Opinion ID: 1325306
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 24

Heading: Criminal Record, History, and Background.

Text: Gray, 28 years old at the time of his trial, has a criminal record dating to 1973. In August 1973, while a juvenile, he was found not innocent of petit larceny and ordered to complete one year of supervised probation. In January 1976, as an adult, Gray was convicted of burglary in Los Angeles, California. For this conviction, he served four days in jail and was placed on probation for one year. In March 1977, Gray was convicted of disturbing the peace and resisting arrest in the City of Portsmouth, for which he was fined $10.00 and sentenced to five days in jail. The jail sentence was suspended on the condition that he be of good behavior for 12 months. In May 1978, also in the City of Portsmouth, Gray was found guilty of malicious wounding, attempted robbery, and use of a firearm. He was sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison. In August 1983, he was released on parole. Gray was on parole at the time he committed the offenses involved in these appeals. He also has been convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine. From November 1983 to May 1984, while on parole, Gray worked at Morrison's Cafeteria. William Palmer, general manager of the cafeteria, testified that Gray's employment was terminated because of his use of profanity. Palmer stated that Gray had a bad attitude. Thaddeus Eley, a chef at the cafeteria, testified that Gray had told him that he could kill Palmer for firing him. Ronald Whitte testified that in July 1977, while he, his wife, and two small children were bicycling, Gray and another man accosted them. Gray displayed a pistol, ordered Whitte to halt, threatened to kill Whitte, and demanded money from him. When Whitte refused to comply, Gray fired several shots from the pistol, wounding Whitte in the arm and foot. Lawrence Tucker, who is Melvin Tucker's brother and a convicted felon, testified that, in May 1985, he had overheard Gray recount to Melvin the details of Gray's robbery of the Circle Seafood Restaurant. Gray related the incident to relieve Melvin Tucker's concerns about the Murphy's Mart robbery. Lawrence Tucker stated, [H]e told Melvin don't worry about it, because he got away with something like that and he can get away with this. Melvin Tucker testified that Gray told him he had took the Circle Restaurant off and showed Tucker the money taken in the robbery. Melvin Tucker also testified that, within a week after the Murphy's Mart robbery, he and Gray heard a rumor that a young woman had been talking about the incident. When they saw the woman on the street, Gray told Tucker that if she keep on running her mouth [I'm] going to fuck her up. Sylvester Joyner and Gray were both incarcerated in the same cell block in the Suffolk City jail. Joyner testified that Gray told him that he had to leave California because he had killed a guy out there. The jury also heard evidence pertaining to the Sorrell murders, which has been discussed in the preceding section. Gray called seven witnesses who gave mitigating testimony. Gray, himself, also testified in the penalty phase. Catrina Hargrove had been a neighbor of Gray for several months preceding his arrest. She had frequent contact with Gray and his wife. She described Gray as a very nice person and stated that she had never seen Gray exhibit any anger or hostility toward her or anybody. Hargrove had observed Gray playing with her four-year-old daughter. Hargrove said she was shocked and surprised to learn of Gray's involvement in the murder. Keith Silver also was a friend and former neighbor of Gray. He had known Gray for approximately four years and for about one year they lived across the hall from each other. He testified that Gray treated Silver's wife and daughter as if they were family. Silver said he did not believe that Gray was capable of murdering McClelland because such conduct was totally out of character for Gray. Kelvin Penny, a friend and former co-worker with Gray at Morrison's Cafeteria, testified that Gray was great, a good guy. He also believed that the murder was out of character with his friend. David Wilson, a contractor for brick work and former employer of Gray, described Gray as a [v]ery good worker. He stated that Gray got along well with everyone, never threatened anyone, and never got into fights. He also said that the murder was out of character with Gray. Terry Carter, a probation and parole officer in the City of Portsmouth, testified that Gray had been under his supervision from August 1983 to January 1985. He stated that Gray was punctual in keeping appointments and respectful to him. He never observed any hostility in Gray. Mavis Spitzer, who had been Gray's probation officer since January 1985, testified that Gray was always very polite, very well-mannered, very cooperative. She also stated that on her unannounced visits she found his home always very neat and clean, very tidy. Rafiq Zaidi, who described himself as a Muslim minister, testified that in January 1985 Gray had been generous in contributing funds to a needy woman and her children. The minister said that the acts involved in the murder were [t]otally inconsistent with Gray. Bishop Maurice Johnson, an elderly retired minister, was well acquainted with Gray. Johnson's wife is related to Gray, and Johnson performed the marriage ceremony for Gray and his wife. Bishop Johnson described Gray as an outgoing person who never exhibited hostility to him or to anyone else. Gray testified that he was not the trigger man. He denied any involvement in the Sorrell murders and stated that he had been acquitted of the murder charge in California. Conceding that the part he played in the McClelland murder was wrong, he reiterated that he did not pull the trigger.