Gun-O-Rama is the shooting range whose role in the investigation turned an ordinary target-practice visit into a consequential piece of evidence. Ed Grayson’s firing there helped undermine the value of a gun residue test after Dan Mercer was shot at Wykertown Trailer Park.

Setting and Context

The evidence identifies Gun-O-Rama as a shooting range but supplies no further details about its location or operation. Its importance comes from what happened there: Grayson, a decorated retired federal marshal who shot frequently, was said to have practiced at the range with a firearm.

Grayson’s Visit

When Hester Crimstein challenged investigators to call the range, she said her client had been there that afternoon, about an hour before he was picked up, doing target practice. Later, investigators placed the visit about two hours after Grayson left the trailer. Witnesses had seen him firing at targets, so the visit was not merely an assertion by his defense.

Investigative Significance

The range visit supplied an explanation for gun residue on Grayson and, as Crimstein put it, nullified the residue test as evidence against him. Investigators also checked the weapon he had taken to the range, but its slugs did not match those found at Wykertown Trailer Park. The visit thus weakened one possible line of forensic evidence without identifying the weapon used in the shooting; it also contributed to investigators’ view that Grayson understood how to complicate their case.