A 21-year-old Columbus man, Dock Parker, was arrested on Thursday and charged with the murder of 13-year-old Angel Diaz, who was found dead in April after a shooting in North Linden; this second arrest comes months after the first suspect, Jaivon Jones, was taken into custody, as detailed in reports by NBC4i and WBNS. The victim was discovered on April 14 with a gunshot wound in an alley behind East Hudson Street, pronounced dead at the scene, according to WBNS.
ShotSpotter technology, a system designed to detect and locate gunshots, had triggered a police response earlier that evening. However, nobody was situated at that time. It was not until a later call regarding a body that officers found the deceased teen in an alley, revealing the sad outcome of those initial shots heard, a narrative pieced together by NBC4i and The Columbus Dispatch. Investigators claimed that surveillance video and ShotSpotter data linked a Ford Escape, allegedly with Parker and Jones inside, to the scene, driving at an approximate speed matching the 15 mph gunfire burst detected by the system, as highlighted in NBC4i's report.
Further implicating the suspects, "cellphone location data from search warrants" reportedly put Parker at the crime scene. Videos on the same phone showed him and another individual, now known as Jones, posing with handguns, one with a "switch" attached, which aligns with the audible characteristics of the gunfire detected on the night of Diaz's death, WBNS shared these details. Jones, who was arrested earlier in June, had admitted to being in the SUV at the time of the shooting but denied involvement in the gunfire. In contrast, Parker, with past convictions for assault and weapons charges, faces his court appearance on Nov. 1, according to disclosures in NBC4i.
Bonds have been set high for both suspects, with Jones receiving a $1.5 million bond in June. Parker's bond was $2 million upon his latest court appearance. At the same time, Jones has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including two counts of murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter, among others, the legal journey for him. Now Parker continues as the case developments promise more revelations into the tragic loss of young Diaz's life, narrated via insights gathered from local publications, such as The Columbus Dispatch.
