John Joe Gray (March 15, 1950 – September 7, 2023) identified as a

sovereign citizen ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

and was a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

from the law. He lived on his 50-acre, wooded ranch in

Trinidad, Texas Trinidad is a city in Henderson County, Texas, United States, near the Trinity River from which the town's name was derived. The population was 860 at the 2020 census, down from 886 at the 2010 census. During the Spanish Texas period, the town w ...

. He was involved in the longest-running law enforcement standoff in American history, lasting a few days short of 15 years, before the district attorney dropped the charges.

Standoff

The standoff began in 2000 when Gray

jumped bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

after indictment on two counts of felony assault. During a 1999 traffic stop in Anderson County, he allegedly attacked Texas Trooper Jim Cleland. A struggle ensued after Cleland reached for a .357 caliber handgun in the car that Gray was driving. Anti-government pamphlets and references to setting off a bomb on a highway overpass near Dallas were found in the vehicle. Gray was charged with two felonies: assault of a public servant and taking a police officer's weapon. After promising to have no access to weapons while awaiting hearing, he was out on bail before the judge held his bond insufficient, and ordered his re-arrest. Local Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt stated in 2011, "This kook is not worth it. Ten of him is not worth going up there and getting one of my young deputies killed." In December 2014, the standoff officially ended when District Attorney Douglas E. Lowe dismissed the charge.

References

1950 births 2023 deaths Fugitives wanted by the United States Sovereign citizen movement individuals People charged with assault People from Henderson County, Texas {{US-crime-bio-stub