Updates: Convicted murderer moved

Parks transferred from jail to prison

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130409/NEWS01/304090053/Updates-Murder-victim-mourned-convicted-murderer-moved

Convicted murderer Gary Wayne Parks now is at the Ouachita River Correctional Unit. Parks was transferred there Friday from the Baxter County Detention Center. 
In a surprise move as his murder trial entered its second week on April 1, Parks, 42, pleaded no contest and was convicted in the June 2006 stabbing death of his 62-year-old stepfather Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain urologist. 
The first-degree murder plea agreement called for Parks to serve 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with authorities by providing information regarding any accomplices or co-conspirators involved in Millstein’s death. 
After the surprise plea deal, Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department, the lead investigator in the case, said he hoped to speak with Parks soon regarding any potential accomplices. Barnes said investigators, during the course of the investigation which lasted six years, identified another suspect who may have been involved in the murder, though he declined to name the potential suspect. 
When investigators will speak to Parks is not yet known, according to Mountain Home Police Chief Carry Manuel. 
“We have not spoken to Gary Parks at this point,” Manuel told The Bulletin Tuesday. “We are working with the prosecutor’s office to determine the most advantageous time to speak with him.” 
Should such a conversation lead investigators toward the suspect they’ve identified, Manuel said that information likely will be held close by authorities. 
“We won’t divulge any information that could potentially hinder the investigation,” Manuel said. 
The unnamed suspect could have ties to a murder that occurred in Little Rock almost 20 years ago. Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks shot to death while on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him. 
Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open. 
“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.” 
Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president. 
After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes. 
After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents. 
— Josh Dooley


http://adc.arkansas.gov/inmate_info/search.php?dcnum=154545&lastname=Parks&firstname=Gary&sex=b&agetype=1&__utma=93856461.1383081963.1365220929.1365220929.1365220929.1&__utmz=93856461.1365220929.1.1.utmcsr%3Dgoogle%7Cutmccn%3D%28organic%29%7Cutmcmd%3Dorganic%7Cutmctr%3D%28not+provided%29

Parks pleads no contest in Millstein murder case

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130402/NEWS01/304020025/Parks-pleads-no-contest-Millstein-murder-case

Prosecutor: Agreement opens door to 'bring to justice others'

Written By: Josh Dooley

In a stunning move, Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial ended Monday when he pleaded no contest to killing Dr. David Millstein. He was found guilty and received a 30-year sentence with 10 years suspended for first-degree murder on the condition he cooperate with authorities as they continue investigating the case.

Parks, 42, had been on trial since March 25 in Baxter County Circuit Court for the June 2006 murder of Millstein, his 62-year-old stepfather, a Mountain Home urologist. He could have been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole if convicted on the capital murder charge.

Monday’s session was to have begun with Circuit Judge John Putman expected to rule whether the jury would be allowed to hear testimony from a former Baxter County jailer who said Parks confessed to her that he killed his stepfather. However, while the jury was sequestered in a separate room, Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade and Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism moved back and forth between Putman’s chambers and the office occupied by Parks and his defense team — attorneys Danny Glover and Joe Perry.

Shortly after 10 a.m., with the jury still out of the room, Parks and his attorneys joined Putman in the courtroom. Putman asked Kincade if a plea agreement had been reached, and Kincade indicated an agreement had, indeed, been reached.

When Putman asked if he was pleading no contest to first-degree murder, Parks, in a low voice, responded, “Yes, sir.”

Putman then went through the rights Parks was giving up with the plea, including the right to appeal. After going over the plea with Parks, Putman asked Kincade if the agreement served the interests of justice.

“Your honor, if I may make a statement about that,” Kincade said, before proceeding. “I have come to this decision with some reluctance, and all of my staff is not in agreement. I do think we’ve presented evidence to the jury to prove that this defendant killed Dr. Millstein.”

“I do this for the family of Dr. Millstein, specifically Aaron and Richard (Millstein’s biological sons).

No one in this room, or this community, has lost more than these two young men. This assures one, a conviction. There’s no appeal, the family will have closure,” Kincade told the judge. “I’m well aware the defense has evidence to present, and the case is only half over. We owe a debt to the family.”

“It gives us an opportunity to examine and potentially bring to justice others who may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” added Kincade. “This plea provides that opportunity.”

Putman then asked Parks’ attorneys if they had gone over the the potential ramifications with Parks. Glover and Perry said they had discussed all the relevant matters with Parks prior to him signing off on the agreement.

In response to Putman asking what sentence the state recommended, Kincade listed the time prosecutors wanted Parks to serve in jail. In addition, Kincade also set out what authorities wanted from Parks in the way of information.

“Judge, the state’s recommending 30 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, 10 of those years suspended with 20 years to do, that he will provide truthful testimony and cooperation against any accomplices or co-defendants that may have been involved in the murder of Dr. Millstein,” Kincade said.

Putman asked Parks if he had anything to say before sentencing.

In a low voice, Parks replied, “No, sir.”

“Let me just say this,” Putman began. “I practiced law both as a defense attorney and as a deputy prosecutor, and I think I understand criminal law. I think I understand trying cases, and I know that there’s a lot to be argued on both sides of this case.

“Sometimes there has to be compromise. Given this crime, and the way it was committed, the only reason — the only reason — I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices. That is the reason I’m willing to go with this,” said Putman.

After a day of jury selection and through the course of four days of testimony, more than 35 witnesses testified and more than 100 pieces of evidence were introduced by the prosecution. Before the plea agreement was announced, prosecutors had a computer with speakers set up Monday morning, the same gear they used to play a clandestine recording made by police of a conversation between Parks and Charles Enoch Miller, a friend of Parks.

Prosecutors told the court they had three more recordings they wanted to play to the jury.

Millstein Murder Timeline

• June 18, 2006 — Mountain Home police discover Dr. David Millstein’s body after being asked to check on his welfare.
• Dec. 8, 2009 — Police arrest Gary Wayne Parks on a charge of capital murder for the stabbing death of Millstein, his stepfather.
• January 2012 — Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade announces the state will not seek the death penalty for Millstein’s murder.
• 2011-2012 — Parks’ trial is delayed three times, twice at the request of defense attorneys who asked for more preparation time and once because of new testimony expected to be presented.
• March 25, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks’ capital murder trial begins with jury selection.
• April 1, 2013 — Gary Wayne Parks enters a no-contest plea to a reduced charge of first-degree murder and is sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended if he cooperates with investigators who say he may have had help in planning Millstein’s death, and want Parks to tell them about any accomplice or co-conspirator.

Parks may not have acted alone

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130402/NEWS01/304020026/Parks-may-not-acted-alone

Written by: Josh Dooley

While the Gary Wayne Parks murder trial ended Monday with his no-contest plea to first-degree murder in the June 2006 death of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, the investigation into the slaying continues, according to Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.

“Gary Parks killed Dr. Millstein,” Barnes told The Bulletin Monday after Parks was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the killing. “During the investigation, we uncovered some facts that indicate someone may have been involved in the planning of the murder.”

Baxter County Prosecutor Ron Kincade recommended to Circuit Judge John Putman that 10 years of Parks’ sentence be suspended if he cooperates with investigators and provides information about any accomplices or co-conspirators he had in Millstein’s murder.

Putman reluctantly agreed to the recommendation.

“The only reason I’m accepting this plea is because of an agreement of full cooperation against potential co-conspirators or accomplices,” Putman said. “That is the reason I’m willing to go along with this.”

A single additional individual has been identified as being potentially involved in the murder, according to Barnes.

“We’re looking at a single suspect at this time. We don’t anticipate others, though that could change if new information came to light,” Barnes said Monday afternoon, declining to name the suspect.

A cold case gets new life

The unnamed suspect could have ties to a murder that occurred in Little Rock almost 20 years ago.
Gary Parks’ biological father, Luther Gerald “Jerry” Parks, was killed Sept. 26, 1993. Jerry Parks was driving on Chenal Parkway on the outskirts of Little Rock when another vehicle pulled up beside him.

A witness stated he heard gunshots, and then the second vehicle pulled away at a high rate of speed, according to a police report.

Several 9mm shell casings were found at the scene, Barnes said, noting the murder has never been solved and the Little Rock Police Department investigation into the crime remains open.

“We have been in contact with Little Rock Police as recently as last week,” Barnes said. “I think they consider the same person a potential suspect in that case as we consider an additional suspect in the Millstein murder.”

Jerry Parks owned a security business that provided protection for the campaign headquarters of President Bill Clinton when he first ran for president.

After Jerry Parks’ death, his wife, Lois Jane Parks, who later married Dr. David Millstein, inherited a significant amount of money along with a business, according to Barnes.

After Millstein’s death, Lois Jane Parks Millstein received $500,000 from a life insurance policy taken out on Millstein, according to court documents.

Gary Parks eventually will be transferred from the Baxter County jail to a facility within the Arkansas Department of Corrections system. Barnes said he hopes investigators get to speak with Parks about any potential accomplice prior to that expected transfer.

“We want to do this as quick as possible,” Barnes said.

Barnes has spent almost seven years working on the Millstein murder, and while he said he was relieved to see Parks go to prison, he was not entirely satisfied with the outcome.

“Personally, I didn’t feel it was enough,” Barnes said of the sentence Parks received. “But, I also understand why the prosecutor did what he did. I respect him and stand with him.”

Parks will have to serve a total of 15 years before he is eligible for parole, according to Kincade. Parks already has served a little more than three years in the Baxter County jail awaiting trial. With Putman granting him credit for time already served, Parks could spend as little as slightly less than 12 years in prison for Millstein’s murder.

Parks enters no contest plea

http://ktlo.com/wire/newsmon/03126_PARKS_ENTERS_NO_CONTEST_PLEA_124042.php

Written by: Ray Dean Davis

In a surprise move this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court capital murder defendant Gary Wayne Parks entered a no contest plea to a reduced charge of first degree murder. In accordance with the agreement, Circuit Judge John Putman sentenced Parks to 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended. Parks will also be given credit for the slightly more than three years he has served in the Baxter County Detention Center.

     In addition, as part of the plea agreement, Parks agreed to cooperate with authorities in any future cases involving accomplices or co-conspirators in the 2006 murder of Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home.

Ray Dean Davis has more on the story.

The plea came on what would have been the fifth day of testimony in the case. Judge Putman said the only reason he was accepting the plea agreement was due to the part of it that requires Parks' cooperation in further investigation of the crime.

Prosecutor Ron Kincade said it was with some reluctance that he came to the decision to agree with the plea. He said some of his staff was not in agreement with the decision.

Kincade said he decided to go along with it for the Millstein family, specifically Dr. Millstein's sons, Aaron and Richard. He said the family has suffered enough in the matter. He said he had spoken with family members and believed they agreed with the decision.

Kincade also said the plea gives authorities an opportunity to look at others who may have been involved in the crime.

Parks answered yes and no questions from the judge concerning the plea. When asked if he had anything to say before sentencing, Parks quietly answered no.

The charge of first-degree murder could have carried a sentence of 10 to 40 years or life in prison. Parks was also ordered to pay $470 in court related fees.

His no contest plea means he isn't admitting guilt in the murder, but acknowledges that the state might have enough evidence to convict him if the case went to the jury. He will not be able to appeal the plea and he will be eligible for parole at some point.

Parks was charged with the stabbing death of Dr. Millstein, his stepfather, in June of 2006 at the Millstein residence in Mountain Home. The prosecution had presented four days worth of testimony from witness. The defense had not yet presented its case.

Parks accepts plea bargain: 30 years in prison

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130401/NEWS01/130401001/Parks-accepts-plea-bargain-30-years-prison?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Written by: Bulletin Staff

Gary Wayne Parks, 42, pleaded nolo contendre to a first-degree murder charge and accepted a plea bargain this morning. Parks was accused of killing his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist, in June 2006.

Parks agreed to serve 30 years in prison, with 10 years suspended and credit for time served, and he has been incarcerated since December 2009.

Parks murder trial enters second week today

http://ktlo.com/wire/newsmon/03083_Parks_trial_enters_second_week_today_072722.php

By: Richard Hester

The start of week two of the capital murder trial of Gary Wayne Parks begins this morning in Baxter County Circuit Court as the State continues to present its case. Parks is being tried for the alleged murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein of Mountain Home, in June of 2006.

On Friday, the State presented six witnesses including one of Park's best friends, Enoch Miller of Little Rock, who told the court Parks told him about four days after Millstein was murdered that he had done it. Miller said Parks told him Millstein had hurt his mother because she had invested money in his medical practice and his business was falling off. He said Parks claimed he had been at Millstein's house and had "lost it" and that he went into a rage and stabbed Millstein as he was sleeping.

Another witness, Alan Gwin, also of Little Rock, testified that Parks asked him two weeks prior to the murder what he would think about killing someone for a large amount of money. The State has contended the motive for the murder was financial and Millstein had a $500,000 life insurance policy.

The prosecution is expected to continue presenting witnesses today with the defense expected to argue its case sometime later this week. 

Parks affidavit unsealed: Document sheds new light

http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130401/NEWS01/304010019/Parks-affidavit-unsealed-Document-sheds-new-light

Written by: Josh Dooley

On Friday, Baxter County Circuit Court Judge John Putman unsealed the probable cause affidavit filed by police in December 2009 in order to obtain an arrest warrant for Gary Wayne Parks in connection with his stepfather’s murder.

Parks, 42, is currently on trial for the June 2006 murder of his stepfather, Dr. David Millstein, a Mountain Home urologist. The affidavit was prepared by Lt. Nevin Barnes of the Mountain Home Police Department.

While much of what is contained in the affidavit has been the subject of court testimony last week, some of the statements in the affidavit have not been testified to, and may never be put before the jury.

Other information contained in the affidavit may yet come before the jury as the trial, barring a plea agreement or other unexpected resolution, is scheduled to resume this morning.

No witnesses have described seeing Parks with anything that could potentially be the murder weapon.
However, in the affidavit, Barnes describes a witness who told investigators he did see Parks with a weapon following Millstein’s murder.

Alan Gwin testified on Friday and told the jury Parks came to his home after Millstein had been murdered.

“He came in and said something happened to his stepfather,” Gwin said in court.
Gwin also testified that in another conversation, Parks asked Gwin what God would think about killing someone for a large amount of money.

What the jury did not get to hear, and what the affidavit says Gwin told investigators, is that approximately a week after Millstein’s murder, Parks went to Gwin’s home, talked about his days as a Navy SEAL, and began talking about a knife.

“He stated Gary Parks was talking about his knife when he went out to his vehicle and came back with a knife,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit of what Gwin told investigators in February 2007. “He described the knife as a military looking knife with a six to seven inch single edge blade with a hilt. He said Gary Parks asked him to hold the knife and feel it. The witness stated that he got a really ‘eerie’ feeling about his behavior and the knife.”

Parks talks to police

It’s unknown if Parks will take the stand and testify. During voir dire (questioning potential jurors), defense attorney Danny Glover asked potential jurors if they understood Parks had the right not to testify and if they understood the law says if he does not testify, jurors cannot take that into account in deciding Parks’ innocence or guilt.

Jurors have already heard Barnes testify as to some of the conversations he had with Parks during the course of the investigation.

Two days after police found Millstein’s body in the bedroom of his Stephens Court residence, police interviewed Parks.

“Gary Parks requested to know the details of the investigation and asked if someone came in and decapitated him,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Gary Parks stated he could reach out into the ‘meth’ community and find out who it was. Gary Parks stated different groups have their own ways of homicide.”

During testimony last week, Barnes told jurors that Parks offered two other theories for who killed Millstein. Barnes told jurors that on one day Parks told him the KKK killed Millstein. The very next day, Barnes told the jury, Parks said it was a “homosexual killing.”

The timeline of Parks’ movements before and immediately after Millstein’s murder has been the subject of the testimony of several witnesses during the trial, though little has been definitive.
In the affidavit, Barnes said Parks told him on June 20, 2006, that he was at a Maumelle restaurant until 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16, 2006. After leaving the restaurant, Parks went to a birthday party until 1 a.m. on Saturday, June 17, 2006, Barnes said in the affidavit.

In an interview less than a month later, Parks told police he got home at 9 p.m. on Friday June 16, 2006, spent the night with his daughter, and never left the house again, according to the affidavit.
During a third interview, Parks reportedly told police he did attend the party, got home between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., and didn’t leave the house again until after 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

Parks' mother doesn't talk to police

One June 20, 2006, investigators called Lois Jane Parks Millstein to discuss her husband’s murder, and according to the affidavit, that was the first contact police had with her following her husband’s death.

“During the telephone conversation Jane Millstein said she had not slept well and didn’t know when she would be available to make a statement,” Barnes wrote in the affidavit. “Jane Millstein told the investigator that they stayed with Millstein three to four days and left Friday afternoon. She stated Millstein was supposed to come to Maumelle that weekend, but he never showed up. Jane Millstein stopped and said she didn’t want to answer anymore questions without an attorney.”

The Charles Enoch Miller recordings

One of the prosecution’s most important witnesses, Charles Enoch Miller, testified on Friday last week that Parks broke down and confessed he killed his stepfather, stabbing him several times because Millstein was draining his mother’s money.

Jurors heard an audio recording Friday of conversation between Parks and Miller obtained after police put a hidden recording device on Miller and sent him to attempt to get evidence against Parks. Jurors heard a 90-minute profanity-laced conversation during which Parks never openly admits to killing Millstein.

Other recordings were made, Barnes wrote in the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, more than one recording was made where Miller tells Parks police are going to charge Miller with being a conspirator in the murder. During those conversations, according to the affidavit, Parks made the following statements:

• “They wanna build a fake case and get you to tell them the story.”
• “You are the only person that they think I might confess something to, because they have nothing else.”
“I know what they don’t have, physical evidence. You know me, I will never admit (expletive deleted). Nobody, anywhere, anytime, ever.”
• “I guess being a sociopath is a blessing to somebody without a conscience.”

“They have no (expletive deleted) clothes with blood on it, they have no (expletive deleted) murder weapon, they can’t put me within a hundred miles of Mountain Home.”

Barnes wrote in the affidavit that during one of the recordings, Parks addresses the critical time period of late Friday night June 16 and the early morning hours of June 17, 2006.

“Gary Parks later tells the witness (Miller), ‘that he has every bit of time (accounted for), except for five (expletive deleted) hours Friday – Saturday early, early Saturday morning. They can put me in Little Rock ... that whole time except for five hours.’”

That time period is critical, as that’s when authorities allege Parks killed his stepfather. Many witnesses have testified Parks attended a birthday party on the Friday night prior to Millstein’s murder, though none of the witnesses agreed on exactly when Parks left.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kerry Chism indicated to the judge Friday that prosecutors expect to play three more recordings for the jury.

Putman is expected to rule this morning if the jury will be allowed to hear the testimony of former Baxter County jailer Linda Henryk who testified during a suppression hearing Friday that while employed at the jail, Parks confessed to her that he killed Millstein.

If convicted, Parks faces up to life in prison without parole.