Jeffrey "Dahmer" Gray,sentenced to 40 years in prison
Jeffrey "Dahmer" Gray, 30, was convicted by a jury following a six-day trial in May.
At trail and sentencing before District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr., Gray maintained his innocence.Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilana Eisenstein said Gray was a key cocaine distributor in the Wilmington area and was responsible for the sale of more than 50 kilograms of the drug in Delaware.She said trial testimony showed Gray lived a lavish lifestyle with luxury cars, high-stakes gambling and a pricey Rodney Square-area apartment with no legitimate source of income.According to attorneys, Gray was arrested following a fake drug sale set-up by an agent at the Airport Courtyard Marriott hotel in Pennsylvania on Oct.
30, 2006.Robert W. Shepherd III, a co-defendant, arrived to confirm he was making the buy of three kilos of cocaine but then said he had to leave to go get the money, according to Eisenstein.She said Shepherd then met Gray on South Street in Philadelphia and provided him with a wooden box filled with $60,000 in cash before driving him back to the hotel in a rented Scion.Gray then remained in the car while Shepherd went in to complete the sale, she said.When police moved in, after the fake sale was completed, Gray attempted to escape through the narrow parking lot, driving over landscaping, ramming his vehicle into a chain-link fence and leaping out of the car while it was still moving, to try to flee the scene on foot before being apprehended, according to prosecutors.When police searched the crashed car, they found a gun with a round in the chamber inside and DNA tests connected the gun to Gray and not the co-defendant, Eisenstein said.Gray’s attorney, Joseph A. Gabay, said his client denies being a part of a drug distribution conspiracy.He said Gray told the court that he had simply agreed to give Shepherd, a longtime friend, a ride to the hotel and had no idea a drug buy was going down. Gabay said the government’s case was largely circumstantial in that prosecutors did not tie him directly to the Shepherd’s drug operation, which shipped money to Texas and received drugs in return via Federal Express. “Mr. Gray wasn’t any part of that. He was never at a drop off,” Gabay said, adding only the words of Shepherd and another co-defendant tied him to the scheme.Gabay said Grey had a gun and fled from the scene because “he’d been shot at before” and didn’t know what was going on when he saw men with guns appear.Shepherd, who was the original focus of the government sting, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and testified against Gray.Prosecutors said Farnan cited Gray’s extensive criminal history and the large volume of drugs involved in ordering Gray to serve 35 years on the drug charges and five additional years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly said the sentence "should send a message to those involved in the drug trade that they will face serious jail time when convicted in federal court."
At trail and sentencing before District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr., Gray maintained his innocence.Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilana Eisenstein said Gray was a key cocaine distributor in the Wilmington area and was responsible for the sale of more than 50 kilograms of the drug in Delaware.She said trial testimony showed Gray lived a lavish lifestyle with luxury cars, high-stakes gambling and a pricey Rodney Square-area apartment with no legitimate source of income.According to attorneys, Gray was arrested following a fake drug sale set-up by an agent at the Airport Courtyard Marriott hotel in Pennsylvania on Oct.
30, 2006.Robert W. Shepherd III, a co-defendant, arrived to confirm he was making the buy of three kilos of cocaine but then said he had to leave to go get the money, according to Eisenstein.She said Shepherd then met Gray on South Street in Philadelphia and provided him with a wooden box filled with $60,000 in cash before driving him back to the hotel in a rented Scion.Gray then remained in the car while Shepherd went in to complete the sale, she said.When police moved in, after the fake sale was completed, Gray attempted to escape through the narrow parking lot, driving over landscaping, ramming his vehicle into a chain-link fence and leaping out of the car while it was still moving, to try to flee the scene on foot before being apprehended, according to prosecutors.When police searched the crashed car, they found a gun with a round in the chamber inside and DNA tests connected the gun to Gray and not the co-defendant, Eisenstein said.Gray’s attorney, Joseph A. Gabay, said his client denies being a part of a drug distribution conspiracy.He said Gray told the court that he had simply agreed to give Shepherd, a longtime friend, a ride to the hotel and had no idea a drug buy was going down. Gabay said the government’s case was largely circumstantial in that prosecutors did not tie him directly to the Shepherd’s drug operation, which shipped money to Texas and received drugs in return via Federal Express. “Mr. Gray wasn’t any part of that. He was never at a drop off,” Gabay said, adding only the words of Shepherd and another co-defendant tied him to the scheme.Gabay said Grey had a gun and fled from the scene because “he’d been shot at before” and didn’t know what was going on when he saw men with guns appear.Shepherd, who was the original focus of the government sting, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and testified against Gray.Prosecutors said Farnan cited Gray’s extensive criminal history and the large volume of drugs involved in ordering Gray to serve 35 years on the drug charges and five additional years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.U.S. Attorney Colm F. Connolly said the sentence "should send a message to those involved in the drug trade that they will face serious jail time when convicted in federal court."
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