Murder trial to start Tuesday morning in fatal 2024 Lorain shooting

ELYRIA — Opening statements are scheduled for today in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in the murder trial of an Elyria man accused of shooting and killing a Lorain man nearly two years ago. Donte J. Parker II, 25, of Bank Street, is charged with multiple counts of aggravated murder, murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, felonious assault and tampering with evidence, as well as improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone and attempted felonious assault, in the Nov. 25, 2024, death of 39-year-old Leonard A. McCall Jr. of Lorain. Parker has pleaded not guilty. He was being held in the Lorain County Jail on $3.7 million bond. Opening statements are set to begin at 9 a.m. in Judge Raymond Ewers' courtroom, where a jury was seated Monday. Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Matt Kern is leading the prosecution. Parker is represented by defense attorney Stourton Smith. Lorain police and Lorain County prosecutors allege that Parker shot McCall multiple times and killed him in front of a house on West 14th Street in Lorain. Parker faces multiple felony and misdemeanor charges in four other open cases in Common Pleas Court. They include allegations that he had a makeshift knife in the Lorain County Jail in November 2025 and that he kidnapped, robbed and strangled an Elyria woman in December 2024. In between, Parker allegedly fled Elyria officers, while handcuffed, during a February 2025 arrest. He was on the run for six months before an Elyria police officer saw Parker back in his neighborhood on July 18, 2025, chased him into the Black River and arrested him. Those two incidents resulted in escape, obstruction, weapons and theft charges, among others. Parker has pleaded not guilty in all five cases. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.