Dad faces felony, misdemeanor charges of assaulting family (Florence, Montana)

Dad HERSCHEL GRIGSBY sounds like an utter fruitcake. You threaten the President of the United States. Then you threaten your own family with a handgun, after turning off the power to the house at the breaker box. You shoot a bullet into the floor that fortunately doesn't hit anybody. The 911 call brings the cops to the house. And they find you with a semi-automatic handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a .32 Beretta Tomcat. All fully loaded. Hmm. Looks like the "fruitcake" might have had a massacre in mind; thank God the police got there in a timely manner.

http://www.missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_aab35622-e536-11de-b821-001cc4c002e0.html

Florence man faces felony, misdemeanor charges of assaulting family
By PERRY BACKUS Ravalli Republic
Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009 6:45 am

HAMILTON - A Florence man, who had recently been visited by the Secret Service for an alleged threat against President Barack Obama, is facing four felonies for threatening his family with a handgun.

Herschel Grigsby, 63, was arraigned on three felony counts of assault with a weapon, felony criminal endangerment and three misdemeanor counts of partner/family member assault before Ravalli County Justice Jim Bailey on Wednesday.

Grigsby was arrested at his home on Edens Lane after his wife called 9-1-1 to complain about a domestic disturbance on Tuesday.

According to court records, Grigsby and his wife started the night drinking at the Wild River Casino in Florence. The two were having marital problems.

When they returned home, his wife joined their son and daughter-in-law and that couple's 4-year-old daughter in the basement of the home.

Sometime after 11 p.m., Grigsby started calling his wife on their cell phone. She didn't want to talk. At some point, she learned her husband had a handgun.

The discussion between the pair was loud enough to awaken their son. He went upstairs to confront his father, who told his son that he needed to get his family out of the residence.

Grigsby told his son that something bad was about to happen, court records said.

The temperature outside the home was subzero.

Grigsby turned off the power at the breaker box and in the dark, he fired his handgun. Law enforcement later deducted the bullet hole was in the floor, indicating the shot was fired in the direction of his family members located in the basement, the records said.

Grigsby's wife was on the phone with 9-1-1 when the shot was fired and its sound was recorded.

She told the operator she wasn't sure about her husband's intentions, but potentially might be considering a murder-suicide scenario, the records said.

Law enforcement officers had contacted Grigsby earlier following a report that he had made a threat against the president. The Secret Service was involved in that event, court records said.

Law enforcement officers approached the home with weapons drawn. After arresting Grigsby, the deputies found a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun under the couch, a 12-gauge shotgun and a .32 Beretta Tomcat. All of the firearms had loaded magazines and live rounds in the chambers.

Bailey set bail at $100,000.