PRESIDIO COUNTY — A Presidio County grand jury indicted Matthew “Matty” Gray, formerly of Valentine, on February 26 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after police allege he opened fire with a pistol on a woman in the parking lot of Marfa Open in the early morning hours of August 7, according to Bill Parham, assistant 83rd District attorney.
That night, security footage shows Gray urinating off the porch at the gallery and event space, then sitting down and firing a shot at a white sedan that had just pulled into the parking lot. Gray fired three shots in total, and was pulled over by police later that night, who found the pistol in his truck and used the video to identify him.
The Marfa Police Department charged Gray with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, deadly conduct, discharge of firearm in certain municipalities, driving under the influence and unlawful carry of a firearm. Gray was magistrated by County Judge Joe Portillo and released on a $20,000 bond.
Irlanda Vargas, the driver of the car, told the Big Bend Sentinel that she didn’t know what Gray’s motive was, and was alarmed that he had been let go on such a low bond.
Gray, a former bartender at the Valentine Bar, has since left the area and did not respond to requests for comment. (This is not the same Matthew Gray as the artist who is working on sculptures west of Valentine.)