It's clear, according to all the evidence and paperwork, that something went wrong in the case of Deandge Marquis Gray, but it's not clear exactly who dropped the ball.
By all accounts, Derrick Milam was an innocent bystander when he was shot and killed on Surfside beach this April. But the man accused of shooting him has a criminal history that's now shining an uncomfortable light on Harris County.
Gray came to the attention of Harris County prosecutors in 2010. That's when he was charged with murder in relation to the death of Sashe Jones. Bail was set at $50,000.
Fast forward to July of 2011. At a hearing, Judge Reuben Guerrero lowered Gray's bond to $30,000 wSith conditions he had to wear an electronic ankle monitor and have a daily curfew.
What happens next is murky. The county's community supervision and corrections department is supposed to keep track of people like Gray, but they say they never got Gray's file and don't know why nobody followed the court order and put an ankle monitor on him.
Then in January 2012, Gray was again arrested, this time on a misdemeanor charge. He came to a court in the same building where he previously appeared before a judge; but nobody seemed to notice he was already on bond for a murder charge and he was allowed to post bond again.
So that night in April, Gray was well past his court-ordered curfew when he allegedly fired the shots that killed Milam. And when he was arrested last week, there was no electronic monitor on his ankle.
Gray, for now, is on behind bars for the murder charge that stems from Brazoria County.
Harris County authorities admit someone made a mistake but wouldn't make any on-camera comments.
