Prosecutor: Shooting was "random act of violence"

ZANESVILLE − Franklin Grayson appeared before Muskingum County Court Judge Jay Vinsel on Tuesday for a bond hearing, four days after allegedly shooting an Olivet College baseball player.

The shooting took place just after 7 p.m. March 17, near Mose Moorehead Field on the Muskingum University campus in New Concord, following a baseball game between the two colleges. Grayson fled the scene on foot and was apprehended about 45 minutes later in a nearby neighborhood, said Muskingum County Sheriff Matt Lutz. Multiple agencies from several counties responded to the shooting, including an air unit from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, although Lutz said Grayson was found before the unit arrived on scene.

Grayson is charged with one count of attempted murder, a first degree felony, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony. The attempted murder charge could result in a sentence of three to 11 years, while the assault charge could result in a sentence of two to eight years. Each charge carries a gun specification, which would add three years to the sentence if Grayson is convicted of either charge. Because the two charges happened during the same event, he would only be sentenced for one of them. Including the gun specification, the maximum sentence Grayson faces is 14 years.

Muskingum County Prosecutor Ron Welch said Grayson had no local ties, and would be "a danger to whatever community he was released in." He argued for a $1 million bond, which Vinsel ordered.

Welch told Vinsel the shooting was "a random act of violence," noting Grayson's rental car was discovered away from where the crime occurred, and Grayson chased the victim after he shot him three times.

The victim was treated at a local hospital, and later released to his parents, according to a release from Olivet. The college said Grayson is a 2021 graduate.

Grayson, who appeared remotely from jail, told the court he was a dock worker from Jacksonville, Florida. He requested a preliminary hearing, which has been scheduled for Thursday. He asked if the court had received a letter he had written. Vinsel told Grayson he had not, but advised the jail would deliver it to the court.

Welch said he anticipates additional charges to be filed.

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