Man sentenced in 2016 murder
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 18, 2017 12:34 PM
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Montrell Demontrin Allen
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Darius Lamar Chestnut
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Jerry Aundrey Parks
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Jennele Lea Howard
A man will spend between 18 and 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to a litany of charges, including second-degree murder, in an armed robbery turned killing in 2016.
Jerry Aundrey Parks, 43, of 912 N. John St., pleaded guilty last Thursday in Wayne County Superior Court to second-degree murder, attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree burglary and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
There were four other people allegedly involved in the incident, two of whom have taken plea deals, while the other two await the outcome of the cases against them.
Billy Renaldo Hamm, 45, also of 912 N. John St., took a plea deal, as did 37-year-old Jennele Lea Howard Wall.
Hamm has not been sentenced, as his plea agreement is contingent on his testimony against the other two men allegedly involved, 43-year-old Montrell Demontrin Allen, of 104 Jessica Place, and 37-year-old Darius Lamar Chestnut, of 907 N. Carolina St.
Assistant District Attorney Davis Weddle, who is prosecuting the case, said both men are charged for their alleged part in the robbery.
Weddle said Wall is an admitted prostitute and went to turn a trick on the victim of the killing, 47-year-old Carlos Ceasar Vasquez Luna, and set him up for a robbery.
Weddle said the plan was for Wall to go inside and turn a trick on Luna with the intent to survey the home for firearms. He said she was to then text the others waiting outside that it was all clear for them to commit the robbery, if Luna had no firearms.
"She went in, performed a trick on him and sent them a text, and she got the victim to open the door for her, and as he opened the door, she ran out and Jerry Parks and Billy Hamm went inside," Weddle said.
"The victim had a shotgun. She did not tell them that, and he fired off a couple of shots, and their reasoning for shooting was they were surprised -- I mean they took guns with them -- but they were surprised that he had a shotgun. Basically, their position is it was a robbery gone wrong."
Wall pleaded in January to second-degree murder and other related charges for her part in the January 2016 killing of Luna.
She was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years in prison.
Weddle said Parks and Hamm are cousins, and Parks could have had a difficult time at trial with his cousin set to testify against him.
With three people involved in the robbery-turned-murder now pleading to charges against them, only two await their day in court for the totality of the case to be resolved.