Donte Parker facing escape, obstruction charges for running from Elyria cops

New felony escape, obstruction and other charges have been filed against Donte J. Parker II, the Elyria man accused of killing a man in Lorain in November 2024 before escaping Elyria police custody in February and trying to escape police again in July on the Black River. Already facing aggravated murder and other felony charges related to the killing, Parker, 24, of Bank Street was indicted Thursday by a grand jury in two separate cases filed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. In the first case, Parker faces felony charges of escape, having weapons under disability and obstructing official business, all related to his Feb. 3 escape from Elyria police custody. In the second case, related to his July 18 rearrest by Elyria police, Parker is charged with obstructing official business and possession of criminal tools, both felonies. Neither case has been assigned to a judge, according to court records, which also didn't say when Parker's first court appearance would be. Messages seeking comment were left for his attorney in the two new felony cases. The charges from February allege Parker had a Canik55 handgun on him when he was arrested after Elyria police officers found him under a bed in a Washington Avenue apartment Feb. 3. Handcuffed behind his back, Parker barged through a closed apartment door and into the night, where police officers and firefighters searched for him in vain thinking he had fallen or jumped into the Black River. He allegedly spent time on the run in Michigan and elsewhere, authorities said, before being spotted the morning of July 18 in the area of West 11th Street and Riverside Drive in Elyria. Officers chased Parker down. He was wearing only his underwear when he was pulled from the Black River, handcuffed and taken back into custody, according to police body camera footage that captured the arrest. Police also recovered fake currency, a knife and an iPhone that Parker had allegedly used during his escape, according to court records. On Aug. 25, Parker was arraigned in Lorain Municipal Court on aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and felonious assault charges in the alleged murder of 39-year-old Leonard A. McCall Jr. of Lorain. Lorain police said McCall was shot and killed near a West 14th Street home on Nov. 25. Found in front of the home with multiple gunshot wounds, McCall was treated by Lorain police officers and LifeCare paramedics but died at the scene, the Lorain Police Department said in a news release at the time. A motive in the killing has not been publicly disclosed by authorities. Parker was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $2.9 million bond total on all charges, according to jail records. Following Parker's escape in February, his girlfriend Petra Pintar also disappeared. The couple were rumored to have fled to Flint, Michigan, according to Elyria police and online wanted posters. Pintar, 20, surrendered April 3 to Elyria police. She was charged with failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a felony, for allegedly leading police on a Feb. 1 chase in her Ford Fusion on state Route 57. Pintar pleaded not guilty to that charge and is free on bond ahead of a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 15 in Judge Giovanna Bremke's courtroom, according to court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.