Girl, 5, shot through door of home; deputies study possible tie to nearby break-in

Grace Beahm // The Post and Courier

Neighbor Rikki Davenport came to the Griffor house Tuesday in West Ashley, at 1733 Pierpont Ave., to leave a note and flowers for the family after 5-year-old Allison Griffor was shot.

A little girl shot in the head and clinging to life after an attempted home invasion. A door kicked in at a nearby home a short time later. Two dozen pounds of marijuana and a gun found at the second home.

These are the puzzle pieces Charleston County investigators are sorting through as they try to figure out just what caused an eruption of violence in a West Ashley neighborhood early Tuesday.

For now, detectives aren't certain that a shooting that critically injured a 5-year-old on Pierpont Avenue is even related to a break-in that uncovered drugs and a gun on nearby Catterton Drive, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said.

But the close proximity of the two incidents and the short window of time in which they occurred "is a little bit too much of a coincidence" and has authorities suspicious, he said.

Problems began when someone banged twice on the door at 1733 Pierpont shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday.

As 37-year-old William Griffor approached the door, the person on the other side opened fire with a shotgun, wounding Griffor and critically injuring his 5-year-old daughter, Allison, authorities said. The girl was in the front room at the time.

Griffor's wife, Jennifer, and their two other children escaped injury in the attack.

Cannon said investigators have no suspects or motive in the attack, which deputies characterized as an attempted home invasion. The family had moved into the home only a couple of weeks ago, he said.

About 40 minutes after the shooting, an alarm sounded at 2153 Catterton, a mobile home that backs up to a marsh on the dead end road. Deputies found the home open, with drugs in plain view, Cannon said.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and seized 24 1/2 pounds of marijuana from the home, authorities said. A pistol was found in the home's mailbox, Cannon said.

A short walk

Neighbors said the man who lived in the Catterton home moved in a few months ago and kept to himself. They didn't know his name.

Neighbor Melanie Orr said she overheard two women arguing outside the home about a week ago, and one said, "I know what you're doing in there, that's why I'm not going to call the cops." Soon after, the man installed a security system, she said.

Orr said she was heading to bed after watching a movie when she heard four loud bangs, like car doors slamming, around 1:45 a.m. Tuesday She looked out but couldn't see anything in the darkness. Alerted by the mobile home's alarm, deputies arrived a short time later and found the door kicked in.

The home is about a half-mile by road from the Griffors' Pierpont Avenue house, but a trail through the woods connects the two areas with a quick walk, Orr said.

Orr said the man who lives in the trailer returned home Tuesday morning after deputies had left. Once he discovered the break-in, he ran from the home with his pants falling down, jumped in a car and drove off, she said.

Orr said she called deputies and told them her neighbor had sped off in a white Chevy Monte Carlo.

Deputies identified the man as 28-year-old Juan Carlos Grant and tracked the Monte Carlo to an apartment on Tedder Street in North Charleston at 12:25 p.m., sheriff's Maj. Jim Brady said. The North Charleston police SWAT team was called in after Grant refused to leave the residence, he said.

Grant finally surrendered to authorities at 3 p.m., and he was charged with trafficking marijuana, Brady said.

'Just like angels'

The Griffors, meanwhile, were said to be keeping a vigil for their daughter as she clung to life at Medical University Hospital.

The Griffors' friend, Richard Douglas, said he suspects the family became victims because of a mistaken address.

Douglas said the couple and their three children recently moved to Charleston from Michigan. He said William works in maintenance at a local apartment building and Jennifer stays at home with their young children.

"They are the last people this should happen to," Douglas said.

Douglas said he met William Griffor in May, and Griffor helped him with home repairs without accepting any payment.

"They're just like angels," Douglas said. "I couldn't figure out why this guy is so nice. He's one of those rare individuals you're lucky to have in your life."

The owner of the house at 1733 Pierpont, James Kenney, stopped by to see the Griffors on Monday and said William Griffor had helped repair the rental home since moving in three months ago. "He's been an absolute jewel," Kenney said.

He didn't say the same about previous tenants and described a young man who held big parties in the backyard. Kenney said one renter died on the front steps of the home some years ago in a drug deal gone bad. That information could not be verified Tuesday.

Neighbor Rikki Davenport said the tenants before the Griffors were "a very rowdy bunch" who held constant parties and littered beer cans everywhere. Over the front door, they had a sign that read "Pimp Palace."

Cannon said investigators have heard rumors about the previous tenants, but at this point they are just rumors.

Neighbors along Pierpont awoke Tuesday to yellow crime-scene tape and blue lights from deputies' cruisers. The West Ashley community is a place where retired people greet children walking with their parents to the bus stop in the morning, as light starts to shine through the Spanish-moss-draped trees.

Benefit account

Billy Schwach grew up on this street, where some neighbors have roosters, others goats. He walked down the street early Tuesday to ask if anyone knew what had happened overnight.

"I've been here 40 years, and we've never had anything like this," Schwach said.

Denise Scott stood outside with her son and daughter, both in uniforms ready for school.

"Normally I leave for work now," she said. "I'm not going until I make sure they're on the bus."

Authorities sped around the neighborhood Tuesday morning after receiving reports of a dark Crown Victoria possibly carrying a man with long gun, but that tip turned up no new information.

Sheriff's officials continued collecting evidence at the small white house on Pierpont for hours after the shooting.

Douglas, the Griffors' friend, set up a benefit account for William and Allison Griffor at First Federal of Charleston.

"They need support right now," Douglas said. "They're not going to be able to cope with this alone."

Reach Allyson Bird at 937-5594 or on Twitter at @allysonjbird. Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or on Twitter at @glennsmith5.