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November 29, 2001
By Aspen C. Emmett Evidently 90 days in jail for reckless manslaughter was not enough for 24-year-old Matthew Gray who confessed to shooting and killing Cortez resident Kenneth Dugan III in February 2000. As a condition of Gray’s probation he was sentenced to five years in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Denver, however just a month after entering the program in May Gray allegedly walked away, violating his probation. A warrant was issued in July for Gray who was subsequently arrested earlier this week in the Montrose area. Gray appeared Wednesday in District Court before Judge Sharon Hanson who initially sentenced him in the manslaughter case and it would seem Hanson will not go so lightly this time around. "You originally pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter," Hansen said sternly to Gray. "If I sentence you based on that original plea, it might involve returning to probation, but more than likely, a sentence to the Department of Corrections ... with mandatory parole." During Wednesday’s arraignment, Hansen advised Gray that he could face as little as one year and as much as 12 years in prison if he was indeed in violation of his parole. Against probation recommendations for prison, in May of 2000, Gray received what some considered a "light sentence" — far less than the presumptive range of 2-6 years in jail for a Class 4 felony. District Attorney Joe Olt told the Journal that he had full intentions of pushing for the strictest possible sentence this time around. "I’m going to be arguing for the max because this is a killing," Olt said. "He (Gray) pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter which is a Class 4 felony, and because of the breach of probation, the judge is allowed to" impose the maximum sentence under aggravated circumstances. "He was supposed to spend five years at Stout Street in Denver; he walked in a month," Olt said. Gray advised the court he planned to hire a private attorney and another hearing was set for Dec. 6 for appearance of counsel. Gray is currently being held at the Montezuma County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond. In February 2000, Gray surrendered to police following the death of Dugan, who died from a gunshot wound to the chest at the home of his ex-wife, Lindy Kennedy Dugan. According to the arrest affidavit, Kenneth Dugan had gone to the home of his ex-wife along with three acquaintances to help evict Douglas Jay Hackett. During the attempted eviction, several verbal and physical confrontations broke out, according to the affidavit. During one of these confrontations Gray, who was apparently being attacked, pulled out his gun and fired — unintentionally shooting Dugan in the chest and killing him. Gray then fled from Colorado and remained at large for several days before returning to Cortez and surrendering to police. Upon surrendering, Gray was charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was later amended to reckless manslaughter. At the time, public defender Tom Williamson argued that a prison term would not be the appropriate sentence for Gray because he had no history of violence and was in need of substance abuse therapy instead. Williamson added that Gray did everything he could in order to avoid conflict on the night of the shooting and then turned himself in after learning that the gunshot resulted in Dugan’s death. In declaring Gray’s sentence, Hanson said that she agreed with a lot of what the probation department had said in its report adding that he had set himself up for this incident with his long history of drug and alcohol abuse as well as a history of not appearing in court. Hanson said, on the other hand, that Gray had shown genuine remorse for his actions, and did eventually turn himself in to the police. The judge added that the court had also received letters from the victim’s mother and ex-wife, who both spoke favorably on Gray’s behalf. "You need to look at this as your chance to do something productive with your life," Hanson told Gray in 2000. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
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