Police Say Lawn Dispute Was Fatal

A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn is charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.

Police said that Charles Martin, 66, of Union Township shot next-door neighbor Larry Mugrage in the chest with a shotgun around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The teen was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Martin was being held without bond Monday in Clermont County Jail, where officials declined to give him a message seeking comment.

Police said he told them he had several disputes about neighbors walking on his lawn. Union Township Police Lt. Scott Gaviglia said Martin had no criminal history and last called police in 2003.

Martin called 911 on Sunday, saying in a calm voice: “I just killed a kid,” according to the recording released by Union Township police.

He also told the dispatcher: “It’s been going on for five years.... I’ve been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up.”

The shooting stunned those in the neighborhood and students at Glen Este High School, where Martin was a freshman. Grief counselors were on hand at the school on Monday.

“I think there’s a great deal of shock, for two reasons: because of the age of the victim and just how this occurred, killed over some grass,” Gaviglia said.

Neighbors said Martin lived alone quietly, often sitting out in front of his one-story home with its neat lawn, well-trimmed shrubbery and flag pole with U.S. and Navy flags flying. In his fenced backyard, he had several birdhouses and a shed painted like a small red barn with white trim.

Neighbor Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as “a good kid,” and that she always considered Martin to be friendly.

“The older gentleman was always riding his bike and tending to his yard,” she said. “He would wave at kids and adults. He always had the perfect yard and he worked in it a lot.”

Sean Fritts, 16, who also lived in the Clermont County community, agreed that Martin’s lawn was his pride and joy.

“He was real protective over his yard and mowed it a lot, and sometimes even measured the grass,” Fritts said.

Still, Fritts said he wasn’t aware of any disputes involving Martin.

“I never had any problems with him, and I don’t know that anyone else did,” Fritts said.

Jail officials said they did not have an attorney listed for Martin, who had a preliminary hearing set for Thursday in Batavia Municipal Court.