Meet The Parkers

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The Parkers are both wanted on various charges and have been on the run for years.

In March 1998, Dean Parker was under federal indictment in Detroit, Michigan for cocaine distribution and money laundering. Agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit had a solid case against Parker and his associates John Bryant and William 'Tank' Black, a high-flying sports agen who represented several NFL stars.

Parker, a handsome 6 foot 6 inch, athletic young man from a solid middle-class background was married to a beautiful young lady named Kim Parker. The couple had two young sons, Dean Jr. and Dylan, who atteneded private schools. Before the federal indictment came down, the Parkers enjoyed an upscale lifestyle at their secluded mini-mansion, complete with a man-made lake, in the Detroit suburb of Kipp, Michigan. 

 When agents initially attempted to arrest Dean Parker, he led them on a high-speed chase through the Detroit suburbs at speeds reaching 100 miles per hour and made a clean getaway. Agents later learned that Parker, his wife, and their children fled to Jamaica aboard a private jet owned by Tank Black. Black claimed that he tried to convince Parker to surrender and take his chances in court.  Instead, agents say, the Parker family adopted aliases, slipped back into the U.S., and went into hiding.

Determined To Run At All Costs

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Black told correspondent Tom Morris that he urged Parker to surrender to police.

In April 1998, Kim Parker was also charged with money laundering. In July 2000, Sports Illustrated magazine published an article about Tank Black's troubles with the feds and his relationship with Parker who was believed to have been involved in the sale of over 1,000 pounds of cocaine. That article gave IRS agent Kevin Boudreau his first major break in the hunt for the Parkers. The Parkers had been living a comfortable life in the upscale suburban community of North Richland Hills, Texas. When the article hit the stands, the Parkers were recognized by neighbors and fled their home.

In August 2000, Agent Boudreau enlisted the help of AMW to track the Parkers down. The first airing of the case generated credible tips from Detroit, Florida, and North Carolina. Agent Boudreau also learned that Parker was receiving help from one of his brothers, who was supplying him with a rental car. He also learned that Dean Parker was still flush with hundreds of thousands of dollars generated through cocaine trade. On July 16, 2001, AMW profiled the Parkers for a third time. Agents provided the show with some freshly obtained home video of the Parkers and new information about a tattoo on Kim Parker's arm the read, "Dean".  This time some credible tips came in.

AMW Viewer Helps Police With Arrest

 On September 13, 2001, an employee at a business in Beverly Hills, Calif. recognized Dean Parker's wife, Kim, from a segment on America's Most Wanted in June.   After verifying Dean Parker's identity by checking the AMW website, the employee called AMW and the FBI. Kim Parker was taken into custody and her children were picked up from school by police.

One of the children provided authorities with the address where the fugitive family had been hiding out in Moorpark, Calif. Agents were stunned to discover that the Parkers had been living lavishly in a rented 6,000 square foot mansion tucked away on an orange plantation. But, there was no sign of Dean Parker. Agents soon learned that Parker had traveled to Las Vegas and then Dallas two days before his wife was taken into custody.

Suspect Goes To Extreme Lengths Before Giving Up

In the early morning hours of September 22, 2001, Parker surfaced at a nightclub in East St. Louis, Missouri. Police say Parker and another man got into a shoot out with off-duty officers who were working security at Club Rio. During the exchange of gunfire in the club's parking lot, Parker was shot in the leg, but managed to flee in a pick-up truck with his accomplice and a third man. After a high-speed chase, the pick-up truck flipped over and Parker ran into the woods. A police dog was sent into the woods and subdued Parker. East St. Louis Police arrested him under the alias Christopher Bowie and took him to St. Mary's hospital in East St. Louis for treatment of his gunshot wound and dog bites.

On Sunday afternoon, Parker escaped from the hospital wearing his patient's gown, covered in blood. Ten minutes later, Parker showed up at the Metro East Cab company on foot.  Parker wanted a cabbie to drive him across the river to north St. Louis, and offered him $100.  Reluctantly, one of the drivers took the fare.  The next day, detectives tracked Parker to a home in Florissant, MO, but Parker, armed with a .45 caliber handgun, burst from the house and took off on foot through the residential neighborhood.

After unsuccessfully attempting to carjack a female motorist, Parker ran up to the home of Bob Edwards. Police say a desperate Parker forced Edwards back into his residence and took a 27-year-old female hostage in the bathroom. Edwards managed to escape from the rear of the house. But with the house surrounded, Parker forced the woman to sit on his lap and read Psalm 23 to him from the Bible.

Finally, Parker indicated that he would surrender, but suddenly changed his mind, put the .45 to his head and pulled the trigger. Thus ended the life of the high-living fugitive drug lord who had no prior history of violence.

 After she was informed of her husband's death, Kim Parker told agents that he had seen all three AMW shows profiling his case and had grown weary of running but was determined not to surrender.