Ex-Cop To Be Released From Prison

Former Tulsa police officer to be released from prison 
Tulsa World by Jarrel Wade  -  May 1, 2012

Former Tulsa Police Officer John K. "J.J." Gray is due to be released Tuesday from prison in Pollock, La. Gray, 45, admitted stealing money during an FBI sting in May 2009 and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Tulsa after cooperating with special prosecutors investigating police corruption within the Tulsa Police Department. A grand jury corruption probe of the Tulsa Police Department resulted in 11 police officers being accused of criminal behavior. Additionally, at least 44 people have been freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil rights violations or potential problems with their cases. Gray, a 20-year TPD veteran, pleaded guilty June 14 and was sentenced Dec. 6 to four months in prison and four years of probation. Gray's attorney, Robert "Skip" Durbin, confirmed that Gray would be released as early as Tuesday and would return home to his three children. "Mr. Gray is going to turn the next page and start the next chapter of his life," Durbin said. Durbin said Gray and his family have not responded to requests for interviews from media. "He is going to come back to a loving and welcoming family and a forgiving religious community," he said. Before his sentence, Gray was self-employed doing manual landscape work, and he'll likely return to that, Durbin said. Gray retired in May 2010 from the police department where he was last assigned to the Mingo Valley Division. He was a former burglary detective with the Tulsa Police Department. In total, four law enforcement officers were sentenced to prison in the police corruption case with varying times of incarceration. Brandon McFadden, a former agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was sentenced Dec. 6 and received 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy in May 2010. Tulsa police officers sentenced in the case include Gray, Jeff Henderson and retired Cpl. Harold R. Wells. Three police officers, Nick DeBruin, Bruce Bonham and Bill Yelton, were acquitted on civil rights violations in two separate cases.  Jarrel Wade 918-581-8367 jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com