Amarillo Man Pleads Guilty to Violent Crime Spree from Beaumont to Lufkin, Facing Charges for Carjacking and Robbery

Jamelle Antoine Parker, 35, has pleaded guilty to federal charges of carjacking and Hobbs Act Robbery in the Eastern District of Texas, according to U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Parker entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on December 11, 2023. The charges stem from an incident on April 1, 2023, when Parker approached a woman at a gas station in Beaumont, demanding her car. Claiming to have a firearm in his waistband, Parker prompted the woman to flee to a nearby store as he fled in her vehicle.

Parker continued his crime spree by robbing the Criss Cross convenience store in Beaumont, using the same firearm claim to demand money from the clerk. He later drove to Lufkin, crashing the stolen vehicle into the Big’s convenience store on West Frank Avenue, where he repeated the robbery with a threat of violence.

Attempting to evade law enforcement, Parker approached a vehicle in the Whataburger drive-through, threatening the driver and demanding the vehicle. A responding officer intervened, shooting Parker in the legs with non-life threatening wounds. Parker crashed the stolen vehicle and was subsequently taken into custody.

Indicted by a federal grand jury on May 3, 2023, Parker faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on advisory sentencing guidelines and statutory factors after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a collaborative program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by bringing together law enforcement at all levels and the communities they serve. The investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Lufkin Police Department.