Greenville, MS— Clarence Duncan, 28, of Leland was sentenced to fifty years in prison following his guilty plea on last week in Washington County Circuit Court, District Attorney Dewayne Richardson announced today.
In February of 2019, officers of the Greenville Police Department responded to Dublin Street in Greenville in reference to a shooting. Upon their arrival, officers found one surviving victim in the driveway of a residence and the deceased victim lying face-down in the hallway of the residence with an apparent gunshot wound to his back. The fatally wounded victim was identified as Floyd Parker.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigation Division were called to the seen to initiate an investigation. Multiple shell casings were recovered on the scene from at least two firearms in different locations in the area and the home was riddled with bullets. Officers learned that the victims had just returned to the home from a local convenience store before being ambushed, and that others present at the home had gone to a local grocery store a short time before. Investigators obtained video from both locations. The video from the grocery store showed a tan sedan following a car driven by relatives of Floyd Parker who were at the home. Two individuals got out of the sedan and went into the store. They were observed on video walking through the store looking around before leaving out to get back in the vehicle. The two individuals were identified as Donkevius Parker and Don Thomas.
Video from the convenience store showed the same sedan following the victims’ vehicle into the parking lot later that evening before a third man got out and went in after Floyd Parker entered the store to make a purchase. The third individual was identified as Clarence Duncan. After the victims left, the suspects followed them out of the parking lot. The emergency call following the shooting was made minutes later.
Duncan was brought in for questioning. He initially claimed to have no knowledge of the murder before being confronted with the video surveillance. Duncan eventually admitted to his role in the planned killing as the lookout and driver. Duncan also admitted to law enforcement that the trio were carrying out the killing at the request of another defendant, Hakeem Wilson, because Floyd Parker would be a witness to an earlier killing against Wilson. Duncan confirmed his involvement and that he was with Donkevius Parker and Don Thomas which detectives learned from the video surveillance. The three were later indicted for the conspiracy and murder by the Washington County Grand Jury.
Testimony in Duncan’s murder trial was set to begin last Wednesday morning in the Washington County Circuit Court. Prior to opening statements, Duncan informed the Court that he would enter a plea of guilty. Duncan pled guilty to Second Degree Murder and was sentenced to the District Attorney’s recommendation of the forty (40) year maximum to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections to serve. He also pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and was sentenced to the District Attorney’s recommendation of the ten (10) year maximum to serve consecutive to, or after he completes, the forty-year sentence for the murder.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Kaylon McCou and Austin Frye. McCou thanked the Greenville Police Department for the swift response of its officers and thorough investigation by the detectives in the Criminal Investigation Division. “While Duncan’s conviction and sentence is significant, it will not return Floyd to his family. But hopefully it helps them take another step toward healing and comfort,” McCou added.
Donkevius Parker and Don Thomas remain indicted for the murder. They are presumed not guilty until proven guilty in a court of law.