East Orange Man Sentenced to 21 Years for Dramatic Morris County Crime Spree

Swift Inter-agency Collaboration Thwarts Carjackings, Bank Robbery Attempt in Morris County's Tense April 2022 Crime Wave.

A 55-year-old man from East Orange, NJ, Howard Parks, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of second-degree robbery related to a crime spree in Morris County on April 1, 2022. Parks will be subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires him to serve 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole. Upon release, he will be under parole supervision for three additional years.

The series of events began when officers from the Mount Olive Police Department were called to a Walmart parking lot in Flanders, NJ, to assist with a carjacking investigation. Parks stole a vehicle and threatened to kill its owner before fleeing the scene. Shortly after, he attempted to rob a Wells Fargo Bank in Flanders but left without any money. He was eventually involved in a motor vehicle crash near the intersection of Dover-Chester Road and Route 10 in Randolph, NJ, where he attempted to steal another vehicle but was apprehended.

Law enforcement agencies involved in Parks' arrest and conviction included the Mount Olive, Randolph Township, Roxbury Township, South Orange, and West Orange Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Morris County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigations, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit and Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit. Roxbury Police Patrolman Brad Keyes was specially recognized for his bravery in stopping the second carjacking in progress before backup arrived.