Everette Parks, the would-be “general contractor” and sometime man-about-Reservoir Hill, has gone to prison for menacing developer Todd Wetzelberger and his wife, Erin, with a BB gun and threatening phone calls (“
Witless Intimidation,” The Nose, June 1).
Parks was convicted on six of eight criminal counts on July 6 and sentenced to five years, with all but five months suspended. He turned himself in at the Metropolitan Transition Center on July 13, with a release date of Dec. 13. If his convictions stand (his lawyer has appealed), Parks will be required to serve 100 hours of community service and will serve probation until Dec. 13, 2008, according to court records.
Parks was found guilty of one count of second-degree assault (and not guilty on another count), two counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of possession of a deadly weapon with intent to injure, and failure to comply with a peace order. Parks was found not guilty on one count of possession of an air rifle/BB gun, although he told City Paper repeatedly that he had the gun and used it to both shoot rats and scare the Wetzelbergers.
The dispute began late last year after Todd Wetzelberger bought two abandoned city-owned houses adjoining Parks’ Madison Avenue residence. Parks billed Wetzelberger for acting as “general contractor” for the Wetzelbergers and for work done on those houses, although he did not first ask Wetzelberger if he wanted his services. Parks later claimed that Wetzelberger’s contractor destroyed Parks’ chimney, and Parks began harassing Wetzelberger by phone. Wetzelberger obtained a “no contact” order from the court, but Parks did not relent. On March 31, Parks used his BB gun to shoot near the Wetzelbergers, who were inspecting their own property. Parks was arrested and spent the night at Central Booking.
The Wetzelbergers testified at the bench trial on July 6. “The judge actually made a comment,” Todd Wetzelberger says. “Everette was pleading for mercy to the court. The judge said, ‘Your behavior is outrageous.’”
Although he previously said he would sue and try to obtain Parks’ house, Wetzelberger now says he hasn’t decided whether to take Parks to court. “I gotta think about how much time it’s going to take to pursue the civil thing,” Wetzelberger says. “If I have the time, I will. He’s cost us a lot of money. Easily $5,000.”
