PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire — Charged with felonies alleging he fired six .380 caliber bullets at a truck driven by a fleeing teenager, Mark Gray pleaded not guilty to the charges during a Tuesday arraignment, said Deputy Rockingham County Attorney Jennifer Haggar.
Police allege Gray, 44, of 140 Summer St., fired the shots at the teen who entered Gray’s home at 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, mistakenly thinking there was a party there. The shots were fired in the street while the teen was fleeing, police allege.
Gray’s partner and former police commissioner Brenna Cavanaugh previously said in a statement the teen was driving toward her and Gray when the shots were fired.
Gray was represented during Tuesday’s arraignment by Portsmouth attorney Alan Cronheim and his bail was maintained by the Rockingham County Superior Court at $10,000 personal recognizance, Haggar said. He is prohibited from contacting the teenager and from possessing firearms, she said.
Following Tuesday’s arraignment, Haggar said, the court will schedule a dispositional hearing to determine if there’s a possibility for a negotiated resolution before Gray’s case goes to a grand jury. Haggar said that is scheduled 40 to 60 days after arraignment under the county’s new Felonies First program.
Cronheim could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
An affidavit for Gray’s arrest, by Portsmouth police detective Peter Sheldon, reports the 2003 Ford pickup truck the teen was driving was examined by detective Tara Elsemiller of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit. She noted the truck was stuck with bullets three times, once at a 90 degree angle, indicting the shooter was directly aligned to the driver’s side of the truck. A second round entered the left front quarter panel and exited the inner wheel well at a 10 degree angle, indicating it was fired “back to front of the vehicle,” Sheldon’s report states. The third round struck the truck from front to back at a 3 degree angle, the report states.