GRAY GETS 38 YEARS TO LIFE FOR MURDER OF GOVERNMENT WITNESS
Anthony Gray, 37, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term of 38 years to life for the July 2000 murder of a government witness, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr., Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Robert D. MacLean, Chief of the United States Park Police.
Gray was found guilty on Dec. 2, 2014, of first-degree premeditated murder while armed, kidnapping, and felony murder while armed, as well as the aggravating circumstances that the murder was committed during the course of a kidnapping and was committed because the victim was a government witness. The jury verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rhonda Reid Winston.
In sentencing the defendant, the judge declared: “The court system relies on the community to come forward. When one does that, the court takes it especially seriously if that person is murdered because of the citizen’s willingness to do what we expect of all citizens.”
According to the government’s evidence, Gray was part of a violent crew that operated in the Alabama Avenue SE area, known as “Simple City,” in the mid to late 1990s-2000s. The crew focused on selling drugs, committing violent crimes, and intimidating witnesses. Gray played an active role in the crew and committed a number of crimes on its behalf.
Specifically, in 1999, a murder was committed by two crew members in the area of Texas Avenue SE. Robert McManus, 20, was a reluctant witness to this murder. On July 5, 2000, as trial was approaching for the two crew members, Anthony Gray and another crew member kidnapped Mr. McManus from his bicycle for the purpose of preventing him from testifying at the trial. After kidnapping Mr. McManus, Gray and the other crew member drove him to the 4800 block of E Street SE, marched Mr. McManus into the woods, and shot him one time in the head. The following day, Mr. McManus’s body was recovered in a wooded area, executed.
‘Anthony Gray will spend decades in prison for executing a young man who had the courage to tell the truth about another murder committed by Gray’s crew,’ said Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen. ‘This prison sentence should send a message to criminals who even think about harming a witness. The consequences of choosing to obstruct justice with violence will be harsh.’
Related Federal Cases
- Pedro Funes, First-Degree Murder While Armed, Washington DC, 2023 · Alabama
- Washington, Violent Crime, Pennsylvania 2021 · Alabama
- Kenneth Grayson, Interfering with Law Enforcement, Washington DC 2021 · Alabama
- Michael Eckerman, Assaulting Federal Officers, Washington DC 2021 · Florida
- Kyle Fitzsimons, Assaulting Law Enforcement, Washington DC, 2021 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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