WILDWOOD — Responding to a routine domestic disturbance call, Wildwood police arrested a fugitive wanted in another state for a crime he committed 20 years ago.
According to Wildwood Detective Lt. Terry Oslar, officers Jan. 22 responded to a reported domestic incident in the 3900 block of Pacific Avenue. When police arrived, they observed Tiyamiki Hill in an argument with her boyfriend Daniel McCray.
During an investigation, police learned that Hill had an outstanding contempt of court warrant of $133 out of Camden and McCray had a similar warrant out of Middle Township for $500.
Oslar said that McCray was transported in lieu of bail to county jail, where it was determined that he was a fugitive wanted in Connecticut. That state’s Department of Corrections Web site lists him as “escaped.” It said he was charged with burglary and sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Sept. 6, 1989. He remains in county jail on $100,000 cash bail on the fugitive charge.
McCray’s out-of-state criminal record is notable, in part, because it wasn’t discovered during his long stay in New Jersey state prisons. McCray, now 43, was convicted of the early morning Christmas Eve 1991 slaying of his Rio Grande neighbor Robert “Bobby” Gordon.
Gordon’s body was discovered under a truck in the parking lot of the Rio Station by a restaurant employee. McCray and Gordon resided in neighboring apartments of the Bay Country Inn. Police at the time said that Gordon was beaten and attacked with a sharp cutting instrument. His death was likely drug related, police said.
McCray was not alone when Gordon was killed.
Rhammel Keith, McCray’s accomplice, was a juvenile at the time of the incident. He was charged with murder and received a sentence of 24 years. Originally paroled in April 2002, Keith twice returned to prison on violations before his most recent release on Dec. 23, 2007 — 16 years after Gordon’s death.
According to the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), McCray was sentenced to 22 years in state prison for aggravated manslaughter for which he was paroled in December 2004. He then absconded from parole in May 2005 and was re-incarcerated in November of that year.
During his imprisonment, McCray was also sentenced to five years on an aggravated assault charge out of Hudson County that was pending when he was locked up for manslaughter.
McCray’s sentences maxed out on May 6, 2007 when he was released from Southern State Correctional Facility in Delmont, Cumberland County.
So how did McCray serve nearly 15 years in Garden State prisons without his previous record in being discovered?
NJDOC spokesperson Deirdre Fedkenheuer told the Herald it was likely because the prison system was not online with the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database and McCray probably didn’t mention his Connecticut record to New Jersey law enforcement.
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
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