FORT SMITH -- A friend's complaint he was tired of being broke prompted Dionte Parks to give him Kaleb Watson's name as a good person to burglarize, jurors heard Tuesday during Parks' trial in Sebastian County Circuit Court.
The jury of six men and six women heard the testimony for the second day of the trial, which ended with the state resting its case and Parks beginning the presentation of his defense.
The friend told Shakur and James Sharp about Parks' tip and they showed up at Parks' home armed with a stolen gun and ready to "hit a lick" and rob Watson, Parks told police Sgt. Anthony Parkinson in a Jan. 28, 2016, confession. Jurors watched the hourlong video Tuesday.
Parks said he supplied the brothers with a shoestring to tie up Watson, a bag that belonged to his sister to hold the loot from the robbery, and a diversion to distract Watson.
Before the night of Jan. 23, 2016, was over, Watson, a 22-year-old electrical-engineering student at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith who was Parks' neighbor, was dead from five point-blank gunshots, and the Sharp brothers were on the run.
"You gave them all the information they needed to do this," Parkinson told Parks, then 16, during the interview.
All three were minors at the time of Watson's death but were charged as adults with first-degree murder, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery. The robbery counts involved Watson and his friend Bailey Smith, who was visiting that evening at his townhouse two doors down from where Parks lived.
The Sharp brothers reportedly waited by Watson's back door dressed in black with masks and gloves while Parks knocked on the front door to distract Watson and allow the brothers to enter the back door.
Parkinson testified that Shakur Sharp had told him after his arrest in Little Rock days after the slaying that Parks was to run around to the back door and enter with them. Shakur Sharp intended Parks to use the red shoestring from his sneakers to tie up Watson. James Sharp was to gather up Watson's shotgun and other valuables, and Shakur Sharp was to hold the 9mm Colt pistol on Watson and Smith, Parkinson testified.
But Parks told Parkinson he was scared and, instead of joining the Sharp brothers around back, he ran home after knocking on Watson's door.
Smith had previously testified that after James Sharp tied up Watson, Sharp pulled the shotgun out of the townhouse closet when Shakur Sharp turned to grab the PlayStation 3 gaming system near the television. As Shakur Sharp bent over, Watson freed himself from his loosely tied bonds and jumped on him, Smith said.
The two struggled, Smith has testified, and Shakur Sharp began firing the gun. As Watson fell dying, the brothers ran away, Smith said. Parks said he could hear the popping of the gunshots in his home.
Arkansas' chief medical examiner, Charles Kokes, testified that of the five bullet wounds Watson received, two shots to the chest that pierced his left lung caused the most bleeding. He said two wounds in the leg sped the blood loss. A fifth bullet nicked the top of Watson's left ear, Kokes said.
The two 9mm bullets Kokes recovered during the autopsy were fired from the same gun and could have been one of many brands, including a Colt, said Jennifer Floyd of the Arkansas Crime Laboratory firearms section.
Patrol officer Daniel Honeycutt testified that Joe Edwards of 4321 South Q St. reported his 9mm Colt pistol was stolen Jan. 23, 2016, from his car that was parked in his garage. James Sharp reportedly bragged that he had stolen the gun. It is believed to be the gun, which was never recovered, that was used to kill Watson.
Parks also provided a crucial break in the police's investigation of Watson's slaying. The day after the killing, Parks' mother LaRhonda Marable, after learning of her son's involvement in Watson's death, took him to the Police Department so he could tell what he knew about the killing.
During that interview, Parkinson told Parks the police had the names of two people they suspected were involved. When Parks asked him who they were, Parkinson told Parks to tell him who they were. Parks named Shakur and James Sharp.
Parkinson testified Tuesday that until Parks named them, the police had no idea who killed Watson.
Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. today.
State Desk on 06/27/2018