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Twin Cities
March 8, 2014
The man accused in a Minneapolis “good Samaritan” slaying also sexually assaulted the shooting victim’s wife, prosecutors say.
Devon Derrick Parker, 20, was initially charged with a single count of second-degree murder that accused him of acting with intent but not premeditation in the Jan. 31 death of Thomas Sonnenberg, 69.
But on Feb. 21, prosecutors amended the criminal complaint Feb. 21 to add one count each of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The new complaint accuses Parker of sexually assaulting the victim’s wife while holding her hostage.
The new charges came to light Friday at a hearing where a judge ordered a competency evaluation for Parker.
An attorney for Parker had asked for the assessment under provisions of the state’s criminal code that deal with “mentally ill or mentally deficient defendants” and a defense of mental illness.
Hennepin County District Judge Daniel Mabley granted the request by public defender Jane Imholte, and the case will proceed after results come back next month.
Parker, of Minneapolis, is accused of second-degree murder. Prosecutors say that about noon Jan. 31, Parker knocked loudly on the back door of Sonnenberg’s home, frantically claiming people were chasing him with a bat.
Sonnenberg let him in and began to call 911. Police claim that once inside, Parker grabbed the pistol that Sonnenberg routinely carried holstered on his hip and shot the man once in the forehead, killing him.
Parker then allegedly took the retiree’s wife hostage. He surrendered when a police officer arrived.
At the time of the shooting, Parker was supposed to be tying up loose ends before reporting to prison to begin serving a 33-month sentence for violating probation he’d gotten for assaulting a Metro Transit bus driver. He’s also been sentenced to 24 months in a separate assault case.
A day before they amended the complaint, prosecutors filed notice with the court that they would seek a longer sentence than the one recommended in the state’s sentencing guidelines.
Those guidelines call for a sentence of three to 40 years for second-degree murder. The notice filed by Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Justin Wesley said the state seeks what is known as an “upward departure” because the crimes “were committed in a location in which the victims had an expectation of privacy.”
Parker’s murder case had originally been before Judge Fred Karasov, but on Feb. 25, Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge Peter Cahill said the case should be reassigned to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
He wrote that Parker had pleaded guilty before Karasov in the earlier assault cases, and under terms of the plea agreement with prosecutors, the judge had allowed the man to remain free “to get his affairs in order before reporting to serve his time in prison.”
Although Imholte had acknowledged that Karasov hadn’t shown bias or prejudice toward her client, she did express concern he “may be unconsciously harsh in his rulings and try to punish defendant because the alleged homicide occurred during the time he was released from custody,” Cahill wrote in his order.
The chief judge said that in an “overabundance of caution” in a serious case — “and the fact that both mainstream media and bloggers are writing about this case” — it was best to reassign it.
“The denizens of the blogosphere and the media may say what they wish, but the duty of the court is to rule based on the law, not on public opinion,” Cahill wrote. “Given the unique circumstances of this case, however, there is a danger that every decision of Judge Karasov may appear to be influenced by his regret that he accepted the plea agreement, offered by the state, which allowed defendant to be released.”
Prosecutors did not object to having another judge handle the case, Cahill wrote.
David Hanners can be reached at 612-338-6516.
