Parolee in New London murder case back in prison for curfew violation
Bennie Gray Jr., who was released to a halfway house in May after serving more than 18 years in prison for the November 1997 shooting death of DeJohn Strong in New London, was returned to prison on Nov. 28 after leaving the halfway house after curfew.
Gray, who was at the Open Hearth halfway house in Hartford, left the premises after curfew and returned a short time later, according to Department of Correction spokesman Andrius Banevicius. The 37-year-old is being held at the Enfield Correctional Institution.
Gray does not face new criminal charges, but was returned to prison based on a "technical violation" of the conditions of his parole, according to the Department of Correction.
The Board of Pardons and Paroles, which had granted parole to Gray in January 2016, is expected to schedule a parole revocation hearing in the case within 60 business days.
Gray was arrested in November 1997 along with his cousin, Tavorus Fluker, who was with him at a Michael Road apartment complex the night 28-year-old Strong died. At the time, Strong's wife was pregnant with their third child.
Gray was sentenced to 23 years in prison for manslaughter and sale of narcotics. He earned so-called "good time" off his sentence under the Department of Correction's Risk Reduction Earned Credit program and in January 2016 was granted parole.
During an interview with The Day in September 2016, Gray said he was attending Manchester Community College and working in the college's maintenance department and that he hoped to become a lawyer by the time he is 45 years old. In December 2015, he married former Norwich resident Candace Foster and said he would be living with her in New Britain once he is released.
Gray and Foster met while they were both being held in the the lockup facility in the basement of the New London courthouse prior to court appearances. Foster, 36, served four years and 10 months in prison for her role in the 2004 beating death of renowned physicist Eugene Mallove.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Foster said she did not want to comment about Gray's return to prison.
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