Trooper Jonathan Parker, 29, was killed on 5/16/05 at approximately noon. An armed robbery suspect who was running from police had robbed the Circle-C store at a truck stop on I-95 in Colleton County around 10:00 a.m. earlier in the morning and was being pursued by Clarendon County Deputies and Manning Police Officers at high speed. Trooper Parker and a colleague had just left their office in separate vehicles in response to bulletins radioed ahead by officers pursuing Ridel so they could be ahead of the pursuit. Trooper Parker stopped his patrol car on the shoulder of the Highway, with his blue lights and wearing his seatbelt, to wait for the pursuit to reach his location and was only there a few minutes when the suspect rammed his older model red Ford Thunderbird into the rear of Parker’s cruiser near the intersection of Highway S.C. 527 and Highway 378 which ended an approximate 22 mile chase of speeds up to 100 mpr. After the crash an officer checked on Ridel who wasn’t moving so he went to check on Trooper Parker. While checking on Trooper Parker the officer saw Ridel crawl out of the sunroof and start running. The officer fired 6 warning shots in the air and Ridel stopped and raised his hands. Before they could get to him, Ridel began running again and 2 more warning shots were fired into the air and Ridel stopped again. By that time, two Clarendon County deputies also involved in the chase caught up to him and handcuffed Ridel. The suspect, Eric Shawn Ridel, slammed into the back of Parker’s vehicle with such impact forcing Parker’s vehicle into trees and then catch on fire resulting in death from the impact. Eric Shawn Ridel, 34, of Hartford, Connecticut, was listed in critical condition with punctured lungs and broken vertebrae at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital. Ridel was on parole from a Connecticut prison, where he had served a four-year sentence for a 1999 burglary conviction. Ridel was convicted twice in 1999 and twice in 1998 for burglary. In 1994, Ridel was convicted of various charges including criminal impersonation and a misdemeanor drug offense. Those convictions led to a 90-day jail sentence and a six-month suspended sentence. Those offenses were committed in the Connecticut cities of Madison, Manchester, Hartford and East Hartford. Eric Shawn Ridel has been charged with murder in connection of Trooper Parker’s death. Trooper Parker has served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for 5 years and worked with a German Shepherd narcotic K9 assigned to Troop One, Post A which includes Sumter and Clarendon County. Trooper Parker had previously served with Sumter County Sheriff’s Office for 2 years. He is survived by his wife Sue.
Eric Ridel was serving a 30 year sentence in connection with the armed robbery in Waterboro. Eric Ridel’s trial for the murder of Trooper Parker lasted three days with two hours of deliberations when a jury of seven women and five men found Eric Shawn Ridel guilty of killing Trooper Jonathan Parker and was sentenced on 6/6/07 by Judge George C. James Jr. to life in prison without parole.
