Eric Walter Gray (right inset) in a mug shot, (left) after his arrest in the bank robbery (ABC 7/screengrab)
A California inmate with a lengthy rap sheet that includes drug, robbery, and sexual battery offenses, was let out of state prison, got his hands on some "crystal meth," and the very next day robbed a bank in Anaheim while holding terrified employees hostage, leading to a federal case, according to the FBI.
The suspect, Eric Walter Gray, was found after his arrest on on May 8 to have money and meth stuffed up his rectum, and he allegedly admitted during an interview with local law enforcement that he "did some more" drugs in the bank bathroom just before the robbery.
Gray's case is in the news because he was indicted Wednesday for allegedly holding three Bank of Montreal employees hostage for an hour while "by force and violence, and by intimidation, knowingly" robbing the financial institution of "a bank the deposits of which were then insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation," a charge that would put him away for at least 10 years in federal prison and possibly two decades if he is convicted.
While the defendant has not yet been arraigned in the case, he is currently detained without bond, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
According to the criminal complaint dating back to early May, Gray was let of out San Quentin prison on May 7 and almost immediately found a way to get some meth.
"He described how he rode the bus to the parole office on Anaheim, where he was supposed to be housed, but the house was 'shut down,'" according to the FBI's account of the suspect's story. "GRAY decided he would stay the night near the parole office where he met 'some guys' that provided GRAY with 'crystal meth.'"
"GRAY said he smoked the narcotics and got high. The narcotics made GRAY extremely anxious and paranoid," the complaint continued, saying that Gray claimed to call 911, was taken to a hospital, and then was "kicked […] out" the next morning, just hours before the post-4 p.m. robbery.
Again, according to the defendant's alleged version of events, he showed up at the bank trying to withdraw $200 in cash by using a debit card that he said parole had provided him.
When that didn't work — "[t]he bank teller told GRAY he/she could not help him because the card did not have his name and GRAY did not have any identification" — the suspect allegedly entered a bank bathroom, "did some more" meth, and then promptly jumped over the bank counter to begin the robbery.
If there was any question about whether it was a robbery, the complaint said, Gray cleared that up by telling bank tell M.Z., simply, "Robbery."
"GRAY then said, 'Everybody be cool; give me the money," he said, even as he claimed to have a gun, the complaint added. H.M., another employee, "opened the drawer and saw GRAY grab approximately $1,000 in cash and stuff it into his pockets."
But according to the complaint, Gray's pockets weren't the only place he stuffed cash.
After his arrest by Anaheim cops, a detective learned that around $240 from the robbery was "still missing."
"A strip search was performed, which revealed $120 and suspected methamphetamine hidden within GRAY's rectum," the complaint said.
Federal authorities additionally alleged that Gray threatened Hispanic bank customers.
"According to GRAY, GRAY told them, 'Motherf—er, try something, I got something for you,'" documents said.
While holding bank employees, including the bank manager, hostage in a storage room, Gray allegedly threatened "just for affect": 'I'm tellin you they making me play, I'm gonna f— around and bust on somebody."
In the end, he was the one busted.
Read the complaint here.
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