A 17-year-old student involved in an attack on a fellow student in the Kingston High School (KHS) cafeteria last May pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in court last week as part of a plea deal that will see him serve the maximum of seven years in state prison.
Ty’Juan Gray entered his guilty plea in Ulster County Court Youth Part on Tuesday, October 31, acknowledging his role alongside an unnamed 15-year-old in the May 3 attack on an unnamed student in the KHS cafeteria. The incident lasted approximately 18 seconds before being broken up by Kingston High School security. In a viral video recorded by at least one student on a smartphone, authorities identified the 15-year old as kicking the victim in the head while Gray leapt from a cafeteria table onto the victim’s head.
According to authorities, the victim sustained a skull fracture, and trauma and bleeding on the brain, and underwent an emergency procedure at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla to remove part of his skull to relieve pressure on the brain. He has since been released from the hospital, and according to officials has no memory of his attack.
Gray was set to plead guilty to second-degree assault in exchange for a three-year jail sentence in a deal recommended by senior assistant district attorney Nicholas LaStella. But in a court appearance on Tuesday, October 3, Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds Rounds said the evidence against the 17-year old was severe enough that he would instead offer a deal of seven years, the maximum allowable. Both Gray and an unnamed 15-year-old were initially indicted on one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault.
Gray was represented last week by Anthony Stephens, a public defender, who could not be reached for comment.
In court, LaStella said the prosecution believed the cafeteria attack was retaliation for a previous fight between the victim and the 15-year-old defendant, as well as retribution for a shooting between members of two subsets of the Bloods street gang, the Apes — which prosecutors claimed the victim belongs to — and Sex, Money, Murder — which they say Gray belongs to by way of the Four Block crew.
Gray’s sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2024.
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