Drive-by claim recanted; teen's brother is arrested

6/30/2006

A girl shot Saturday in North Toledo was not wounded during a drive-by shooting but rather by her brother when a gun with which he was playing discharged accidentally, police said yesterday.

Daisy Amison of Monroe, Mich., who turned 15 Tuesday, was in fair condition last night in St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center.

She originally told authorities she was shot about 10:45 p.m. outside the home of her brother, Darrick Smith, 24, at 727 East Oakland St. by a man with braids who was a passenger in a dark car.

On Tuesday, when shown a photo array, she identified Terrance Grace, 25, of 1142 Joel Ave., as the gunman. He was arrested that day and charged with felonious assault, booked into the Lucas County jail, and arraigned in Toledo Municipal Court, where his bond was set at $200,000.

Daisy initially told police that when the car with four people inside pulled up, someone called her a vulgar name and one of the passengers pointed a gun at her.

Daisy told police that when she turned to run, she was shot in the side. She ran upstairs to tell her brother, who was getting ready to take a shower, and collapsed on the floor.

Daisy told police yesterday she actually had been shot in the doorway of the master bedroom on the home's second floor. She said she and her brother were in the bedroom playing with the gun, which accidentally discharged as she was leaving the room, Detective Kermit Quinn said.

After the girl recanted her initial story, Mr. Grace was released from the jail about 9:30 last night. He declined comment, according to a relative.

About three hours earlier, Mr. Smith was arrested and charged with child endangering and obstructing justice after both he and Daisy admitted that he accidentally shot her while playing with the gun. He was being held last night in the county jail pending arraignment today in Toledo Municipal Court.

Daisy has not been charged with any crime.

Mr. Grace and Mr. Smith had an altercation a few weeks ago that might have led Daisy to identify Mr. Grace as the gunman, detectives said.

Daisy's adoptive mother, Eunice Amison, said Daisy was very sorry for the pain she caused Mr. Grace and his family.

"She was feeling really guilty," said Ms. Amison, who adopted Daisy when she was 3 months old. "She's so sorry. She just didn't want to get her brother in trouble."

Daisy and Mr. Smith, her biological brother, were getting to know one another, and the shooting occurred during the second weekend she had spent with him, Ms. Amison said.

"Naturally, the shooting bothers me, but the main thing is, he had her lie - and that bothers me a lot," Ms. Amison said, adding she also was concerned that he was playing with a gun in front of her daughter.

Detective Quinn said authorities acted in good faith in arresting Mr. Grace because the victim clearly identified him.

However, they continued to investigate the shooting because they received numerous phone calls from family and friends of Mr. Grace and tips through the Crime Stopper program that he was not in the area of the house at the time of the shooting.

"I called probably a billion times," said Evelyn Grace, Mr. Grace's sister. "I knew he was at home with his baby.

"They shouldn't put nobody in jail unless they're sure."

"It's a big mess," Detective Quinn said. "I'm sad that [Mr. Grace] had to sit in jail like that."

Contact Meghan Gilbert at:

mgilbert@theblade.com

or 419-724-6050.