More criminal charges filed against Donte Parker II for December 2024 incident

Seven more felonies and three more misdemeanor charges have been filed against Donte Parker II, an Elyria man already facing charges in a 2024 Lorain murder and a monthslong escape from Elyria police earlier this year. Parker, 24, of Bank Street was indicted Sept. 25 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court on one count each of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and telecommunications fraud, and two counts each of strangulation and abduction, all felonies. Misdemeanor charges include assault, aggravated menacing and theft. No attorney was listed in court records and no judge has been assigned to the newest case, according to court records. Parker was being held on $3.65 million bond in the Lorain County Jail on all the charges, which now total 27 felonies and misdemeanors across four separate cases. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said the allegations came from several incidents in late 2024 in which Parker allegedly assaulted a woman multiple times, transferred money from her bank account to himself under threat and threatened her life. The first incident was Dec. 21, when a witness told Elyria police they saw Parker dragging a woman out of a building. When the victim called for help, Parker allegedly stole her car keys and fled in a Nissan SUV, Pierre said. The alleged victim told police Parker strangled her and threatened to shoot up her house. He later entered her home while she was in the shower, threatened her with a kitchen knife and forced her to transfer $880 from her bank account to him, Pierre said. Parker punched the victim, wouldn't let her leave and said he would kill her, then strangled her with the belt from a robe until she couldn't breathe, Pierre said. He pushed her into a closet, telling the woman "This is death row" and said he would kill her if she wouldn't be with him, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Parker then tried to take the woman to a drug deal but the witness saw what was happening and called police. In another case, Parker is charged with aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and felonious assault in the shooting death of Leonard A. McCall Jr., 39, of Lorain. Lorain police said McCall was found in front of a house on West 14th Street on Nov. 25 with multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Lorain police did not give a motive for the killing. Two months later, on Feb. 3, Parker was arrested by Elyria police who found him hiding under a bed in a Washington Avenue apartment with an illegal handgun. Parker also had outstanding warrants for his arrest. Handcuffed, Parker managed to push his way out a door and run out of the apartment building, evading pursuing Elyria officers in the dark. Authorities searched the Black River and its banks for several days afterward thinking Parker may have tried to swim across and drowned. But Parker wasn't dead. Instead, he allegedly fled to Michigan and reportedly traveled elsewhere, with police and federal agents in pursuit. He eventually returned to Ohio and was seen walking in the area of West 11th Street and Riverside Drive in Elyria on July 18. Parker fled from police a second time, but officers caught up with him as he jumped into the Black River. Wearing only a pair of underwear and socks and still struggling against a police officer, Parker was handcuffed and taken into custody. Police seized fake currency, a knife and an iPhone Parker allegedly used during his nearly six months on the run, according to court records. Felony charges of obstructing official business and possession of criminal tools were added to his cases. For the Feb. 3 flight from police, Parker was charged with escape, having weapons under disability and obstructing official business.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.