He had changed the color of his hair, as investigators had suspected. But after a month on the run, the man accused of firing the shot that killed an 11-year-old Spalding County girl in her bed was arrested, authorities said.
Kionta Jahaun Parks was charged last month with felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, violation of the street gang act, and violation of the domestic terrorism statute in the death of Asijah Jones, the sheriff’s office said. He also has outstanding warrants stemming from his alleged involvement in another shooting incident that he was recently linked to, according to investigators.
But Parks eluded capture for weeks, despite pleas from the sheriff’s office for him to surrender.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
“Late (Tuesday), we received information from Griffin P.D. Investigator Gene Clark that furthered our hunt for Parks, and corroborated information my investigators had gathered since the night of the murder,” Spalding Sheriff Darrell Dix said in a news release. “The information allowed us to zero in on an area Parks may have been in, and we deployed surveillance and arrest teams.”
On March 14 at around 1 a.m., shots were fired at a vehicle with a man and a 3-year-old inside in the Spalding Heights neighborhood near Griffin, the sheriff’s office said. The intended target wasn’t hit.
But Jones was struck by a bullet that pierced her bedroom wall, according to investigators. The sixth grader was beside her 10-year-old sister in bed at the time. Asijah died before deputies arrived, her family said.
“There were so many bullets, but only she was hit,” Angel Jones, Asijah’s sister, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I just heard her scream.”
On Tuesday, Parks was spotted in a vehicle traveling on North 13th Street, Dix said. When the vehicle pulled into the parking lot of a Liberty gas station on West Taylor Street, Parks got out and ran, the sheriff said.
But about 30 deputies and Griffin officers, SWAT team members and two police K-9s were waiting for Parks, Dix said.
“Once he saw what he was facing, he made the best choice and surrendered,” Dix said. “We immediately notified the Jones family of his arrest, and that we were one step closer to getting justice for Asijah.”
The woman who was driving the car Parks was in, Natasha Beckham, was also arrested and charged with hindering the apprehension or punishment of a fugitive, according to investigators. Beckham admitted she knew Parks was wanted for the girl’s murder but chose to help him hide, the sheriff said.
“That’s why she went to jail, and anyone else we can find that helped him, housed him or hid him will go to jail, too,” Dix said.
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