A St. Albert man twice sent to prison for his involvement in murders will soon be released, once again, on parole.
Michael Alexander Gray will be released at the two-thirds mark of his sentence sometime around Oct. 23, but the parole board imposed a series of conditions he will have to follow in the outside world. The restrictions include a requirement he reside in a halfway house, avoid contact with anyone involved in gangs or illegal drugs and abstain from alcohol and illegal drugs.
Gray was serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for his involvement in the murder of David Wong. Gray and three other men were found in an Edmonton apartment in the process of dismembering Wong.
Gray and the other three men pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder and received a range of sentences. None of the four men were charged with the murder itself. Gray had previously been convicted of manslaughter in the death of Layton Montpellier in 2001. He was on parole from the sentence he received for that crime when Wong was killed.
Gray was celebrating his 18th birthday in 2001, at a west Edmonton bar, when he got into an argument with Montpellier and stabbed him.
At the two-thirds mark of any sentence almost all offenders are released, under what is called statutory release, unless the corrections department applies to the parole board to keep them incarcerated.
While the parole board does not have a say on whether someone is released at the two-thirds mark, they can impose special conditions on the release as they did in this case. The board said it is deeply concerned about Gray’s behaviour in prison.
“You have numerous institutional entries of being involved in the drug subculture, possible gang ties, assaults of other inmates and disrespect towards staff.”
The board also noted that some of Gray’s visitors had tested positive for drugs and that he was thought to be a major player in drugs inside the institution.
The report notes Gray did express remorse over Montpellier’s death, but in Wong’s case it said Gray downplayed his involvement in the dismemberment and insisted he was simply there. Overall the report concludes Gray does not take responsibility for his actions.
“Reports state you consistently present yourself as an individual who has been caught in a series of unfortunate events, and you project blame away from yourself.”
Gray will be under the conditions of his parole until either a new decision of the parole board or the end of his sentence in April 2013.
