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Edmonton Journal

Former Blue Jays prospect charged with murder after locksmith shot to death

Article content A former Toronto Blue Jays prospect has been charged with murder after a locksmith was shot to death at a home he owned in North Carolina. Article content Police said Brian Reed Grant, 40, was arrested Wednesday and charged with the second-degree murder of Randy Stewart, 61, of Southport, N.C., the owner of Stewart Enterprises Locksmith Service who was found dead after making a service call at a home in nearby Oak Island – between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, N.C. Article content Oak Island Police Department said they arrived at the property reportedly owned by Grant at 6:18 p.m. and found Stewart, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Article content Article content Police said the incident was isolated despite false reports of multiple gunshot victims on various social media outlets. Article content Grant, who was selected by the Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 2002 MLB draft, was arrested shortly afterward, booked at Brunswick County Detention Center and denied bond until his next court appearance on Aug. 11, the Wilmington Star-News reported. Article content A district attorney's office spokesperson told the Star-News that the property was Grant's second residence and he allegedly had been staying there for a couple of days. Grant's defence attorney disputed that account in a response to the outlet, saying he had just arrived at the property. Article content Police said Stewart showed up at the residence in a work van with his wife and two dogs and had planned to go on a fishing trip after the job was done, the Star-News reported. Article content Article content The district attorney spokesperson told the Star-News that Grant had allegedly told law enforcement Stewart threatened him with knife and there was a Navy Seal inside the residence. Article content Grant's defence attorney told the Star-News that the account was false and he had 'co-operated with law enforcement throughout the incident and was never questioned prior to being detained. Article content 'Grant's defending attorney described the incident as a clear case of self-defence,' the Star-News reported, and that Grant has no criminal record, two young children and family in the Wilmington area. Article content Grant, who was born in Goldsboro, N.C., and drafted out of Charles B. Aycock High School in nearby Pikeville, spent four seasons in the Blue Jays' minor-league system, starting with the rookie-level Medicine Hat Blue Jays and Pulaski Blue Jays before peaking at single-A with the Auburn Doubledays. Article content