Moore man sentenced to three years for possession of firearm

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jeremy Shawn Parke, 46, of Moore, Oklahoma, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for possession of a firearm while under a victim protective order, announced Robert J. Troester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to court records, on the afternoon of May 5, 2018, the Moore Police Department received a report of shots fired in a residential neighborhood.  Officers contacted a resident who said she heard loud bangs from a nearby home.  Police went to Parke’s home, 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 resident in an adjacent neighborhood 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, she heard a loud noise.  When she checked on her sleeping baby, she noticed his crib railing was broken.  The next day, while cleaning behind the 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 they had seized from Parke the day before.

Parke’s possession of 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.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Parke to three years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release.  The court also ordered him to pay $1,885 in restitution for damage the bullet caused.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Moore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  Prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Jacquelyn Hutzell, it is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.

Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses on the most violent offenders and partners with local prevention and re-entry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

To enhance local effectiveness, the Western District of Oklahoma has emphasized prosecution of federal gun crimes connected to domestic violence.