Brazoria County officials and Houston police have been working for some time together to track down the person responsible for the shooting death of Derrick Milam, 26. They found their man Thursday night, and this is not the first time he has been charged with murder.
Deandre Gray, 19, is behind bars charged with murdering Milam. The shooting happened back on April 7 during a beach party in Surfside, where authorities say an estimated 15,000 people had gathered.
After investigators received a tip on Gray's whereabouts, they were able to track him down near his house.
"When he jumped out of the car, I understand he had a purse with him, which he threw out or disposed of. The purse contained narcotics and a weapon -- a pistol," said Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner. "This man's a dangerous person. He's now in jail, less of a threat to society."
Investigators say when they located Gray, he took off with a three-year-old in the car, and drove to a nearby Luby's where they found him hiding in a walk-in freezer. The child was left alone in the car.
"He's out on murder, was out on bond for murder, he's alleged to have, our evidence shows he murdered somebody else," Sheriff Wagner said. "That makes him very dangerous."
Gray was arrested and charged with murder in the case of 19-year-old, Sashe Gray Jones, who was fatally shot in 2009. She was an innocent girl, caught in the line of fire and killed after a bullet went through her car door while driving down the road.
Her mother Alfreda Mosley said, "They released him and let him back on the streets. Now another family is grieving and they're going through what I went through two years and three months ago."
Investigators tell us part of the conditions of Deandre Gray's bond included wearing an ankle monitor and a curfew. They say when Gray was taken into custody, he was not wearing his ankle monitor. Investigators with Brazoria County tell us questions as to why he wasn't wearing his monitor will be left for probation officers and the district attorney's office to answer.
"The state should have did a better job of keeping track of people that have ankle monitors," Mosley said.
Gray's bond has been set at $1 million and he is currently being held in the Brazoria County Jail. Gray is not only facing murder charges but investigators tell us he is also facing additional charges from Thursday night's chase, including endangering a child.
