TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Police said Scott Grebler, a founding member of 13 Ugly Men, a well-known charity in Tampa, died in June after he was struck by a Jeep in front of his own home. But was his death an accident or something more sinister?
8 On Your Side Investigator Mahsa Saeidi looked at new court documents, and according to Tampa police, it was not accident, and Grebler’s nephew has been charged with second-degree murder.
When you drive through the neighborhood where it happened, it’s easy to see why it’s called Bayshore Beautiful. But on June 13, police said something very ugly happened—Grebler was run over by a Jeep just steps away from his home.
His longtime friend, James Lascano got word of what happened and raced to the scene.
“I couldn’t see anything, there was just police tape everywhere,” Lascano recalled. “I said ‘Look, can you tell me anything please’ and they just looked at me and said ‘Look, it’s bad.'”
One week later, Scott died at the hospital.
Court documents reveal the driver of the jeep was Scott’s nephew, Jordan Aronson. He told detectives Scott had tried to attack him.
Police said they interviewed witnesses, looked over surveillance video and learned there was an altercation.
Scott threw a binder at the Jeep. Then a witness saw the vehicle leave the driveway in reverse “before speeding back into the driveway.”
Detectives said they determined the nephew ran over Scott on purpose. He reportedly left the scene, then called 911 as neighbors tried to stop Grebler’s bleeding with paper towels.
A month has passed and Grebler’s friend, Lascano is still stunned.
“It’s very hard to sink in that I’m not going to see him again,” Lascano said. “I just constantly still remember his voice, I constantly remember him talking to me, us laughing.”
Lascano met Scott through the well-known, non-profit 13 Ugly Men, which throws parties and events to help Tampa charities. They’ve been around since the 90s and Scott was a founding member.
Lascano showed 8 On Your Side a gift the group was planning to give Scott before his death.
“It says Scott Grebler, in recognition of our founding treasurer,” Lascano said. “He was extremely proud of the things we had done as an organization and he was extremely proud of where we’re headed and how we helped the community.”
Scott believed he was blessed and he wanted to share that blessing. James says he’s partly responsible for the millions of dollars that the non-profit has donated to charities.
“Remember the man he was as a kind, loving, gentle person that had become successful through his efforts,” said Lascano. “And once he achieved that success he wanted to share it with people and that’s why he was one of the founding members of 13 Ugly Men.”
8 On Your Side has reached out to the suspect’s attorney. Since this is an open case, she had no comment. The suspect has pleaded not guilty in court.
