United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS SAN ANGELO, TEXAS, MAN
FOR POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO DISTRIBUTE CRACK COCAINE

Defendant Hid Crack in His Anal Cavity

LUBBOCK, Texas — Following a one-day trial yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, a federal jury in Lubbock, Texas, convicted Rondrick Lamar Gray, of San Angelo, Texas, on an indictment charging one count of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of cocaine base, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks, of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Gray, 22, faces a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison.

The government presented evidence at trial that Gray was arrested by San Angelo Police Department officers on outstanding warrants following a traffic stop on April 23, 2010. Prior to arresting Gray, however, officers removed the passenger from his car. The passenger told officers that as police were stopping the car, Gray threw a clear plastic bag, containing what she believed to be cocaine base (crack cocaine) on her lap, telling her to hide it. The passenger refused and stated that she put the crack cocaine between the seats before exiting the vehicle. A search confirmed that the passenger was not in possession of the crack.

While repeated searches of Gray’s vehicle, and Gray, failed to reveal the drugs, a narcotics dog alerted at the location where the passenger said she stashed the bag. Strip searches by jail staff of Gray, in which he was evasive and uncooperative, failed to locate the crack. However, after a thorough exam by a physician, a plastic bag containing nearly 10 grams of crack cocaine was located in Gray’s rectum and removed by the physician.

The case was investigated by the San Angelo Police Department, Angelo State University Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag is in charge of the prosecution.

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