From WRIL - The Big One
On Sunday July 2, 2023, Middlesboro Officers were dispatched to a call of a male shoplifter at Wal-Mart. The store's loss prevention employee advised K-9 Officer Sgt. Nick Capps that the individual, later identified as Adam Parkey of Knoxville, Tennessee, had a knife on his belt before he was approached.
While the officer was enroute, loss prevention approached Parkey as he went through the checkout without paying. He then fled the store on foot into a gray Ford Focus with a female passenger and also a juvenile in the back seat, pulling out in a reckless manner almost striking a small child and their grandmother.
Parkey then traveled onto Highway 25E southbound where he was followed by Sgt. Capps. A traffic stop was attempted moments later at Pizza Hut, but Parkey didn't pull over for several minutes at the Village Square parking lot.
Upon approaching the Focus, Parkey finally opened the door and was assisted from the vehicle by Sgt. Capps and placed him under arrest. Upon a searching Parkey, the sergeant found several loose .22 caliber shells on him. Parkey was asked if he had a gun on him and he answered no.
Upon speaking to Parkey's passenger, his girlfriend, Sgt. Capps noticed a box of .22 caliber shells on the driver's side floorboard where Parkey had been sitting. The woman was asked if she had a gun and told the officer that she did, in her purse. Upon retrieving the gun - a .22 caliber Phoenix Arms with nine rounds and one in the chamber, the child openly stated "that's Adam's gun." Middlesboro Dispatch confirmed that Adam Parkey is a convicted felon.
Parkey was transported and lodged in the Bell County Detention Center charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, wanton endangerment - 1st degree, fleeing or evading police - 2nd degree (motor vehicle), and theft by unlawful taking.