A Starkville man with a long history of “peeping Tom” accusations and other offenses was arrested by Starkville Police officers Tuesday on a felony warrant for voyeurism.
SPD says 59-year-old Eddie Parks, Jr. - who investigators referred to in a press release as “The Peeping Pimp” was arrested Tuesday after an incident at 416 Highway 12 East on the morning of May 4.
Details of the incident have not been released at this time, but a public records request has been filed by the Starkville Daily News.
Parks was also charged with resisting arrest and a charge of damaging a police vehicle during the arrest is also pending.
SPD Public Information Officer Brandon Lovelady said the vehicle damage charge will remain pending until the value is assessed.
SPD says Parks regularly travels around the city on foot and urges the public to call the police department if you believe you or your business have been victims of similar incidents.
Earlier this month, Parks was arrested on voyeurism charges after he was accused of entering an enclosed brick area on the property of Dominoes Pizza on Highway 12, before looking through a window in the Sprint Mart next door for "the lewd, licentious and indecent purpose of spying upon the occupants" of the store. During the incident, police say he exposed himself.
In 2016, the Starkville Daily News reported Parks was accused of residential burglary on Poplar Road in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2016 and the "peeping Tom" incident occurred Sept. 5, according to SPD. The incident occurred at the Courtyard Marriott, 100 Mercantile St.
On his previous voyeurism charge, Parks was suspected of watching hotel guests at the establishment.
In 2014, Oktibbeha County deputies arrested Parks for voyeurism and noncompliance as a sex offender. Circuit Court records show the charges were dismissed in September 2016.
Parks is currently in the Oktibbeha County Jail with bond set at $20,000. His initial appearance in Starkville Municipal Court is scheduled for June 18 at 6 p.m.
While most of the accusations on Parks’ criminal record relate to voyeurism and burglary, he was also charged with aggravated assault in June 2015 after hitting Demetrice Nelson in the eye with a wooden stick.
Parks pleaded not guilty to the aggravated assault charge and the charge was ultimately dismissed by Circuit Judge Jim Kitchens after a statement was taken from Nelson’s mother, who witnessed the incident.
According to Oktibbeha County Circuit Court records, a jury convicted Parks in 2009 of voyeurism and a judge sentenced him to five years in prison. He was released from prison in April 2014.
Court records also show Parks pleaded guilty in 1997 to an aggravated assault charge earlier that year, after he was accused of hitting Jason Hollingworth in the face with his fist and a bottle.
Parks was also convicted of burglary twice in the early 1980s.
Mississippi Code § 97-29-61 defines voyeurism, saying "Any person who enters upon real property whether the original entry is legal or not, and thereafter pries or peeps through a window or other opening in a dwelling or other building structure for the lewd, licentious and indecent purpose of spying upon the occupants thereof, shall be guilty of a felonious trespass; and upon conviction, shall be imprisoned in the state penitentiary not more than five (5) years."