A Clay County man could spend 32 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to a 2014 home robbery and aggravated assault.
Clay County Circuit Court Judge Lee Howard sentenced Vernard V. Gray, 32, of Clay County, to 20 years for aggravated assault and 12 years for armed robbery. Those sentences will run consecutively.
Gray and his brother, Depriest Gray, 31, were accused of breaking into a West Point home on June 14, 2014. Both were indicted for holding one of the homeowners against her will while Vernard Gray assaulted and robbed the other homeowner with a knife, according to a press release from District Attorney Scott Colom’s office.
Depriest Gray was sentenced in October 2016 to 25 years as a habitual offender for his involvement and for breaking out of the Clay County Jail. He escaped from the jail twice following his initial arrest, once in October 2015 and again in July 2016. Though he was charged in both incidents, one was dismissed as part of his plea deal.
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