Foust: Pandemic a Factor in Parker Plea Agreement

Marshall County Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Foust says a decision to offer a plea agreement to Marshall County High School shooter Gabriel Parker was at least partially influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.

Parker was 15 when he fired a handgun into a crowd of students before classes started at Marshall County High School on Jan. 23, 2018, killing Bailey Holt and Preston Cope and injuring several others. Parker, who was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty in a teleconference hearing Tuesday to two counts of murder and 14 counts of assault.

Foust told the Greg Dunker Show Wednesday morning the commonwealth was preparing to take the case to trial, but the coronavirus pandemic presented many unforeseen obstacles which made it much more difficult to proceed.

"We were getting ready for trial. We were, I would say, about 75 to 80 percent ready to go. Then things started going south in terms of the pandemic," Foust said. "It began to impair our ability to get our witnesses prepared for trial. It impeded our ability to get subpoenas and orders for the doctors from Vanderbilt to attend and testify at the trial. And then the uncertainty of even being able to call a jury panel, much less seat one. It became clear to everyone that we were looking at a delay in the trial of a minimum of six months, possibly another year."

Foust said most of the affected families, including the Holts and the Copes, supported the plea deal. He said he hopes the agreement, which will mean a life sentence for Parker with parole eligibility after 20 years, brings some form of closure to all of the families affected by the tragedy.

"From a professional standpoint I was comfortable with what the end result was going to be, particularly in light of the fact that the two families who lost their children were on board, and were ready for closure. While certainly there is a part of me that wanted to try the case, the certainty of knowing that this case won't be tied up in appeals for years, that's comforting." He said.

Foust said Parker got the maximum sentence on the assault counts, and there are no guarantees he would have received a harsher sentence at trial on the murder charges. He said after reviewing the agreement most parties involved in the case came to the conclusion that it was the right thing to do.

"Most of [the victims' families] were fine with it. I think there were a couple who were upset. We got a maximum sentence on their cases, and that was all we could do," He said. When it came to the murder cases, the Holts and the copes were on board with this. The only thing that was given was that the parole eligibility is 20 years. There were no guarantees at trial that we would have got life without possibility of parole for 25 years."

Although Foust says this is by no means a happy ending for all who have been affected by this event, he added that he hopes the victims' friends and families will be able to take some comfort in being able to close this painful chapter of their lives.

"Yesterday was a bittersweet day," He said. "There are no winners, so to speak, in this matter. But for us to win, we want to put our victims first and foremost. We want them to be the headline, and frankly let Mr. Parker become a footnote."