What to Know
- A gas station employee who allegedly shot his co-worker to death over an argument was a convicted felon, police say
- Lawrence Grammer, 71, was previously convicted of rape, a felony, which made it illegal for him to own a gun, police say
- The victim was 35-year-old Bashir Ward, who had worked at the Citgo gas station in Glen Cove for less than a year
A Long Island gas station employee who killed his co-worker dead over an argument was a convicted felon who brought an illegal gun to work, police said.
Lawrence Grammer, 71, was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree criminal use of a firearm, police said. Grammer, who is being represented by Legal Aid, was ordered jailed without bail.
Grammer had previously been convicted of rape, a felony, which made it illegal for him to own a firearm, Nassau County Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said.
Grammer had worked at the Citgo gas station in Glen Head for about 15 years, Fitzpatrick said.
The victim, Bashir Ward, 35, of Valley Stream, had worked at the gas station for less than a year, Fitzpatrick said. But the pair never got along.
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"They just didn't like each other," Fitzpatrick said.
The pair got into an argument on Friday, but the fight was broken up. On Saturday morning, both were working again and they resumed the argument from the day before, police said.
Then Grammer went out to his car, got a gun, returned and shot Ward, Fitzpatrick said.
The gun was a semiautomatic handgun, according to the criminal complaint. Ward was shot once in the head.
The firearm was recovered.
