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Roommate Defends Man In Shooting

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By GEORGE H. NEWMAN

gnewman@tampatrib.com

Published: October 15, 2008

PLANT CITY - The roommate of Thomas Andrew Grieco, charged in the shooting death of 17-year-old Brooke McDonald, said he believes Grieco meant no harm and thought the .44-caliber Magnum revolver was unloaded.

Police arrested Grieco, 20, a tenant at 115 W. J. Arden Mays Blvd. on a charge of manslaughter for firing the shot that killed McDonald.

The victim was listed as a runaway from her parent's home in the Antioch area. According to police, she had been out of her parents care for about three weeks.

Police believe the shooting was accidental and the result of horseplay with a gun.

"I think Tommy was just trying to show off," his roommate, Andre Pray, said. "I don't think he thought the gun was loaded. He was in shock after the gun went off. It was like he couldn't believe what had happened."

Pray said he was standing outside the door of Apt. 3, where he and Grieco live, when the shot was fired.

"I was talking with my girlfriend in the hall outside my apartment when I heard the gunshot," Pray said.

Pray said he heard Grieco say, "I could kill all you guys right now," before the gun was fired.

"People in the apartment were telling Tommy to stop," Pray said. "They said it wasn't funny. Put the gun away. Then I think Brooke said, 'I'm not afraid, Tommy.' Then I heard the gun go off."

Pray said he hesitated briefly as the five people inside the apartment started screaming and yelling. He entered and saw Grieco standing there with a frozen look on his face.

"I saw Brooke laying on the love seat, like a small couch. Her body was angled away from the door. She was about six or seven feet from where Tommy was standing. People were screaming and running downstairs.

"Tommy just stood there. He wasn't moving. I looked at Brooke. She was dead. Somewhere in there, I called 911."

McDonald was shot in the head and died at the scene, police said. The shooting, reported at 9:31 p.m., took place during the monthly Bike Fest downtown and about a half-dozen officers heard the shot and came running, Plant City police Sgt. Jim Shultz said.

Shultz said detectives were told that Grieco retrieved the gun from his closet, took out some of the cartridges and put them on a bed, but overlooked at least one.

Officers believe Grieco thought the gun was unloaded and was engaging in horseplay with the revolver when it killed McDonald, Shultz said. Alcohol was not a factor, he said.

Pray was adamant that drugs weren't involved and police said they saw no evidence of drug use although Jon Eric Hosmer, who was charged with hiding the gun after the shooting, was arrested for having a Xanax pill in his pocket without a prescription, Shultz said.

Hosmer, 21, of 6405 Stafford Terrace Ave., Plant City, was charged with tampering with physical evidence and possession of a controlled substance and released from Hillsborough County jail after posting $4,000 bail.

"Wild rumors and Internet writers claim or assume that drugs were part of this story. And that Tommy and I were always having drug parties in our apartment," Pray said.

"The truth is that there have never been drug parties here. And there has never been any police called to our address for drug activity or drug use."

Police confirm that there have been no calls at Apt. 3 for drug offenses.

David Hawthorne, the owner of the building, was disturbed by the shooting.

"This is a tragedy that Vicki his wife and I are heartbroken over," Hawthorne said. "On top of that, the rumors about the tenants and the apartment building in general, we also find to be disturbing.

'We do background checks on all our tenants. Drug use or wild behavior is grounds for breaking the lease. We have never received any report of drug use in that building. There has never been any notification from the police of any trouble there."
Grieco was released from Hillsborough County jail after posting $100,000 bail.

Hosmer allegedly removed the revolver from the apartment building after the shooting and placed it in a vehicle belonging to another guest at the party. Police later recovered the weapon.

Reporter George H. Newman can be reached at (813) 865-4451.

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