Moore Man Pleads Guilty to Firearm Possession by Prohibited Person

OKLAHOMA CITY – JEREMY SHAWN PARKE, 46, of Moore, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

According to court records, on the afternoon of May 5, 2018, the Moore Police Department received a report of shots fired in a Moore residential neighborhood. Officers made contact with a neighborhood resident who said she heard loud bangs from a nearby home. Police went to the home of Parke, where they had responded to previous incidents, and discovered a Ruger, Model AR 556 rifle and numerous spent shell casings on Parke’s back patio and in the yard. There were apparent bullet holes in his backyard fence. Officers eventually discovered a shotgun and additional rounds of ammunition inside Parke’s home.

On May 6, 2018, a Moore resident, whose home was in the adjacent neighborhood to Parke’s home, reported to the Moore Police Department that she discovered a bullet near her infant son’s crib. An officer responded to her home, where she explained that on the afternoon of May 5—at the time that the police department received a separate report of shots being fired—she heard a loud noise. She went upstairs to check on her sleeping baby.  She noticed his crib railing was broken, but she thought the baby had perhaps chewed on it. The next day, however, while cleaning behind his crib, the mother noticed a bullet hole that aligned with the piece of broken crib railing. On the floor, she discovered the bullet. Law enforcement determined that it was the same caliber that could be fired from the AR 556 rifle that was seized from Parke the day before.

Parke’s possession of the firearms and ammunition was illegal because he was subject to a Cleveland County protective order that prohibited him from harassing, stalking, or threatening a former intimate partner. It also advised him that he was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. According to records obtained from a local gun dealership, Parke purchased the AR 556 on March 21, 2018. When he completed the paperwork required to purchase the rifle, Parke checked "No" in answer to the question: "Are you subject to a court order restraining you from harassing, stalking, or threatening your . . . intimate partner?"

Parke was charged by criminal complaint on May 21, 2018, and arrested shortly thereafter.  On June 28, 2018, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person before United States District Court Judge Timothy D. DeGuisti. Parke remains in custody and will be sentenced in approximately 90 days.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Moore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Jacquelyn Hutzell, prosecuted the case.

Reference is made to court filings for further information.