MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) -- A Fort Riley soldier is charged in a drive-by shooting on New Year's Day in Manhattan that claimed the life of a 21-year-old Kansas National Guardsman.
Specialist Daniel Patrick Parker, 25, was arrested late Wednesday and charged with First Degree Murder and Criminal Discharge of a Firearm into a building.
Parker is accused of opening fire outside of a New Year's party in Manhattan, killing Specialist Frederick Beverly with the Kansas National Guard.
Officers were called to 1827 Fair Lane around 4 AM New Year's Day, just south of the intersection of Fort Riley Boulevard and South Delaware Avenue.
At that location, members of the "Assassin Street Rydaz," a Manhattan motorcycle club, were having an after-hours New Year's party at their club house.
Frederick Charles Beverly, 21, who was part of the motorcycle club, was shot outside, receiving a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He was later pronounced dead at Mercy Regional Health Center.
Officials say Beverly was shot when someone inside a passing car opened fire outside of the party in a drive-by shooting. Frederick Beverly's younger brother, Isaac, told 13 News that Frederick was manning the gate at the New Year's party when the shots rang out.
In a press conference at the Riley County Police Department Friday morning, Brad Schoen, the department's director, discussed the probe into Frederick Beverly's death, saying:"The investigation was extensive, time consuming and eventually led to Junction City, thus requiring assistance from the Junction City Police Department, for which we are grateful. During the course of the investigation, detectives were able to determine that the nexus of the shooting was a disagreement which began at a local bar and later resulted in the previously mentioned shots being fired in the 1800 block of Fair Lane."
Schoen went on state: "A number of leads were developed during the course of the investigation. These leads directed detectives to a number of witnesses who, when interviewed, were each able to assist in furthering the investigation. As a result of these contacts and some excellent police work on the part of the detectives, a suspect was eventually identified. During the evening hours of Wednesday, January 4th, detectives made contact with the suspect in Junction City and conducted an interview with him. Simultaneously, detectives in Manhattan were seeking a number of search warrants; two to be executed in Junction City and two to be executed in Manhattan. Detectives also conducted two consent searches. Evidence thus obtained in the case then resulted in the arrest..."
As for what sparked the deadly shooting, Captain Jeff Hooper, who oversees the Riley County Police Department's Investigations Division, says Daniel Parker had a confrontation with several members of the "Rydaz" motorcycle club earlier in the night at a Manhattan bar. Hooper says Frederick Beverly was there when the altercation occurred but tells WIBW, there's no indication that Parker specifically targeted Beverly in the drive-by shooting.
Breanne Walker, a Public Affairs Specialist for the 1st Infantry Division on Fort Riley, says Specialist Daniel Parker, the suspect, arrived at Fort Riley in May of 2008 and has done two tours to Iraq, both lasting one year. His first deployment went from 2008-2009 and he returned from his second deployment this past fall, according to Walker. He was assigned to the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 163 Armour, 1st Infantry Division. RCPD documents indicate that he lives in an apartment on Carolina Avenue in Junction City.
He was arrested at the Junction City Police Department when he was brought in for questioning.
Specialist Parker is being held in the Riley County Jail on $1,000,000 bond. A mug shot of the soldier is not available, as it is the Riley County Police Department's policy not to release booking photos of inmates in their jail.
Parker made his first appearance before Riley County District Magistrate Judge Sheila Hochhauser Friday afternoon via video conference from the Riley County Jail. Parker sat at a table flanked by two officers, wearing a black and white striped jumpsuit. He was assigned an attorney from the Public Defender's Office to represent him in the case. His is scheduled to appear in court again in Riley County on January 17th at 1 PM.
Specialist Frederick Beverly joined the Kansas National Guard in 2007. His unit, the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry, returned home from the Horn of Africa in April 2011.
Funeral services for Beverly were held Friday on Fort Riley. He was laid to rest in the Kansas Veteran's Cemetery in Manhattan.
"An arrest brings closure and peace of mind, knowing that something like this won't happen and go unanswered. He was one of the finest soldiers that I have ever had the privilege of serving with. I have two tours under my belt and this was his first and unfortunately his last," said Specialist Matthew Campbell, a Kansas National Guardsman, of Beverly.
Beverly's older brother, Greg, told WIBW Friday after Frederick's funeral that his relatives are pleased that they have "closure on the justice side of things" with Parker's arrest . He says Frederick Beverly's family is trying to find forgiveness for the man accused of killing their loved one.
VIDEO: http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/Fort_Riley_Soldier_Charged_In_Deadly_New_Years_Shooting_136781628.html
