That news clearly angered Rounds, who said he’s run into the same situation repeatedly when dealing with the juvenile justice system. Under the state’s Raise The Age law, Gray should have been sent to a secure youth detention facility and not the county jail, but LaStella said he had called each of the seven facilities across the state and none had an opening. “The victim in this case had emergency brain surgery performed in order to save his life,” Rounds said. Rounds rejected both Stephens’ request and LaStella’s recommendation that Gray be held on $50,000 cash bail or higher bonds, saying he believes there is “sufficient evidence that the defendant has committed an act or acts that if committed by an adult would constitute assault in the first degree.” “He did not believe the conduct could cause such injuries and he expressed remorse for causing the injury,” LaStella said. LaStella said police told him Gray expressed “remorse” for causing the injuries to the victim. “He has twice demonstrated that when the court beckoned, he would appear,” said Stephens.

Public Defender Anthony Stephens asked that Rounds consider releasing Gray to his family, saying that the day after the attack Gray went to the police station on his own accord because he heard he was the subject of a police investigation and wanted to “clear things up.” He said Gray also turned himself in to the police on Tuesday. “The gangs referenced are known to have been involved in several shootings before this court,” LaStella said, although he didn’t reveal the gang names in court. LaStella said the victim and the two assailants belonged to rival gangs and that the attack was in retaliation for a prior incident involving the co-defendant’s cousin. Then, a student who LaStella identified as Gray, can be seen climbing onto a cafeteria table and jumping feet first onto the victim’s prone body. In videos provided to the Freeman of the day of the assault, two students can be seen punching and kicking the victim until he falls face down on the cafeteria floor. “We’ll know more as time goes on,” LaStella said. It is unclear, he said, whether the victim will fully recover from the injuries he sustained. He was released from Westchester Medical Center on Tuesday, LaStella said, adding that the victim has no memory of the attack itself and only limited memories of the days prior to the attack. LaStella said following the proceedings that the case must be presented to the grand jury.Īlso under questioning by Rounds, LaStella said the victim suffered a skull fracture and significant bleeding and injury to the brain and had to be airlifted to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla where he underwent an emergency craniectomy - a neurosurgical procedure that involves removing a portion of the skull in order to relieve pressure on the brain. Under repeated questioning by Rounds, LaStella said the District Attorney’s Office is “exploring all the facts” and that the charge could change. “We’ve evaluated the facts as we have them at this time and this is the appropriate charge,” LaStella said. “Please,” he said to Assistant District Attorney Nicholas LaStella, “tell me how this is not assault one (in the first degree) or attempted murder.” Rounds also seemed incredulous that the District Attorney’s Office opted to charge Gray with only a class D felony, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in state prison rather than a more serious felony charge. Ulster County Judge Bryan Rounds, presiding over the Gray case as a special “youth part” justice, sent Gray to the Ulster County Jail, following a roughly two-hour proceeding in which he blasted the lack of youth detention beds available in the state to house youths charged with serious crimes. The 15-year-old accused teen is scheduled to appear in Ulster County Family Court at 10 a.m. District Attorney David Clegg said the second assailant, a 15-year-old whose name has not been released by authorities, was also charged with second-degree assault. Ty’Juan Gray was one of two high school students who allegedly launched the attack which was captured on a video that according to Assistant District Attorney Nicholas LaStella has since gone viral. A 16-year-old was charged with second-degree assault and sent to Ulster County Jail without bail Tuesday in what authorities described as a brutal gang-related beating of a 15-year-old student at Kingston High School.

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