Author: Tim Dees
By PoliceOne Staff
MOORHEAD, Minn. — A woman put a gun to a trooper’s head and tried to shoot him before being shot herself in the arm.
The Pioneer Press reports that on Monday, Trooper Mark Peterson stopped to help Melody Victoria Gray and her passenger, Domonique Maurice Crayton, after their car slid into the median of a highway. While the trooper tried to verify the information given by the pair, Peterson found that the VIN was reported stolen.
Peterson then positioned his patrol vehicle to prevent the suspects from getting away and asked Crayton to step out of the car. As the trooper attempted to handcuff Crayton, Gray allegedly pointed the gun at Peterson’s head and pulled the trigger.
The gun didn’t fire.
Peterson took Crayton to the ground while Gray pointed the gun at the trooper. Peterson then fired and hit the woman in her right arm.
The trooper wasn’t injured and recovered Gray’s weapon before taking the two suspects into custody. On Wednesday, Crayton appeared in court and said he is of a “sovereign nation” and told officials his name was Donald Moor El. He insisted that Crayton no longer existed.
“I am not that person. That person is dead,” he told the court repeatedly as the judge explained the charges and Crayton’s options in getting a lawyer and fighting extradition to Milwaukee County. “You can’t be dealing with a person who is not here.”
Crayton also insisted that his arrests was a kidnapping.
“Somebody abducted me! Somebody kidnapped me!,” Crayton said in court.
Crayton was already being sought by Milwaukee County authorities for several felony charges, including kidnapping and human trafficking.
Gray was hospitalized and charges against her are pending. Peterson is on standard paid leave as authorities investigate, according to MPR News.
