Parolee charged with hate crime in downtown stabbing

A parolee has been charged with a hate crime after authorities say he followed a man to a darkened area in downtown Las Vegas, then stabbed him because he thought the victim was gay.

Dontay Gray, 32, of Las Vegas, is charged with attempted murder, battery, robbery and committing a hate crime in the Saturday night stabbing in the 1000 block of Fremont Street near South Maryland Parkway. Las Vegas police said in an arrest report for Gray that he offered up a “full confession” to the stabbing while simultaneously uttering slurs towards the LGBTQ community.

“Gray had purchased a knife one hour prior to the stabbing with the intent to stab and kill,” police wrote in the report.

Police said two people were walking on Fremont Street at 8 p.m. when they noticed Gray following them, leaving the pair “incredibly creeped out.”

The pair separated but Gray continued to follow one of them, police said. The man who was being followed then stopped and asked Gray “Can I help you?”

Gray, police said, responded by producing a knife and stabbing the victim in the stomach. The man was taken to the hospital and survived.

Police, meanwhile, said they used surveillance cameras to track Gray to the 1300 block of Fremont Street where he was arrested. A detective interviewed Gray, noting he confessed to the stabbing while issuing slurs.

“During the interview, Gray said, ‘I was planning on killing both of them multiple times,” police said.

Police said Gray told them he is currently on parole from California and has been to prison twice.

“Gray stated that he is incredibly homophobic and stated multiple times that he ‘hates (expletive,)’” police said, adding Gray told them he “was going to get retaliation and kill a homosexual.”

Police said they confirmed that Gray purchased a knife at a nearby smoke shop an hour before the attack, then waited until the victim had walked to an area where he thought there were no surveillance cameras in place.

Las Vegas Justice Court records show Gray is currently being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 5. The Clark County public defender’s office has been appointed to represent Gray.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.