Dean Parker

Suicide

Dean Parker reportedly shot himself in front of a hostage while police surrounded a house near Florissant. Parker, an accused drug kingpin from Detroit, had spent three years on the lam. His wife, Kimberly Parker, was arrested September 13 in Beverly Hills, California after someone saw them on "America's Most Wanted" and called police. Dean Parker fled. On September 23, Parker was shot in the arm outside an East St. Louis nightclub. Facing an assault charge, Parker was taken to a hospital but managed to escape in a cab. Police then saw Parker on foot in northern St. Louis County at about 5 p.m. the next day and chased him. Parker commandeered a pickup truck, whose driver mouthed the word "help" at police. Parker ran from the truck and into a house, where he took a woman hostage. At one point, police said Parker stuck both arms out the door as if he was going to surrender, but then pulled his arms back inside. A short time later, the hostage walked out and said Parker had shot himself in the head.