Revenge-driven murder defendants of Rocklin man face life sentences

Robert Manor and Victor Merle Gray were convicted March 17 of first-degree murder and kidnapping by a jury for the revenge-driven death of Rocklin resident Raymond Wright, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. Manor and Gray, a former felon, are facing the maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Their sentencing is set for 10 a.m. April 28 at the Superior Court of Sacramento County in Department 32 at 813 6th St., Sacramento. In 2011, Wright was driving under the influence and crashed into Manor's vehicle. Manor and his wife were seriously injured, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office press release on Monday. Wright was prosecuted and charged with felony Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and served his time and probation. On Jan. 11 2018, Wright went missing and his family checked his house in Rocklin and a shop he rented in Rio Linda, the press release stated. On Jan.13, 2018, Wright's brother checked Wright's home and found a stranger inside. Police collected a DNA sample from the straw of a fresh drink glass that the intruder left and it was uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database. The DNA upload would return a full-profile match after Gray was arrested on Jan. 27, 2018. According to the press release, Gray was under the influence Jan. 27 and led CHP on a high-speed chase. The chase ended in a crash and officers found a raincoat covered in Wright's blood, Wright's wallet and some of his other belongings in Gray's vehicle. Further investigation revealed a letter from Gray to Manor complaining about not being paid for "delivering dude" and asked Manor to take care of the person "who hand delivered you your revenge." Other evidence also linked Manor to the revenge killing and the hiring of Gray to kidnap Wright from his shop in Rio Linda.Wright's body has not yet been found. His pickup truck was found this past Jan. 18 in Sacramento. Wright's phone GPS last pinged near the Rio Linda and North Highlands area, according to Sacramento Police. The investigation was led by the Placer County District Attorney's Office, the Rocklin Police Department with the involvement of many other regional law enforcement agencies and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.