirmed that a grand jury did not indict Grier, but would not comment further.

Lewis said the Sept. 5 incident began when Grier asked three men who were loudly arguing in front of his house, appearing on the verge of violence, to move down the block. Instead, the men surrounded Grier's cousin, who also was outside the house, Lewis said.

At that, Grier went into the house and returned with his gun, which he owns legally, and pointed it at the ground, Lewis said.

Grier, at the time, said the men began shouting, "You're dead! Your family's dead!" Lewis said more than a dozen more men joined the group, and some lifted their shirts to reveal tattoos signifying that they were in the gang MS-13. Soon after, Grier fired warning shots into his lawn and the men scattered, Lewis said.

Police charged Grier with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor possession of a dangerous weapon.

Lewis said Grier and his wife, who was inside the house, both testified before the grand jury. None of the men who allegedly had surrounded Grier's cousin testified, Lewis said.