I wrote with relief early last month about Jackson County prosecutors having charged Terry A. Gray — the 23rd Street ramp maniac — with enough felony charges to keep behind bars the rest of his life.
The mysterious part about the case, however — as I also noted at the time — was that he was not taken into custody when the charges were filed. Several times over a period of days, I did an online Jackson County Corrections Department inmate search, and Gray’s name did not turn up.
It took me a while to sort this out, but today I got the information I’ve been after:
For some reason, prosecutors allowed Gray, 51, to remain free until he made his first appearance before a judge. Mike Mansur, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, said today Gray is scheduled to appear before Judge David Byrn at 8:30 a.m. next Tuesday.
At that time — assuming he shows up — the charges will be formally read, and, according to charging documents, prosecutors will ask for a bond of $75,000.
To me, this is very maddening. I don’t understand, first, why a man who is an obvious threat to the health and welfare of other people was allowed to remain free for five months while awaiting his first appearance. And, second, $75,000 seems like too low of a bond.
If he can rustle up $7,500 cash — 10 percent of the face amount — and goes through a bondsman, he will be allowed to go free once again, until he goes to trial or pleads guilty.
Mansur didn’t have an explanation. All he said was that Gray’s first appearance had been “continued” — postponed — a couple of times, for some reason.
To remind you how dangerous this creep is, police have determined he was high on marijuana and going 90 miles an hour down the ramp when his pickup slammed into a stopped SUV, which, in turn, hit two other vehicles and sent them flying, as well. The momentum of Gray’s pickup carried it across all four lanes of 23rd Street, and it ended up against a rock wall on the far side of the intersection.
In the process, Gray killed two people — 3-year-old Ryan Hampel of Independence and 16-year-old Samantha Raudales of Shawnee — and left Samantha’s father, Edwin Raudales-Flores, with a serious brain injury.
There’s only one word for this crash — ghastly.
Adding insult to injury and death, a bystander took some shocking cellphone video of Gray’s reaction. Not once did he indicate any concern — or even curiosity — about the people whose lives he had either taken or changed forever.
Terry Gray’s pickup, after the Sept. 17 crash on the 23rd Street ramp
In the video, he is seen walking back and forth around his truck, disgustedly picking up broken pieces from the truck and finally kicking a large piece. In the video, he never once looks back in the direction of the three vehicles that lay twisted and mangled in the lanes behind him. And one of the most maddening aspects of this is that he was flying an American flag from the back of his truck. A real patriot, this guy.
**
To me, this entire process has taken way, way too long. Consider this timeline:
:: Sept. 17, the wreck occurs
:: End of November, the case goes to the prosecutor’s office after a two-month police investigation
:: Jan. 4, charges are filed
:: Feb. 6, Terry Gray is scheduled to make his first appearance
I understand it takes a while for the results of toxicology tests to come back from the crime lab, but this is ridiculous. This guy should have made his first appearance two or three months ago.
If he had killed or badly injured anyone with a high profile, or someone rich, my guess is the police and prosecutor’s office would have put a much higher priority on the case and moved it along much more quickly.
But the people whose lives he changed, or ended, were everyday people, apparently with no connections and no influence.
And so, Terry Gray — a damn bum and menace to society — has remained free. And who knows? That turd might even be driving. He has clearly shown he has no regard for traffic laws…It’s a free country, right? We know Terry Gray believes that because he likes to fly the flag that vouches for his belief in “the American way.”
And again I share with you the results of my research after looking into the cases involving Three Wheel Lokeman and the Mertensmeyer brat, scion of a high powered Mission Hills attorney.
In the first case, Three Wheel refused to take a breathalyzer which, according to law gets your ticket pulled right there. Not in Three Wheel’s case. After that one would think that you would certainly be hit with a DUI, or some moving violation. Wrong again, nothing was ever sent to the state and some minor side issues (non-moving) were resolved for a couple of hundred bucks.
In the Mertensmeyer case, the kid, drunk on his ass, slammed into a pedestrian, shooting him down the street like an errant field goal attempt, killing him instantly. Mertensmeyer drove away, leaving the scene. He received a 120 day sentence and then the little bastard sued his Louisiana fraternity for the psychological distress that he claimed led to his drunken carnage.
According to some anti-drunken-driving advocates that stuff happens all the time in Jackson County where apparently you have some of the best judges money can buy.
The lawyers love it because it drives business to them. Indeed, one time when I got a speeding ticket in KCMO I asked to speak to the prosecutor to get the case diverted (as you can do easily in Kansas) and was told that I had to hire an attorney to contact the prosecutor for me. I asked if there was a preferred list of attorneys who dealt with the court and the clerk indicated there was.
So, this is just another example of SOSDD in the Jackson County drive-through court system.
I can’t stand it: SOSDD?
Don’t you know by now, Gayle, that John likes to speak in parables and acronyms that only he is familiar with?
Well, nerts. Guess I’ll just have to make up my own.
Got it. Google to the rescue again.
Good for you, Gayle. We’ll bring Fitz into the 21st century yet. At least he recognizes the prophetic qualities contained in my parables. I’m currently working on one entitled The Bald Copy Editor Who Didn’t.
Gayle — John’s favorite parable is that of the lone lost sheep (Matthew 18: 12–14 and Luke 15: 3–7).
Its modern-day parallel is the story of a man who becomes chairman of the Republican Party in up-to-the-neck-blue Wyandotte County.
And lives happily ever after awash in the finest restaurants in the metro (and no HOAs).
Certainly can’t argue with the Word.
It’s next to impossible to prove DUI of marijuana. It stays in one’s system for days and weeks and there is no definitive quantitative method to prove when it was consumed. Plus, as an edible, marijuana does not normally produce a ‘high’ which would contribute to intoxication. Proving the elements is everything in a successful prosecution, and I see reduced charges and pleas in this case’s future. It may be distasteful to some folks, but this is America and the burden of proof is always on the state.
It’s also unlawful to use bail as a form of punishment before trial. The purpose of bail is to guarantee one’s appearance in court. This fellow is an entrenched older citizen/resident with an excellent attorney, so there’s not much chance he will flee the country.