Inset: Victor Quispe (Green Funeral Home/Dignity Memorial). Background: David Grullon Jr. appears in court (WABC/YouTube).
A man from Connecticut faces allegations of shooting his friend and next-door neighbor through a dividing wall while the neighbor was enjoying his dinner on the couch.
David Grullon Jr., age 42, has been charged with several offenses, including second-degree manslaughter, two counts of child endangerment, and unlawful firearm possession, according to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime. Authorities have detained him with a bond set at $1 million.
The incident occurred on January 7, around 8:30 p.m., when 37-year-old Victor Quispe was in his townhome on Lake Avenue in Danbury. Grullon was in the adjoining unit at the time, as reported by officials.
It is believed that Quispe was seated on his couch, eating dinner, while Grullon, on the other side of the wall, was handling a firearm. Suddenly, a bullet fired by Grullon struck Quispe in the torso, piercing through the back of a couch cushion and leaving a “blood-like stain” on the sofa, as noted in an arrest affidavit reported by ABC News.
“They were friends,” stated Grullon’s lawyer, Gene Zingaro, concerning the relationship between the two men, emphasizing that this was not a case of “playing around.” Realizing he had discharged a weapon, Grullon attempted to contact Quispe by phone twice but received no response. Faced with this, he decided to leave his residence, leaving behind his 4-year-old son and 15-year-old stepdaughter.
As Grullon was about to drive away, he observed someone arriving at the apartment complex, according to the affidavit. It was Quispe’s fiancée, to whom he reportedly explained that an “accident” had occurred and advised her to call 911 before departing the scene.
Officers with the City of Danbury Police Department arrived at the home to find Quispe unresponsive on the kitchen floor and bleeding from his head, ABC News reported. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Inside the victim’s apartment, food and a beverage were on a table in front of the couch. There was also a small hole in the living room wall — and as officers continued investigating and entered Grullon’s home, they reportedly found a bullet hole in his wall, too, as well as a Winchester 9mm Luger.
The suspect was not home.
Law enforcement said Grullon spent eight days on the run before he turned himself in and provided a statement to police. According to Zingaro, the shooting was an “accident,” and Grullon was “handling the firearm and was shocked that it went off.”
The lawyer added that both men were expecting children, suggesting they were at a similar stage in their lives.
Grullon fled because he was out on bond for a separate case where he was charged with assault and witness intimidation, according to flagship ABC station WABC. He also was reportedly not allowed to be in possession of a firearm.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court for a plea hearing on Feb. 2.
Quispe is remembered in his obituary as a barber in the community who was working “tirelessly to provide for his family and prepare for the arrival of his first baby.”
“We will miss him more than words can express, but we will carry his light with us always,” the obituary adds.
