Convicted felon with lengthy criminal history out on 10 bonds arrested on 4 new crimes

Thursday, July 1, 2021
Houston man out on 10 bonds arrested again
He's been accused of car break-ins, being in possession of drugs and even an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but how did this happen? ABC13's Marla Carter explains.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A convicted felon out with a lengthy criminal history going back 18 years is accused of committing four new crimes.

Darrick Tyron Gray, 36, has been out on bond for 10 charges, but now he's back in jail.

"Here's someone who's got nine felony convictions [and] eight misdemeanor convictions since 2003. He was finally sent to prison in 2013. He got six years for burglary," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers of Houston.

It was after he was released that Gray allegedly started to add to his record again.

He's being accused of car break-ins, being in possession of drugs and even aggravated assault with deadly weapons. All of these incidents were listed to have happened since 2019. He racked up a total of 10 bonds for the 10 charges.

While out on bond for those 10 charges, Gray got arrested. Now, he's accused of committing four additional crimes.

SEE ALSO: Harris County commission votes to reduce 100,000-case backlog

"On my last count, Gray was out on a total of 10 bonds including three felonies, of which one was an aggravated assault with a deadly charge ... seven misdemeanors. The district attorney's office has filed numerous motions to revoke his bond," said Kahan.

So now, Gray faces a total of 14 pending cases.

Legal expert Steve Shellist said people have a right to a bond. A judge can deny bonds under several conditions including if someone has been convicted twice before of a felony as Gray has. Or if the offender is out on bond for a felony for which the offender has been indicted and then allegedly commits another felony, which could also apply to Gray.

"For someone who has been repeatedly victimized by this particular defendant, it's got to be maddening to see this guy released time and time again," said Kahan.

Aside from the aggravated assault, which involved a motor vehicle and not a gun, Shellist says Gray does not fit the profile of a violent offender, so that could have contributed to the judges' decision not to deny bail.

We did reach out to both the misdemeanor and felony court judges and they did not return our calls.

"These are serious crimes. These are life-altering offenses. When you steal someone's automobile you're taking a livelihood away from them," said Kahan.