Second suspect arrested in connection to North Linden homicide of 13-year-old boy
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in northeast Columbus this spring.
According to court documents, an arrest was made Thursday after an investigation into the death of Angel Diaz led Columbus police to 21-year-old Dock Parker Jr., who was already on probation from multiple sentences out of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Police said that Parker, along with Jaivon Jones, who was arrested in June, were among at least four individuals inside a white Ford Escape that was seen on video surveillance driving along Medina Avenue, near East Hudson Street, on April 14, when shots were fired from the vehicle.
Investigators began looking for video surveillance between 8:15 and 10:15 p.m. and discovered evidence of a “muzzle blast” coming from the SUV in question. ShotSpotter technology showed shots were recorded from the area where Parker and Jones were allegedly driving while traveling 15 mph and a witness also observed gunshots coming from the vehicle.
Diaz, 13, was found around 10:15 p.m. in an alley behind East Hudson Street suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 10:25 p.m. and officers noted that a 2008-2012 white Ford Escape with a black bumper and temporary tags was seen in the area that night.
The investigation led police to Jones, who denied the shooting but admitted to being in the vehicle. Though he claimed to be alone, video evidence showed at least four individuals in the Ford.
Search warrants indicated that Jones’ cellphone location data, along with Parker’s phone data, were traveling together using the same cellphone towers. Additional data from the phone showed videos of the two in the Ford Escape posing with handguns. One of the guns, police say, had a “switch” attached to it, linking the gun to the shots fired at the scene that night.
A Franklin County Municipal Court judge issued Jones a $1.5 million bond in June, and on Friday, Parker, also charged with murder, received a $2 million bond in court Friday morning. Parker Jr., who has previous convictions for assault and multiple weapons charges, is next scheduled to appear in court Nov. 1 for a preliminary hearing.