LAKE COUNTY — A Clear Lake Riviera man who was acquitted of a murder charge in November was arrested Aug. 12 for allegedly threatening to cause great bodily injury to a Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) sergeant who lived in his neighborhood.
A female neighbor of John Robert Gray, 45, said she heard Gray yell expletives in the direction of LCSO Sgt. David Perry”s house on July 20, according to court records.
The witness reported hearing Gray shout expletives directed at Perry, including, “I”m going to smash your head in and that little b**** too,” according to court records. The witness, the wife of another LCSO sergeant, told investigators she only heard the alleged threat but recognized the shouting voice as being Gray”s.
Perry told investigators he was inside his house at the time but did not hear the alleged threat because of noisy appliances running in the house. The neighbor reportedly called Perry on the phone and Perry went outside his house to see if Gray was making threats, according to court records.
The mid-July incident led to Perry filing for a civil restraining order against Gray. Perry wrote in his description of the alleged harassment for the civil case that he asked Gray about the reported threats and that Gray did not admit or deny making the threats.
Gray has denied making threats to Perry, telling a judge during an arraignment hearing Monday, “I haven”t done anything your honor.”
Gray”s sister, Theresa Gray, said her brother told her that he was yelling in his front yard that day but wasn”t directing any comments at Perry. Gray had received an unusually high water bill, discovered broken equipment near the front of his house and began shouting about that, according to Theresa Gray.
The July 20 incident left Perry unsettled, according to the civil case file. “Because Mr. Gray was recently acquitted of a murder in which he was accused of bludgeoning someone to death, I take these threats to me and my family very seriously,” Perry wrote in that civil case description.
Gray had spent nearly two years in jail after being charged with murder in connection with the beating death of then-roommate Eric Joaquin in late February 2009. A jury found Gray not guilty of the crime in mid-November 2010 and he was released from jail.
Perry and Gray appeared in a Lake County courtroom on Aug. 12 to settle the civil matter, and a judge ultimately signed off on a civil restraining order mandating Gray stay 20 yards away from Perry, his family and his house for three years.
LCSO investigators had also followed up, conducting interviews soon after the incident. Gray told an investigator who responded to the scene on July 20 that he did not threaten Perry, according to court records.
Court records indicate that an incident between Gray and Perry earlier in July might have played a role in the alleged threat.
Perry told investigators that Gray had approached his house on July 3 holding a sack of apples, according to court records. Perry said he told Gray to get off of his property and never come back or Gray would get arrested.
Gray also described the July 3 incident to authorities, saying, “I was trying to be nice and he tries to look at me all hard,” according to court records. Theresa Gray said her brother has an apple tree in his backyard and had been passing out apples to many of his neighbors in early July.
The female neighbor reported hearing Gray yell something about a sack of apples during the July 20 incident, according to court records.
LCSO representatives arrested Gray without incident late in the afternoon on Aug. 12, several hours after a judge resolved the civil matter. Gray was booked into the Lake County Jail and charged with a felony associated with the alleged threat.
Theresa Gray said she thinks the civil restraining order and recent arrest were examples of “harassment” against her brother and that those actions were “absolutely” motivated by his being acquitted of the murder charge.
Gray appeared in court again Tuesday for appointment of counsel. Komnith Moth was appointed as Gray”s public defender.
Visiting Judge Richard P. Kalustian signed off on a criminal restraining order mandating Gray stay 20 yards away from Perry, his family and his house. The judge also reduced Gray”s bail from $50,000 to $25,000.
Gray pleaded not guilty to the felony count associated with the alleged threat. Kalustian scheduled the preliminary hearing in the criminal case to occur Sept. 7 at 1:30 p.m.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
