Links to murder of federal witness to keep “Highway Robbery” defendant in jail

WWL TV, By Mike Perlstein, December 16, 2024

NEW ORLEANS — One of the seven new defendants indicted last week in the massive federal case exposing staged accident fraud will remain locked up until trial because of his links to the murder of a cooperating witness.

Leon “Chunky” Parker, 51, was ruled to be a possible danger to the community by U.S. Magistrate Janis van Meerveld following a detailed presentation by prosecutors about Parker’s connections to the 2020 killing of Cornelius Garrison.

Meerveld said she was especially concerned about Parker’s text and phone conversations with defendant Ryan Harris, who previously was charged in the murder. Some of those contacts were in the days and hours leading up to the murder and directly afterward.

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