Tattoo leads to life in prison for man in hot oil attack during Palm Bay home invasion

Leaundrea D. Parker found guilty of armed burglary

Leaundrea Parker.

PALM BAY, Fla. – With "STATE VS PARKER" tattooed on his back, he's no stranger to police and prosecutors. The man convicted of leading a home invasion in which a Palm Bay woman and her 15-year-old daughter were scalded with hot oil was found guilty of several felony crimes and will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Leaundrea D. Parker, 29, was found guilty of armed burglary of a dwelling with a firearm, aggravated battery with great bodily harm, aggravated child abuse by aggravated battery and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

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Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported that Parker was already in prison on unrelated charges – he's scheduled to be finished with that sentence in 2039, at which point he'll start serving a life sentence. If he gets done with that, he'll serve another 45 years.

"He's never getting out," said Assistant State Attorney Bill Respess, who explained Parker's sentences were maxed out because he committed another crime within three years of being released from prison.

Parker served prison sentences between 2002 and 2004, as well as 2006 to 2007. Last year he was found guilty of shooting at a family in 2009 – he got a 30 year sentence for charges connected to that crime.

When two women returned to their home on San Filippo Drive one night in December 2009, they were met at the door by a man with a gun, according to police documents. When they went inside, they found other armed men wearing hooded sweatshirts, with several children lying on the floor in their living room.

One man heated up cooking oil on the kitchen stove and made one woman and another unidentified person put their hands in it in an attempt to make them tell "where the money was located," according to a police document.

One woman told them she didn't have any money and to take whatever they wanted. Respess said Parker threw the oil on her and her 15-year-old daughter.

"It was torture is what it was," Respess said. "He was torturing this family to try to find out money he thought they had, where it was. It was horrible."

The daughter – splashed on her back with hot grease – had to undergo skin graft operations and was hospitalized for at least four weeks. The mother was treated for burns to her chest, police said. Respess said each has scars from the encounter.

Respess said the victims had one question for him after the trial: will he ever get out?

"I said unless the case is overturned on appeal, he'll spend the rest of his life in prison."

One other man was arrested in connection with the crime: Jeremy Williams is awaiting trial.

Though Parker has been arrested dozens of times, often he wasn't convicted.

"You have to be able to put your case on in court, and there were problems with those cases for one reason or another," Respess said.

It was a tattoo that put Parker away. Respess said Parker wore a mask during the home invasion, but it lifted up slightly and a young man was able to see a dollar sign on his neck.

"Without him seeing that tattoo, I don't think we'd be able to identify him."