Motorcycle-club diss of Hells Lovers MC leads to American Legion shooting/killing, affidavit says

When Wichita police arrived at a shooting call at the American Legion Post 273, they found Darrell Buckner covered in so much blood that they believed that he was a gunshot victim, a recently released affidavit said. “Darrell had a large amount of blood on his clothing,” the document detailing the Oct. 9 altercation read. “. . . (The officer) asked Darrell where he was shot.”

He hadn’t been. The blood belonged to someone else. Inside the club at 1335 N. Hydraulic, officers found 55-year-old Anthony Grayson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and not breathing. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. A second man checked himself into a hospital later, seriously injured from the same shooting. Buckner was taken into custody at the club and later charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery A recently released affidavit details how a peaceful evening among friends playing dominos and watching television ended in gunfire, leading to the death of Anthony “Big Dub” Grayson. Just after 7 p.m. on Oct. 9, Grayson and Buckner were playfully teasing each other over bar activities — something they normally did, the American Legion’s assistant manager said. They were joined by their mutual friend, a 56-year-old man, who was playing dominos.

But the conversation turned sour when Buckner said “(expletive) Hell’s Lovers.” Grayson, a member of the Hell’s Lovers motorcycle club, then stood and shoved Buckner to the ground, the assistant manager recalled to police in the affidavit. “A short wrestling match took place,” the affidavit read. “No punches were thrown. No one appeared injured. After the scuffle, Anthony went back to play dominos, and Darrell went outside.”

The friend and the assistant manager followed Buckner outside as he looked in the back seat of his black Chevy pickup, the affidavit described. Buckner tried to reenter the club, this time armed with his gun, a Glock 22.40 caliber. The assistant manager, the 56-year-old friend and Grayson began to argue as they tried to keep Buckner from coming inside. As they scuffled near the doorway, voices rising, the men shoved and stumbled — one push setting off another like dominos. Then, the affidavit read, Buckner pointed the gun at Grayson and fired a shot. Grayson grabbed Buckner in a bear hug, the affidavit said, as the friend reached for the gun. Buckner, the assistant manager said, kept shooting Grayson as the three fell to the ground. Grayson was lying on top of Buckner, and the assistant manager took the handgun. The friend, who also fell on the floor during the altercation, was shot in his shoulder and hip. An acquaintance drove him to the hospital where he told police “some drunk, crazy guy shot me.” Grayson, meanwhile, was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead. He had a total of five gunshot wounds, most to his upper body.

While in police custody, the affidavit read, Buckner made several spontaneous statements including, “They just tried to (expletive) kill me” and “I didn’t do (expletive) but protect my (expletive) self.” “Darrell continued making statements that ‘they’ jumped him and tried to kill him,” the affidavit read. “He said he did not care about going to jail for protecting himself.” He refused to answer yes or no questions, the document said. When police informed Buckner that Grayson had died, the affidavit reads that Buckner said, “OK, well, that’s not my problem.” Buckner is due in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 17.

Source: The Wichita Eagle