Parolee Pleads Not Guilty In Police Officer's Death

A parolee accused in the death of a Cathedral City police officer, who lived in Beaumont, pleaded not guilty today to felony charges.

Durjan Germaine Gray, 34, faces a second-degree murder charge and a special allegation that the victim was a peace officer. He is also charged with driving under the influence of drugs causing great bodily injury, felony evading arrest causing great bodily injury and engaging in criminal street gang activity.

Gray, who allegedly was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana during the March 18 pursuit, could face up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

The defendant, who hired attorney Greg Johnson, sat in a wheel chair with his legs in casts during the five-minute arraignment.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge William Lebov set bail at $1 million and ordered Gray to return to court on May 27 for a felony settlement conference.

Deputy District Attorney Tony Orlando said he expects the preliminary hearing to take two full days.

The prosecutor spoke to reporters outside of court, saying that he believes "this is an important case."

He said Gray's passenger, Dexter Coleman, was also a victim in the crash.

"The evidence will show that Dexter Coleman is an individual who hasn't driven in the past 15 years. It will also show that Dexter Coleman's life was placed in grave danger by this individual as well,'' Orlando said.

Cathedral City police Officer Jermaine Gibson, 28, tried to pull over a black Ford Mustang in Cathedral City, but the driver refused to stop, leading Gibson on a pursuit that headed into Palm Springs, according to police accounts and prosecutors.

During the pursuit, Gibson's patrol car crashed into a palm tree on South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, and the Mustang crashed about the same time in front of a Chevron station, according to police and prosecutors.

Gibson was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Two men in the Mustang were ejected when it crashed.

Gibson, a former Marine Corps squad leader and Iraq War veteran, was a resident of Beaumont at the time of his death.

Gibson served two tours in the Iraq War with the U.S. Marine Corps, earned a Purple Heart for being wounded in combat, and was honorably discharged as an infantry squad leader. He was married less than a year before he died and he was father of a month-old son.