In the early evening of August 31, 2021, tragedy struck on a Paterson, New Jersey, street, forever altering the lives of a local family. Anthony McNeal, a 35-year-old man from Paterson, was found lying on the sidewalk in the area of 454 Union Avenue with a fatal gunshot wound. The incident occurred at approximately 7:53 p.m., when members of the Paterson Police Department were dispatched to the scene following a report of a shooting.
Despite the immediate response and life-saving measures attempted by medical personnel who arrived shortly after, McNeal succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the death of Anthony McNeal, a father of ten children, quickly launched into motion. Authorities from the Paterson Police Department, in conjunction with the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, began the arduous task of piecing together the events that led to the fatal shooting. Their collaborative efforts, which also involved the United States Secret Service and the United States Marshal's Fugitive Task Force, soon identified a person of interest in the case. This intense search led them beyond the confines of New Jersey and into the neighboring state of New York.
Less than two weeks after the shooting, on September 13, 2021, an arrest was made. Rondell Gray, a 40-year-old man from North Haledon, was taken into custody in Brooklyn, New York, at approximately 6:30 a.m. without incident. Following his arrest, Gray was held at Riker's Island to await extradition back to New Jersey, which occurred on September 21 after a waiver hearing. Gray was charged with murder, carjacking, possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a handgun. It was revealed that after the murder of McNeal, Gray was also allegedly responsible for the carjacking of a separate victim.
