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Fort Pierce Tribune (FL){PUBLICATION2}

Date: June 5, 2000
Section:
Edition: St. = Lucie=20 County
Page:
Column:
Memo: =
Memo2:=20
Correction:

Stuart lawyer says teacher shooting was accidental

Byline:
Source:
<= BR>Stuart=20 lawyer says teacher shooting was accidental Jerry M. = Gutlon

Tribune staff=20 writer

STUART -- Two local attorneys hired to represent the = 13-year-old=20 youth accused

of shooting Lake Worth Middle School teacher Barry = Grunow=20 said Sunday that

Grunow's death was an accident.

The = family of=20 Nathaniel Brazill discharged the seventh-grader's public

defender = Friday,=20 opting to retain Stuart-based trial lawyers Robert Udell = and

Lance=20 Richard.

Richard and Udell insist that the murder of the = popular=20 35-year-old English

teacher was the culmination of a string of = mishaps=20 which ultimately left

Grunow dead from a single .25-caliber = bullet, and a=20 popular in a juvenile

detention center facing first-degree murder = charges.

Udell, 51, and Richard, 37, joined forces last year to = overturn=20 a

second-degree murder verdict meted out to Okeechobee resident = Ryan=20 Harris.

When Udell and Richard retried the case, they convinced a = West=20 Palm Beach jury

to convict Harris, now 23, of manslaughter=20 charges.

Harris had been accused of masterminding the murder of a = former=20 girlfriend in

1995.

Udell was less successful in his = defense of=20 Anthony Spann, who was convicted

on June 23 of the 1997 = carjacking and=20 murder of Kazue Perron.

Udell and Richard declined to discuss the = financial terms they came to with

Brazill's = family.

Brazill was=20 sent home from school on the morning of May 26 for pulling a=20 prank

involving water balloons. The youngster returned with a = loaded,=20 .25-caliber

semiautomatic Raven handgun he'd taken from the home = of a=20 family friend.

Although Grunow played no part in Brazill's = earlier=20 misadventure, when the

youth showed up outside Grunow's classroom = attempting to visit two girls,

police said, he fired a single = bullet into=20 Grunow's face, killing the popular

teacher.

Richard said = reports=20 that Brazill bragged to friends that he'd return to the

school = with a gun=20 to shoot someone were false.

"He didn't go in there intending to = kill=20 Barry Grunow," insisted Richard. "It

was definitely an=20 accident.

"There are a lot of people who want their 15 minutes of = fame,=20 and will do or

say anything to be in the spotlight. He went back = to Barry=20 Grunow's class to

see the two girls -- he didn't go back there to = shoot=20 anybody. The real,

underlying message is that this kid had access = to a=20 gun."

Udell said the defense attorneys intend to focus Brazill's = trial on=20 the

manufacturers of so-called "Saturday night specials," cheap = handguns=20 that are

commonly used in street crime.

"That's one of the = reasons=20 I took this case," Udell said. "I'm convinced that

the real story = here is=20 the ongoing availability of cheap handguns. He used a

=91Saturday = night=20 special,' a piece of . . . These cheap handguns remain too

easily = accessible in America today. We need to learn something from=20 this

tragedy."

Richard said the attorneys agreed to take = the case=20 on Friday after meeting

with Brazill's family. They met their = young=20 client for the first time Sunday.

"After the shooting he didn't = run off=20 and hide somewhere," Richard said. "He

approached a police = cruiser, went=20 to the cops and said, =91Did you hear about

the accident?' = "

Grunow,=20 a Palm Beach Gardens native, transferred to Lake Worth Middle to = be

close=20 to his wife Pam and two children, and to be active in Lake = Worth,

friends=20 and family said. Grunow's death traumatized the central Palm = Beach

County=20 community of 30,000, and the effects of Grunow's death was felt=20 far

beyond Florida's borders.

Both Richard and Udell said = that,=20 although Brazill's home life was rocky at

times, he came from a = family=20 that loved, encouraged and cared for him. He was

an honor student = with a=20 perfect attendance record.

"He comes from a family of faith," = Richard=20 said, "but he lived in a

neighborhood where handguns aren't all = that=20 uncommon. He did get a lot of

support from his family. His family = is in=20 complete shock."

In spite of the domestic difficulties in = Brazill's home=20 -- his mother filed a

series of domestic complaints against men = -- he was=20 a good student who aspired

to enter the law enforcement=20 profession.

"There definitely were domestic problems in the = home,"=20 Richard said, "yet the

amazing thing is this kid wanted to become = a=20 secret service agent. He made A's

and B's in school."

The = murder=20 is the latest in a string of violent crimes committed by = children

across=20 the state.

In January 1999, a Minneola, Fla. youth, Patrick = "P.J."=20 Boykin, 11, shot and

killed his 13-year-old sister, Constance, = after he=20 got a spanking from his

mother. The state attorney's office = worked=20 closely with the defense lawyers in

the case, which hasn't gone = to trial=20 yet. The youngster was sent to a

psychiatric facility by a Lake = County=20 judge last summer.

The attorneys agreed that such a high profile = case=20 can't hurt their practices,

but insist they hope the massive = publicity=20 could spark tighter gun control

measures.

"I'm happy to = have this=20 case," said Richard. "It's in the media spotlight, and

has gotten = national attention. And hopefully we can make an impact to = cause

better=20 gun control. This young man is a good kid. If you ever get to meet=20 this

kid, it'll break your heart."

Udell's sentiments = echoed=20 Richard's.

"One of the reasons I took this case was because I = feel=20 strongly about better

gun control," Udell said. "The real story = is that=20 this tragedy didn't have to

occur."

Illustration:=20
Caption:
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Fort Pierce Tribune (FL){PUBLICATION2}

Date: June 5, 2000Section: Edition: St. = Lucie=20 CountyPage: Column: Memo: = Memo2:=20 Correction:

Stuart lawyer says teacher shooting was accidental

Date: June 5, 2000
Section:
Edition: St. = Lucie=20 County
Page:
Column:
Memo: =
Memo2:=20
Correction: