Camden County (March 15, 2023) – St. Mary’s police say three contractors working at the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base were on their lunch break when another contractor fired several shots at them, hitting their car and a car seat inside. According to reports, the suspect held a grudge against the victim over sharing an interest in the same woman and intended to kill him on their shared lunch break.
Granderson McClenton Spruill, 27, is accused of attempting to murder the fellow contractor he considered his romantic rival by firing several shots at his target and two other men as they drove along King’s Bay Road. Police say one of the rounds came through the car door, hitting a car seat, and another was found inside the fuel door near the gas cap.
Spruill’s intended victim told police he recognized the shooter and his vehicle from past incidents in which Spruill followed him home and around the area in a silver Mercedes with tinted windows. The victim told police he thought Spruill pointed a BB gun at his vehicle until several rounds were fired into the victim’s car.
Naval Base Security and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service confirmed to St. Mary’s police that Spruill drove the vehicle involved in the shooting and that he left the base through the same gate and around the same time as the victims. Spruill spoke with police the following day and agreed to come in for an interview. He was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit a felony and three counts of aggravated assault.
A bond hearing is scheduled for March 29.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On March 15th, 2023, at 11:58 AM, I Cpl. Beightel was dispatched to 391 Charlie Smith Senior Highway in St. Marys, GA 31558 (Camden County) regarding an alleged shooting that occurred on Kings Bay Road in St. Marys.
Once on scene I was met by Mr. [VICTIM #1] who appeared shaken up being comforted by his brother. Mr. [VICTIM #1] explained he was on his lunch break with two co-workers ([VICTIM #2] passenger seat and [VICTIM #3]) from work which started at 11:00 am. He left the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base from the Stimson gate heading southbound on Kings Bay Road when he noticed a silver Mercedes-Benz following him from the base that he knew to be driven by Mr. Granderson Spruill.
Mr. Spruill goes by the nickname “G” at the worksite on base (Explosive Handling Wharf 1) where they are employed as contractors. Mr. [VICTIM #1] knew the vehicle and the driver due to the dark tint and past interactions where Mr. Spruill allegedly followed Mr. [VICTIM #1] home and around town due to Mr. [VICTIM #1] talking to Mr. Spruill’s ex-girlfriend, Ms. [REDACTED].
The vehicle pulled up alongside Mr. [VICTIM #1] as they approached the intersection of Quality Drive and Kings Bay Road. Mr. [VICTIM #1] recognized the driver to be Mr. Spruill. Mr. Spruill rolled down his passenger side window and pointed what Mr. [VICTIM #1] thought to be a BB gun at his vehicle and fired four to five shots before fleeing from the scene.
Mr. [VICTIM #1] and his co-workers fled to safety and later stopped to find the two bullet holes on the driver’s side of his vehicle. One bullet went through the rear driver’s side door and was stopped by a car seat in the vehicle. Another bullet hit the gas gas door where is hit the gas door’s arm and came to rest near the gas cap cap where I retrieved it.
I spoke to both passengers in the vehicle apart from Mr. [VICTIM #1]. Both passengers corroborated the sequence of events even stating that they knew “G” drove the vehicle that pulled up next to them and fired a weapon. Mr. [VICTIM #1] and Mr. [VICTIM #2] stated they wanted to press charges for the incident.
At this time, we have confirmed through the help of the Naval Crimina Investigative Service (NCIS) and Naval Base Security that Mr. Spruill does in fact drive the vehicle described by Mr. [VICTIM #1] and that he left the base using the same gate around the same time as Mr. [VICTIM #1].
Based on these facts, it shows Mr. Spruill has a grudge against Mr. [VICTIM #1] due to their common love interest. Due to this grudge, Mr. Spruill followed Mr. [VICTIM #1] from the naval base and and intended to kill Mr. [VICTIM #1] while following him on their shared lunch break.
By doing this, he not only put the life of Mr. [VICTIM #1] in danger, but also the two passengers in the vehicle and anyone else on that roadway. I checked with Mail and More, David’s Auto Sales, Diver’s Den, and Tri Lane Equipment Rentals for video footage as they are business near where the incident occurred.
There is however damage to the Tri Lane Rental Equipment near where the incident occurred which was documented. This will be an ongoing investigation but at this time I have secured warrants for Mr. Spruill for criminal attempt to commit murder and three counts of of aggravated assault.
On March 16, 2023 at 1:35 PM I called Mr. Spruill using phone number [REDACTED]. A male answered and identified himself as Mr. Spruill. I asked Mr. Spruill if he was involved in an incident from the day before and he replied that he did not know what incident it was but he would come in to interview at the police department around 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM.
[End of Narrative]
