Putnam deputy's niece leads the endless effort to keep his killer in prison
Nearly 20 years ago, Cleo Janey sat at her kitchen table listening to the police scanner when she heard her son call for backup. That call, made over a static-filled radio channel in the middle of the night, was the last time she would hear her son's voice.
Friday, Aug. 17, 2008 - Sarah Bragg, holding a photograph of her uncle, John Janey, stands next to her father, Mike Janey, and childhood friend Nicole Karnes. John Janey was a Putnam County sheriff's deputy gunned down in 1989. The man convicted of killing Janey, Robert Gray, is coming up for parole in October. Says Bragg: "As long as any one of us is breathing, we'll fight to keep him in jail."
John Janey, a Putnam County sheriff's deputy, died in the early hours of Aug. 17, 1989. He was killed while attempting to arrest Robert Gray, who tried to set fire to a home on Cow Creek near Hurricane.
A struggle ensued and Janey was shot three times - in the side, chest and head.
Cleo Janey died in October 2007, but before she passed away, she extracted a promise from her granddaughter - to keep the man convicted for her son's death in jail.
"As long as any one of us is breathing, we'll fight to keep him in jail," said Sarah Bragg, John Janey's niece.
A jury convicted Gray of first-degree murder in July 1990. He was sentenced to life in prison, with mercy, and became eligible for parole in 2000 after serving 10 years.
In October, Gray will again come up for parole, the fourth time since he became eligible.
The Janey family will again stand united in their effort to keep Gray in jail, armed with a letter from the prosecutor of the trial and petitions filled with signatures of community members and law enforcement officers from across the state.
For the most recent parole hearing, three years ago, Bragg and her childhood friend, Nicole Karnes, collected more than 1,000 signatures. This year they are aiming for 5,000.
The family will hold a memorial service for John Janey today at 5 p.m. at Rock Branch Independent Church.
The service is to honor Janey's memory and to prepare for the upcoming parole hearing.
In 1989, Raymond Huck hired Gray and Robert Bates to set fire to his Hurricane house as part of an insurance scam. Huck had filed several claims with Nationwide for previous fires.
Nationwide, suspicious that Huck would target the house, hired Janey and two other off-duty deputies to stake out the house.
"It was just his turn that night," Bragg said of Janey.
Huck pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on March 28, 1990, in a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to five to 18 years. He has since been released from prison.
Robert Bates was acquitted in November 1990 of charges that he helped in the murder of John Janey.
The Janey family attended the trials of all three men.
"In our case, John was part of the system, so you have to respect the system in order to respect the man," said Mike Janey, John Janey's older brother. "It worked the best it possibly could."
During the murder trial, Gray claimed he acted in self-defense and that John Janey came at him in the dark and savagely beat him.
Janey was able to get one handcuff on Gray, which was still attached when deputies found and arrested Gray the following day.
POCA, W.Va. - Nearly 20 years ago, Cleo Janey sat at her kitchen table listening to the police scanner when she heard her son call for backup.
That call made over a static-filled radio channel in the middle of the night was the last time she would hear her son's voice.
John Janey, a Putnam County sheriff's deputy, died in the early hours of Aug. 17, 1989. He was killed while attempting to arrest Robert Gray, who tried to set fire to a home on Cow Creek near Hurricane.
A struggle ensued and Janey was shot three times - in the side, chest and head.
Cleo Janey died in October 2007, but before she passed away, she extracted a promise from her granddaughter - to keep the man convicted for her son's death in jail.
"As long as any one of us is breathing, we'll fight to keep him in jail," said Sarah Bragg, John Janey's niece.
A jury convicted Gray of first-degree murder in July 1990. He was sentenced to life in prison, with mercy, and became eligible for parole in 2000 after serving 10 years.
In October, Gray will again come up for parole, the fourth time since he became eligible.
The Janey family will again stand united in their effort to keep Gray in jail, armed with a letter from the prosecutor of the trial and petitions filled with signatures of community members and law enforcement officers from across the state.
For the most recent parole hearing, three years ago, Bragg and her childhood friend, Nicole Karnes, collected more than 1,000 signatures. This year they are aiming for 5,000.
The family will hold a memorial service for John Janey today at 5 p.m. at Rock Branch Independent Church.
The service is to honor Janey's memory and to prepare for the upcoming parole hearing.
In 1989, Raymond Huck hired Gray and Robert Bates to set fire to his Hurricane house as part of an insurance scam. Huck had filed several claims with Nationwide for previous fires.
Nationwide, suspicious that Huck would target the house, hired Janey and two other off-duty deputies to stake out the house.
"It was just his turn that night," Bragg said of Janey.
Huck pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on March 28, 1990, in a plea agreement with prosecutors and was sentenced to five to 18 years. He has since been released from prison.
Robert Bates was acquitted in November 1990 of charges that he helped in the murder of John Janey.
The Janey family attended the trials of all three men.
"In our case, John was part of the system, so you have to respect the system in order to respect the man," said Mike Janey, John Janey's older brother. "It worked the best it possibly could."
During the murder trial, Gray claimed he acted in self-defense and that John Janey came at him in the dark and savagely beat him.
Janey was able to get one handcuff on Gray, which was still attached when deputies found and arrested Gray the following day.
Janey was shot about 1:30 a.m. Deputies arrested Gray about six hours later on Stave Branch Road near Winfield. A .357 Magnum belonging to Janey and a second .357 Gray said Huck gave him were found nearby.
During the trial, questions of Janey's character and past reports of excessive use of force were used by the defense.
"Sometimes it was difficult," Mike Janey said. "It was difficult to hear the defense try to get that reasonable doubt.
"There were a couple of times I had to literally sit on my father's lap to keep him from going after the defense, and even the judge," he said.
The family says they have heard good and bad stories about John Janey and his years as a law enforcement officer, but say they mostly hear the good.
For several years following his brother's death, Mike Janey said the family would receive threatening letters and phone calls.
"There's always a crackpot out there that delights in somebody else's misery," he said.
It's been nearly 20 years since John Janey was killed, and the family has moved on, but they say his death and the circumstances surrounding it are always in the backs of their minds.
It also is a wound that is reopened every three years, when the family attends the parole hearings of Robert Gray to protest his release.
"You have to relive every minute of it," Mike Janey said.
When going through the events of that night and hearing both sides of the accounts of how her uncle died, Bragg said, "It almost feels like you're going to have a heart attack or burst a blood vessel."
"He was given life with mercy. I kind of take that literally - life," Mike Janey said. "I have a hard time dealing with the mercy part of it."
'He's done everything he can'
Gray is being held at Huttonsville Correctional Center. He comes up for parole on Oct. 5.
Gray's brother, Jim, said the family offers their continued condolences to the Janey family.
He said, however, he believes his brother has served his time according to his sentencing and he should be paroled.
"He's done everything he can to better himself," Jim Gray said.
"He's trained to become a certified electrician, he's gotten job offers, he has a supportive family and a place to stay," he said. "He's the type of prisoner they want to get of there."
The jury ruled life with mercy. The mercy part of the sentence has gotten lost somewhere along the way, he said.
Jim Gray said his family will be at the parole hearing to support his brother and also will present letters from family and friends testifying to Robert Gray's character and offering their support if he were released.
"He will not re-offend," Jim Gray said.
In a letter to the parole board, Putnam County Judge O.C. Spaulding, and the prosecutor of John Janey's trial states: "Mr. Gray should never be paroled.
"A police killer should not be granted parole, regardless of his behavior in the penitentiary. Granting Mr. Gray's parole would send the message to the criminal community that a policeman's life is cheap."
