New London jury finds Gray guilty of drug charge
A New London jury has found parolee Bennie Gray Jr. guilty in a drug case in which he challenged the New London Police Department's work on various aspects of the case and served as his own attorney at trial.
Due to his criminal record, Gray, 39, faces an enhanced sentence of up to 30 years in prison when Judge Hunchu Kwak sentences him on June 24 for possession of cocaine with intent to sell.
Gray had been convicted of manslaughter and a narcotics charge following the 1995 shooting death of DeJohn Strong in New London.
During a 2016 interview, Gray said he discovered he had an aptitude for the law while serving a 18-year prison sentence for Strong's death and that he aspired to become a lawyer. But upon his release from prison on supervised parole in June 2017, police said he returned almost immediately to the drug trade.
Groton Town Police arrested him on drug charges on Sept. 5, 2017, but the state decided to not prosecute the case because they didn't want to disclose the identity of a confidential informant.
In the present case, New London police charged Gray on May 9, 2018, with selling 0.8 grams of crack cocaine to 28-year-old Brian Drobnak. Undercover narcotics officers said they observed the transaction at the Broad Street Gulf gas station before pulling over both Drobnak's and Gray's cars.
Drobnak was found in possession of crack cocaine, which he admitted he bought from a man named "G Cuz" with two $20 bills and a $10 bill, according to the police. They seized the cash from Gray along with his cellphone.
At the trial, Drobnak testified that he had purchased the crack from Gray.
Gray and his attorney at the time, William T. Koch Jr., had challenged several aspects of the police case, including their communication via a "secret" phone application on their personal phones during the investigation and the way the evidence was handled.
At the trial, Koch had served as standby counsel, advising Gray has he cross-examined witnesses, including the police officers whose work he was challenging. Gray also took the witness stand and testified on his own behalf, according to court officials.
Prosecutor Sarah W. Bowman could not immediately be reached for comment about the verdict.
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