CONWAY — With guns drawn, U.S. Marshals Service agents arrested a sex offender at Millbrook Village apartments on Grove Street in North Conway on Thursday.
On Monday, the Sun spoke to Deputy U.S. Marshal Andrew Grillo about the arrest of Jeffrey Gray, 29, of Canaan, at the apartments.Â
"He was wanted out of Grafton County for failing to appear on an arraignment for failing to register as a sex offender," said Grillo, adding Gray had been convicted of failing to register five other times.
Gray had been given a court date for an arraignment and be heard on failure to register, but he didn't appear.
"Mr. Gray is a Tier 3 registered sex offender. And he's a Tier 3 registered sex offender in Hampshire because of a Feb. 12, 2013, charge of felonious sexual assault. So the victim was under 16 years old," Grillo said.
Gray has an obligation to register his place of residence on a quarterly basis. His home of record is in Canaan, a town in Grafton County just east of Lebanon.
About a year ago, Grillo said, Canaan police were informed that Gray was staying elsewhere and he was found to be with a girlfriend in North Conway. It took some time to establish where he lived, so police could move in and make an arrest.Â
More specifically, Gray was indicted on a charge of failing to register as sex offender on Sept. 15. He failed to appear in court on Oct. 17, according to the New Hampshire Judicial Branch's online portal.Â
Grillo said on March 29, the New Hampshire State Police Sex Offender Registration Office reached out to him about the case because he is the district sex offender coordinator who helps enforce the Adam Walsh Act and Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Grillo added that Conway police did "a lot of legwork" to find Gray.
Federal agents and Conway police surrounded the apartments located at 175 Grove St. shortly before noon Thursday. The marshals approached the buildings with guns drawn and loudly knocked on the door.Â
"There was no answer at the door. We made entry and found Mr. Gray hiding in the bedroom upstairs. He was taken into custody without any further incident," Grillo said.
"He was compliant after that ... U.S. Marshals Service personnel took him to Lincoln PD and transferred custody to Grafton County Sheriff's deputies," he added.Â
The Judicial Branch online portal said Gray was released on personal recognizance bail on March 31.Â
A witness, who asked the Sun not to be identified, provided pictures of the arrest. Several show the federal agents with guns drawn.Â
Grillo said that's typical procedure.Â
"Generally speaking, it's our standard, we tend to hit every building the same way," he said. "We're in the business of finding people who don't want to be found. Generally speaking, when we enter structures, there's an elevated risk of danger just based on the fact that we're going into somebody else's space."
Marshals wear vests that ID the agents as law enforcement and make sure their badges are on display.Â
"We knock and announce very loudly that we're police there to execute a warrant," said Grillo. "We do that multiple times and allow for appropriate amount of time for somebody to be able to respond to the door."
Except for vests, the agents are dressed in civilian clothes like jeans and sweatshirts. Marshals Service agents use their uniforms when working around the courts, but Marshals Service Hampshire Fugitive Task Force agents are in street clothes because their jobs involve surveillance and blending into the community, Grillo said.Â
In total, seven members of the U.S. Marshal's Task Force were present along with two Conway police officers. Grillo said they needed that many people in part because the apartment complex is large.Â
"We have had people who climb out windows, hop off of balconies, go through basements and out bulkhead doors," he said. "You want to be able to have enough people to surround the building, and then also enough people to be able to make the entry and take care of the amount of rooms in there in a safe manner."
Grillo said that the Marshals Service likes to team up with local police on these types of arrests because the local officers know their communities and can answer questions from the public about what's happening.
"We really much appreciated working together with the Conway Police Department," said Grillo. "We always like working with our local partners."
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