A $250,000 cash only bond was set Thursday for a Pine Bluff man who allegedly fired a shot at two students at Pine Bluff High School last Friday as they were returning from lunch.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth set the bond after ruling prosecutors had probable cause to charge Devante Parker, 19, with aggravated assault and discharging a firearm from a vehicle.
During a court hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Maxie Kizer said Parker was a front seat passenger in a Chevrolet Malibu that drove through the high school campus at about 1 p.m. and reportedly fired a shot from a .9-millimeter handgun at two students who were standing outside a school building.
Detective Steven Rucker reported that Parker had previously been involved in an altercation with at least one of the students and the shot struck a brick wall, missing the head of one of the intended victims by about one foot, and resulting in brick fragments striking the intended victim in the neck.
Kizer said Parker fled from the scene after the shooting and police on Tuesday received information that he was in the Dumas area.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Police Capt. Greg Shapiro reported that detectives located Parker in the Mitchellville community and were able to take him into custody after a foot pursuit through a wheat field.
No other arrests have been been made in connection with the incident.
Following the shooting, the school was placed on lock-down for more than two hours, and students were not permitted to leave early unless a parent came to pick them up.
Also Tuesday, PBHS Principal Robert Handley said the district plans to install gates at the entrance and exit of a circular driveway that runs between the high school Academy and the Patterson building, the area where the shot was fired.
The school is also considering keeping the security gates already in place on West 11th Avenue locked during the day.
In addition to setting the bond, Bridgforth ordered Parker to have no contact with either of the alleged victims, and to come back to court June 28.
Parker, who according to records at the prosecutor’s office had no prior felony convictions or pending charges, told the judge he would hire his own attorney.