His bail is a cash bond of $300,000
ARIZONA, United States, Tues. Feb. 7, 2018– Hezron Parks, 21, a Belizean national from Independence Village in the Stann Creek District, has been employed by the e-commerce company, Amazon, and living in the United States legally for the last five years.
However, his life changed permanently on Monday when he was arraigned in connection with the murder of an off-duty Marine veteran.
The Marine veteran, Captain Kyle Brayer, 34, was shot in the head in what appeared to be a road rage incident. American media outlets are reporting that prior to the shooting, Parks had been out partying in Scottsdale, Arizona, and got into a fight with a bouncer at one club, was denied entry to another and left a third club because he did not like his drink.
After that, Parks was heading home in Phoenix at around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday when he clashed with Brayer, who was riding in a golf cart taxicab with two other friends in the vicinity of Civic Center Plaza.
It is alleged that Parks had been bumping the golf cart in his red Scion coupe, and Brayer was facing backwards.
Parks told police that one of the men on the cart was saying unknown things to him and alleged that Brayer, at one point, kicked the hood of his car.
Eventually, both vehicles came to a stop, according to Parks, who told police that Brayer got off the golf cart and approached the driver’s side of the vehicle with his hands in the air without saying anything.
According to Parks, he felt threatened when Brayer moved towards him, and so he grabbed a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber handgun from the center console of his vehicle, pointed it at Brayer and pulled the trigger.
Parks told police that he didn’t know a round was in the chamber because he did not typically keep one there.
Court documents reveal that Parks told investigators that after he fired the shot, he did not know where Brayer was because he didn’t see him.
After the shooting, Parks fled east on Stetson and south on 75th Street, hitting other cars along the way, according to police and court records.
Brayer was rushed to the hospital, where he was certified dead.
Ten hours later, Parks turned himself in to police after seeing reports and vehicle descriptions on local media channels.
During a search of his home in Phoenix, police found a .40-caliber handgun and a damaged red Scion.
On Monday, Parks was charged with second-degree murder and is currently being held on a US $300,000 cash bond because of the nature of the offence and because he has ties outside the United States.
Parks is to return to court on February 12.
His father, Michael Parks, today told Amandala that the news came as a shock because his son had no criminal past in Belize or the United States. He told our newspaper that he was in an emotional state and could not provide further details because he had not yet spoken to his son to get his account of what transpired.
The last time he heard his son’s voice was the same night when the incident unfolded. According to him, at no point was there any indication that his son had any conflict with anyone.
The senior Parks is today leaving the country to visit his son, who remains detained. He revealed that he has three other children living in the US.