(UPDATE: MCSO released new allegations that Parks previously battered another woman and subsequently sought her out while evading law enforcement, forcing her at gunpoint into the stolen Nissan Titan pickup. Parks has additionally been charged with False Imprisonment and Aggravated Assault.)
MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – Leroy Parks III, the fugitive sought in multiple crimes after a shooting was reported last week in Ocklawaha, has been arrested.
Following a call just after noon on Friday, August 14, 2026, advising that a man fitting Parks’s description was sleeping in a resident’s yard, Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies located Parks along the 11800 block of NE 139th Place in Fort McCoy and arrested.
Parks was treated by medics for dehydration and a possible snake bite before being transported to Marion County Jail, where he remains without bond.
Authorities began looking for Parks on Thursday, August 13 after responding to a report of a shooting in Ocklawaha. When they got there, a shooting victim was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but Parks had fled the scene.
During the investigation, Parks stole both a truck from an assisted living facility and a Nissan Titan pickup.
Authorities located the Titan pickup Thursday, but Parks fled the scene on foot into a wooded area and managed to elude capture.
He is now charged with Aggravated Battery with a Firearm, Armed Burglary of a Conveyance, Armed Trespassing, Grand Theft of a Vehicle with Property Damage, Grand Theft of a Firearm, Criminal Mischief, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, three counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and two counts of Violation of Parole. He was also technically arrested by the Ocala Police Department for similar and related charges that occurred in their jurisdiction.