A Corbin man, who died after an assault in prison Sunday, was serving time in connection with a pair of Fayette County felony cases.
Kentucky State Police (KSP) from Post 8 in Morehead were contacted by the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) Sunday at 6:25 p.m. to investigate an assault that occurred between two inmates, according to a KSP release.
KSP troopers and detectives responded to the prison after correctional officers located Marcus D. Gray, 49, unresponsive in his cell. Lifesaving measurers were provided to Gray while awaiting the arrival of Morgan County EMS, according to the release.
Gray was first transported to Morgan County ARH hospital and then flown to the University of Kentucky Albert V. Chandler Hospital in Lexington where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The preliminary investigation reveals that Gray had allegedly been assaulted by John D. Thomas, 32, of Burlington. Criminal charges had not been filed at the time the release was issued late Monday afternoon. The case will be presented to the Morgan County Grand Jury at their next meeting, according to the release.
Trooper Wes Montgomery is conducting the ongoing investigation. KSP was assisted on scene by the Morgan County Ambulance Service.
EKCC is a medium security institution located in the Appalachian Region of Morgan County in Eastern Kentucky. It began receiving inmates in February 1990, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections website.
Kentucky Online Offender Lookup (KOOL), which is an online inmate lookup service through the Kentucky Department of Corrections, listed only one Marcus Gray in the Kentucky correctional system Tuesday afternoon. It indicates that a Marcus Dean Gray, 48, had been incarcerated at EKCC since June 28, 2024. He was a medium classification inmate with a minimum expiration of sentence date on Dec. 5. 2033.
He would have been eligible for parole on July 29, 2026, and had a maximum expiration of sentence date of July 29, 2038.
Gray’s conviction information indicates that he was serving time for felony convictions on three charges in two different 2023 Fayette County cases.
In one case, Gray was convicted of first-degree trafficking in methamphetamine with a persistent felony offender enhancement on July 8, 2024, and received a 10-year prison sentence. The crime date was Jan. 19, 2023, according to KOOL information.
In another case, Gray was convicted of second-degree assault and trafficking in a controlled substance on July 8, 2024, and received a five-year prison sentence on the assault charge and a one-year prison sentence on the trafficking charge. The crime date for both was June 30, 2023, according to KOOL data.
KOOL information lists six inmates with the name John Thomas, but only one John Thomas as an inmate at EKCC.
John Dylan Thomas, 32, was convicted of second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief on May 5, 2025, in Kenton County. He received a seven-year prison sentence on the burglary charge and a five-year prison sentence on the criminal mischief charge, according to KOOL data.
Thomas has been an inmate at EKCC since April 22, 2025, and has a medium classification. He is eligible for parole on March 13, 2026, and his expected time to serve is until Nov. 5, 2030, according to KOOL data.
