Alabama Man Arrested After San Diego Restaurant Shooting

SAN DIEGO, CA - A man who was charged in 2005 with capital murder of a 14-year-old victim has been accused of opening fire in a San Diego restaurant this week. Stefano Markell Parker, 29, is being held in the San Diego County Jail on nine counts of attempted murder and other gun-related crimes following the Tuesday-night shooting.

Reports said man in a trench coat, armed with a high-powered rifle and fired into a restaurant just after 7 p.m. Tuesday, sending employees and customers scrambling for cover. There were no injuries.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said at a Wednesday news conference that police investigators are looking into whether the shooting was a hate crime. Detectives found a homophobic comment on Parker’s Facebook page, police said. The restaurant is located in a San Diego community known as a cornerstone of the city’s LGBTQ community.

On Jan. 31, Parker wrote, “Who told all these gayfers it was safe to come outside.....?”

“We pride ourselves on being a very diverse city that celebrates unique culture, and that is never going to change,” Faulconer said. “We will stand together to denounce violence, and we will stand together to support our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community.”

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Parker was charged with capital murder in a 2005 shooting that killed 14-year-old Rochine Thomas in Docena. He was charged as an adult with one count of capital murder and three counts of attempted murder. He pleaded guilty in 2006 to a reduced charge of felony murder. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with four years to serve.

In 2017, Parker was arrested by Adamsville police on drug charges.

Parker reportedly owned Vital Waters, a company based in Birmingham, and was chief executive officer of Aquatech Diving Services, a commercial diving company — also based in Birmingham— that he launched in 2017.

Photo via Jefferson County Jail