The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the conviction and life sentence of a Pine Bluff man accused of involvement in two separate shootings that resulted in the death of one person.
Following a jury trial in 2024, Keundre Parker, 21, was convicted of one count of capital murder and four counts of aggravated assault.
In his appeal, Parker alleged that Circuit Judge Alex Guynn erred when he denied his request for lesser-included offenses and there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions.
Trial testimony showed that on the evening of June 7, 2021, Sharmaine Atkinson had taken her two cousins to their aunt’s house – the home of Parker’s mother. They went to her stepmother’s house, then back to Parker’s mother’s house.
When they arrived, Atkinson saw Parker, who was her cousin, and three other individuals standing in the driveway of the house.
She testified that she heard Parker scream “that’s the car” and moments later, the gunmen opened fire, discharging over 100 rounds, she also testified that she was able to recognize Parker as one of the people who fired the shots because of the street lights and muzzle flashes.
One of the two cousins who had been in the car died as a result of a gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Two other victims were in a car in the neighborhood that shots were fired at. One of them was Kenneth Jones, who was driving the vehicle which crashed into a house. His vehicle had a shot-up tire and a bullet hole inside the cab on the passenger side.
At trial, Parker’s attorney moved for a directed verdict, claiming Atkinson’s identification of Parker was questionable because of the darkness but prosecutor’s countered by saying Atkinson’s testimony was credible because of her family relationship with Parker and the gunfire itself provided enough light to see the shooter’s faces.
Prosecutors and the defense agreed that the jury would be given instructions for capital murder, first-degree murder and second-degree as lesser offenses but Parker’s attorneys wanted instructions for manslaughter and negligent homicide included but prosecutors contended those instructions did not fit the facts.
Those additions were denied, and Parker was sentenced to life plus 14 years in prison.
On appeal, Parker contended that the light from the firearms was insufficient for Atkinson to identify him but the Supreme Court ruling said that it was evident that there was street lighting, and the murder took place at Parker’s residence and one of Parker’s own witnesses testified that he was at the house that night.
