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Suspect accused of ramming Davenport police car still at large

Despite a litany of past charges – including a previous guilty plea of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and a probation violation warrant out o...
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Despite a litany of past charges – including a previous guilty plea of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon and a probation violation warrant out of Rock Island County – the man accused of ramming a Davenport police car July 18 remains at large.

Rodricco Parks Jr. allegedly smashed into a marked squad car in the parking lot of the Super Saver convenience store on Rockingham Road then fled the scene with officers firing at his speeding vehicle as he drove away late on the evening of the 18th. Police later learned that Parks suffered several gunshot wounds in the incident and was transported to an area hospital by private vehicle. He was later transferred to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City where he was treated and released.

The Davenport police began their pursuit of Parks’s vehicle while responding to a shots fired call on Ripley Street.

Related: Security video reveals clues in officer-related Davenport shooting

Because of the officer-involved shooting, the case was turned over to the Scott County Sheriff’s Department. Everything that occurred after the initial shots-fired call – including the striking of the squad car and leaving the scene – is under investigation by the county, not Davenport police, Sheriff Dennis Conard confirmed. Davenport Police Captain Brent Biggs said officers are continuing the investigation into the original shots-fired call, but will not be involved in any other aspect of the Parks investigation.

Conard said his department was not aware of Parks’ probation violation status the night of the incident. Scott County personnel did not ask Iowa City Police to detain Parks after his release from the hospital there.

“There is an active warrant for his arrest,” Conard said. “If he comes into contact with law enforcement, he will be arrested.”

Parks has a fairly lengthy and recent criminal history, according to court records.

In October of 2015 he was arrested and charged with Class 3 felony theft in Rock Island County to which he pleaded guilty. This was after pleading guilty to misdemeanor retail theft in January of 2015, also in Rock Island County.

On March 6, 2016, Parks was arrested and charged with assault while displaying a dangerous weapon in Scott County. The “dangerous weapon” in that case, according to court records, was Parks’ car, which he drove into a vehicle driven by another individual. He took a negotiated guilty plea on that charge last May, being granted time-served. He was also found guilty of violating parole at that time.

Later that month, on March 26, he was arrested and charged with fifth-degree theft in Scott County, to which he pleaded guilty.

Then on April 9, Parks was again arrested for retail theft, this time for stealing merchandise from Kohl’s Department store on Elmore Avenue in Davenport. He again pleaded guilty.

Six days later, on April 15, 2016, Parks was arrested in Coralville, Iowa, where he was accused of stealing merchandise from Kohl’s Department store at the Coral Ridge Mall. He has a trial date of Aug. 19 set for that charge in Johnson County, Iowa.

Parks has also been charged repeatedly with driving under suspension and driving unlicensed, with the first charge being filed in 2013.

 

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