NEW LONDON NATIVE WHO SERVED 18 YEARS IN KILLING WANTS TRIAL IN DRUG CASE

Bennie Gray Jr., arrested on drug charges just three months after he was released on parole following an 18-year prison stint for manslaughter, wants his day in court immediately.

Gray, 38, who has been held since his September arrrest in Groton on charges he was selling heroin and cocaine, appeared Monday in Superior Court in Norwich before Judge Arthur C. Hadden. The judge granted a speedy trial motion that Gray’s attorney, Gordon Videll, had filed on Gray’s behalf and scheduled jury selection for Friday. The judge said any plea offer Gray had received while the case was pending is withdrawn now that jury selection is about to begin.

A six-member jury will hear the case.

“We feel very comfortable with the facts and are looking forward to having Bennie put this behind him,” Videll said outside the courtroom.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Jean Kanabis is prosecuting Gray.

Gray, a New London native, was arrested by Groton Town Police at the Walgreen’s Pharmacy on Long Hill Road on Sept. 5. Police said they seized from him a knotted plastic bag with a white, rocklike substance weighing 3.2 grams and three knotted bags with beige powder weighing 1.54 grams. They also seized an unopened bottle of Inosotil powder, which is often used as a cutting agent for illegal drugs and two cellphones, according to a police report.

Gray, who is being held at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center, had changed into street clothes for his court appearance. He was living with a relative on Long Hill Road in Groton when he was arrested.

Gray had been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the November 1997 shooting death in New London of DeJohn Strong. He was released to a Hartford halfway house in May 2016 after serving more than 18 years, but was returned to prison on Nov. 28, 2016, after leaving the halfway house after curfew. He remained incarcerated until April 24, 2017, when he was released on a re-entry furlough and was granted supervised parole on June 7, 2017, according to the Department of Correction.

Should he be found guilty in the drug case, Gray also will be considered in violation of parole and will be subject to serving the remainder of the 23-year manslaughter sentence.