When Bobbe Lee Parker failed to appear at a January hearing to face charges in the death of a St. Croix woman, prosecutors feared he may have fled, according to court records.
Superior Court Judge Douglas Brady ordered Parker to appear in person at a Feb. 19 hearing to argue why his bail should not be revoked, according to court papers filed Friday. If Parker does not show, a manhunt may be underway across central Florida.
Parker was drunk and high on cocaine and cannabis when he crashed a speeding Nissan into a Christiansted Cemetery wall around 1 a.m. Aug. 30, police said. Neither he nor his passenger, Shannon Renee Gray, 39, were wearing seat belts. Gray died at the scene. Parker, suffering from a broken femur, was treated at Juan F. Luis Hospital, where his blood alcohol level was measured at more than three-and-a-half times the legal limit, according to court records.
Parker, who had no previous criminal record in the territory, was charged with negligent homicide, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, driving without a seat belt, and driving with a passenger not wearing a seat belt.
In September, Parker, who has lived in Connecticut, Florida, and Arkansas, said he would stay at Southgate Beach until his next scheduled court appearance. But in December, a judge allowed Parker to travel to family in Okeechobee, Florida, to convalesce.
After Parker failed to appear at the January hearing, a man claiming to be Parker’s father posted on social media that his son had “ran off” and urged anyone who saw him to phone police.
