An arson, a missing man and a wanted couple: MS suspect’s dad speaks out after threats
Update: Dustin and Eric Gray have been taken into custody, Picayune Police Department said on Facebook just after 8 p.m. Wednesday.
James L. “Jim” Gray is not staying home after receiving threats someone would burn his house down just as his law office burned to the ground under questionable circumstances earlier this week.
Gray became the target of threats on social media after his son, Dustin Gray, and Dustin’s wife, Erica Gray, were identified as people of interest in the July 6 disappearance of Willie Ray Q. “Chill” Jones, 28.
The couple, who is also wanted on a felony charge of possession of a stolen firearm, has been missing since as early as Monday.
“This has severely affected my family, and the threats are not over,” Gray said Wednesday. “I’m not staying at my home. I am in Picayune tending to some matters right now, but I’m watching to see who is following me. I’m not even going to go to Walmart right now because there is no telling who will see me and think this is the father of a murderer and we are going to attack.”
Gray said people are accusing him of trying to keep his son hidden from authorities, or trying to get his son out of potential wrongdoing because he’s an attorney.
But that’s not true, he said.
Gray said he cares about the Jones family, who he got to know after his son and Jones became friends in high school.
The two families, he said, have a history together.
Gray said he opened the doors of his home to the Jones family for about six months when they needed a place to stay. Gray’s wife also taught Jones in school.
Gray said he now fears something terrible has happened and his son may be involved.
A missing person
The Picayune Police Department started trying to find Jones after he failed to return home on July 6.
He was last seen with Dustin Gray in the Pondersa community when they were together over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Dustin later gave a statement to police indicating he last saw Jones get out of Dustin’s car and get into a car with someone else.
But his father doesn’t buy that story, and Gray said he’s doing everything he can to help the police.
Since Dustin and Erica went on the run, Gray said, he found out his son had dropped off his gray Honda Civic at a relative’s home in north Harrison County. Dustin had asked a relative to change out the back seat of the car, but the relative wouldn’t do it.
Gray went to the home, found the car, and immediately called authorities.
The back seat, he said, had blood all over it.
“So, something obviously happened in the back of that car,” Gray said. “But I’m not trying to protect my son, and he’s not going to call me because he knows that.”
Gray said he’s just praying that people realize his family should not be a target because they had nothing to do with anything that’s happened.
And they don’t intend to help Dustin Gray find a way out of trouble.
Meanwhile, the Jones family plans to hold a prayer vigil Wednesday in Picayune in honor of Jones and the search to find him.
The investigation
Picayune police are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to find Jones and the couple
Though family, friends and authorities have been searching Picayune and surrounding communities for Jones, they’ve bee unable to find him.
Jones is 5-foot-7 and 216 pounds with black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black shirt and gray and white shorts.
Dustin Gray is about 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds, while his wife, Erica, is about 5-foot-2 and 118 pounds, police said.
Police are asking anyone with tips to call them in.
Jim Gray said he’s just hoping for two things to happen.
“I hope my son comes back and turns himself in and tells the truth,” he said, “and I hope Willie (Jones) is found alive, but I don’t have much hope for that. His family needs closure. My heart goes out to them.”
To report tips, call the Picayune Police Department at 601-798-7411, or call Capt. Rhonda Johnson at 601-337-6544 or Lt. Mike Decelle at 601-916-9411, or call Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers at 877-787-5898.
Crime Stoppers offers up to a $2,500 cash reward for information leading to an arrest in a case. All calls are confidential.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 4:25 PM.
