By SHAWN McGRATH
Prosecutors filed formal charges against a pair of Anderson brothers accused of going into the home of a 60-year-old terminally ill Lapel woman and beating her to get her prescription medications.
Christopher G. Parker, 20, and Timothy A. Parker, 18, are formally charged with burglary resulting in bodily injury, a Class A felony, and theft, a Class D felony.
Christopher Parker is also charged with battery by means of a deadly weapon, while Timothy Parker faces a count of aiding battery by means of a deadly weapon. Both counts are Class C felonies.
“We feel like we had sufficient evidence to press the charges,” Madison County Prosecutor Thomas Broderick Jr. said late Thursday.
The brothers are accused of going into the woman’s home through an unlocked door at about 11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, wearing ski masks, according to a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges.
The Parkers looked for drugs throughout the home and discovered the woman in her bathroom. The woman refused to give the two men drugs and grabbed Timothy Parker. He began punching her in the chest, but she was able to push him backward. Christopher Parker began beating the woman with the golf club after she pushed his brother.
The woman suffered two broken fingers and possibly a broken knuckle, as well as also suffered several bruises. She was treated and released at an Anderson hospital. Lapel Police Chief Dennis Molina said the woman, who suffers from cancer, has been staying with her hospice care nurse since the attack. Molina previously said he didn’t immediately know the type of cancer from which the woman suffers from and it was not specified in the court documents.
The Parkers stole roughly 150 prescription pills from the woman, including methadone, Soma and Xanax, according to the court documents. They also took about $180.
Molina said Christopher Parker used his brother’s name during the attack. That information, along with numerous tips, led to their arrests in different locations in Hamilton County Friday afternoon. He said other arrests may be made in the case.
Madison County Magistrate Stephen Clase entered an automatic not-guilty plea on Timothy Parker’s behalf and approved the appointment of a public defender during his initial court appearance Thursday.
Timothy Parker requested a speedy trial, meaning he must be tried within 70 days. If convicted, both brothers face a maximum sentence of 61 years in prison. Timothy Parker remained in the Madison County Jail on $35,000 bond late Thursday.
Because of the woman’s medical condition, Broderick said he wants to have her version of events recorded under oath relatively soon.
“We want to get that information as soon as we can,” he said.
Christopher Parker is being held without bond in the Hamilton County Jail for allegedly violating the terms of his probation for resisting law enforcement, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. It wasn’t immediately known when he would make a court appearance in Madison County.
A warrant was issued for Christopher Parker, and he’ll likely be brought back to Madison County when his Hamilton County case has been resolved, Broderick said.
