After stealing a vehicle in Beaumont and using it as a battering ram to barrel through Parkdale Mall at 1 a.m. on April Fool’s Day to abscond with thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise, the Amarillo suspect in a crime spree that spans two East Texas cities over several hours was arrested in Lufkin after a shoot-out with police.
According to Communications Director Jessica Pebsworth for the city of Lufkin, Jamelle Yantoine Parker, 35, was arrested April 2 by the Lufkin Police Department (LPD) after he was wounded by an officer following a gas station robbery and carjacking that occurred around 3:20 a.m. off Loop 287 West in Lufkin.
Parker, who was paroled from prison on Dec. 19, 2022, was arrested and taken to an out-of-town hospital. He was released from the hospital and transported to the Angelina County Jail on numerous charges.
Two hours prior to Parker’s alleged criminality undertaking in Lufkin, Parker is alleged to have likewise exacted a crime spree in Beaumont on April 1.
At 11 p.m., the suspect, described as a black male wearing a red jacket and blue jeans, approached a woman airing up her tires at the 7-11 convenience store at 501 Washington Ave. and threatened her, stealing her tan Ford Expedition, reported the Beaumont Police Department (BPD). At midnight, the same described suspect entered Criss-Cross convenience store at 350 Martin Luther King Parkway in Beaumont, threatened the clerk, and fled with an undisclosed amount of money.
At 1:15 a.m., the same vehicle drove through an entrance of Parkdale Mall and the same described suspect burglarized two jewelry and perfume kiosks, stealing thousands of dollars of worth of merchandise. The suspect then fled in the Expedition.
Pebsworth reported that, after leaving Beaumont, Parker is believed to have traveled north to Lufkin, where he wrecked the stolen SUV into a Frank Avenue Big’s convenience store, robbed the store and threatened to kill the store clerk.
Following the robbery, Parker reportedly fled on foot to a nearby Whataburger where he assaulted, threatened and carjacked a drive-thru customer. In both incidents, Parker allegedly alluded to having a gun while reaching into his waistband.
A Lufkin PD officer responded to the robbery at Whataburger to witness the carjacking in progress, the police report, with the officer attempting to stop the carjacking by blocking the drive-thru with his patrol vehicle.
Instead of retreating, the Lufkin police report that Parker drove the stolen SUV forward, toward the officer. The officer fired on the suspect, wounding Parker in the legs, according to Pebsworth. The officer was not injured in the incident.
Parker was taken into custody while still attempting to evade officers in the stolen vehicle, the police further report. A search of the stolen Beaumont vehicle (wrecked into the Lufkin Big’s) uncovered what appeared to be sales tags that had been removed from jewelry, according to Pebsworth. Parker was also reportedly wearing a large amount of gold jewelry when he was arrested.
Pebsworth noted Lufkin PD detectives are coordinating with BPD on the return of the recovered vehicle and jewelry. According to data released by the Lufkin PD, Parker has 10 prior arrests in Texas on offenses including two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault against an elderly individual, burglary of a habitation, burglary of a vehicle, criminal trespass, evading arrest and prohibited substance in a correctional facility. Parker was released from prison early on a 15-year sentence for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was to be on parole until July 1, 2026.
Pebsworth added Lufkin PD will notify Parker’s parole officer of his new offenses, while the agency continues the robbery and carjacking investigation with assistance from BPD detectives. Pebsworth said, per LPD policy, the Texas Rangers are investigating the officer-involved shooting.
“We expect footage of the officer-involved shooting to be available once witnesses have been identified and interviewed,” she said.