District Man Found Guilty Of Murder And Other Charges In 2000 Slaying Of Government Witness-Victim Was Kidnapped And Executed-

     WASHINGTON – Anthony Gray, 36, has been found guilty by a jury of charges stemming from the July 2000 murder of a government witness, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and Robert D. MacLean, Acting Chief of the United States Park Police.

     Gray, of Washington, D.C., 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 verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Gray is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2015 before the Honorable Rhonda Reid-Winston.

     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.

     Two other members of the crew pled guilty in recent weeks to charges stemming from other murders. Cedrick Shuler, 38, and Keith Fogle, 42, both formerly of Washington, D.C., pled guilty to charges on Nov. 6, 2014, as they were about to stand trial along with Gray.

     Shuler pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed for the March 1999 murder of Edward Gray and one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed for the February 1999 murder of Kelvin Howard. Fogle pled guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter while armed for his role in the slaying of Mr. Gray. (Edward and Anthony Gray are not related).

     According to the government’s evidence, Mr. Howard, 18, was not part of the feud involving rival crews. He was fatally shot as he was parked at a stop sign in his Chevrolet Tahoe. His car then crashed into a wooded area near 51st and C Streets SE. The jury acquitted Anthony Gray of charges related to Mr. Howard’s murder.

     Like Mr. Howard, Edward Gray, 29, was an innocent victim of retaliatory violence by Shuler, who this time acted along with Fogle. Mr. Gray and his fiancé were attacked by gunfire at 8:45 p.m. on March 22, 1999, as they were in their Chevrolet Tahoe truck in the 4800 block of Alabama Avenue SE. According to the government’s evidence, because the Tahoe was moving so slowly, and circling the area, Shuler and Fogle mistakenly believed the occupants were members of a rival gang. They opened fire, killing Mr. Gray. The fiancé was not injured.

     In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen, Chief Lanier, and Acting Chief MacLean commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Park Police. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Haines, who indicted the matter; Lead Paralegal Specialist Phil Aronson; Supervisory Paralegal Specialist Sharon Newman; Paralegal Specialists Meridith McGarrity, Fern Rhedrick, and Vanessa Trent-Valentine; Intelligence Analyst Zachary McMenamin; Supervisory Witness Security Specialist Michael Hailey; Witness Security Specialists Debra Cannon and Wanda Queen, and Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.

     Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura R. Bach and Shana L. Fulton, who tried the case.