By Ivan Pereira
No one was hurt during a standoff between an armed, fugitive ex-convict and federal agents Monday at a Springfield Gardens house, the authorities said.
U.S. marshals tracked down Derome Gray, who was wanted for three years in connection with a robbery of the Archer Avenue post office in Jamaica, to an apartment at a house near 168th Street and 144th Terrace and moved in to arrest him around 7:30 a.m., said Agent James Elcik, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshalls.
As the agents went up the stairs to the second floor, Gray allegedly opened fire at them, according to the spokesman.
The agents did not fire back, however, but they were able to negotiate with him and restore order to the scene, Elcik said.
“We had an open dialogue with the shooter and after a short while he surrendered,” he said.
No one was injured during the episode, according to the U.S. Marshalls.
Another person who was in the house, Mark Cumberbatch, was also arrested after the U.S. marshals discovered an array of illegal weapons, including a .380-caliber handgun, a .45-caliber Glock, a derringer and a loaded Mack 10 submachine gun pistol, according to the spokesman.
It was not known whether or not he will be charged by federal prosecutors or Queens prosecutors.
Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives combed the house for the rest of the day to look for other contraband, Elcik said.
Charles G. Dunne, the U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of New York, commended his agents for diffusing the situation without causing any harm to themselves or neighbors.
“This fugitive was heavily armed with a cache of illegal weapons,” he said in a statement. “The marshals showed great restraint by not returning fire into an apartment that could have contained innocent people. This could have ended much differently.”
Gray was also wanted for violating his parole from a conviction for a 1988 murder in Brooklyn. He was set to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court for charges related to the bank robbery as of press time Tuesday, according to the U.S. Marshalls office.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
