A Greensboro man was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for possession of a firearm, following a guilty plea related to a shooting incident earlier this year. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Clifton T. Barrett of the Middle District of North Carolina.
Tristan Dylan Gray, 38, received a sentence of 100 months in prison and three years of supervised release from Chief United States District Judge Catherine C. Eagles at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
Court records indicate that on January 1, 2024, officers with the Greensboro Police Department responded to reports of shots fired into an occupied apartment on Merritt Drive. Three days later, police conducted a traffic stop involving Gray and found him in possession of a Taurus handgun. He was arrested as a felon in possession.
A Firearms and Toolmark Examiner with the Greensboro Police Department determined that cartridge cases collected from the scene matched the Taurus handgun found with Gray during his arrest. After an evidentiary hearing, the court concluded that Gray had fired multiple rounds into the occupied apartment.
Gray had previously been convicted in Rockingham County in 2022 for felony hit and run inflicting serious injury and had served more than one year in prison. As a result, he was prohibited by law from possessing firearms or ammunition at the time of his latest offense.
On June 10, 2025, Gray pleaded guilty to one count of felon in possession of ammunition under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8)).
The case was investigated by both the Greensboro Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Special Assistant United States Attorney Mary Ann Courtney prosecuted the case.
