A man who was convicted of first-degree murder in the strangulation death of a woman found near a trail in McKeesport was sentenced on Monday to serve the rest of his life in prison with no chance for parole.
Daron Parks, 29, of Washington, was given an addition six to 12 years in prison for charges including conspiracy and robbery of a motor vehicle.
He is the second man to be sentenced to life for the death of Tameka Dallas, 43, of Monroeville.
A jury found Parks and his co-defendant, Ramonta Yancey, 29, of Pittsburgh, guilty of first-degree murder following a trial in September before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski.
Police said Dallas’ body was found — with her legs bound together at Renziehausen Park on the morning of Sept. 12, 2019.
The suspects wanted Dallas’ car, a 2007 silver Chevrolet Impala.
Yancey had the woman’s phone number and called her the night before.
She met the men at an apartment belonging to Yancey’s girlfriend in Harrison Village.
After Yancey and Parks left the body, they spent the next day driving around in her car, and were spotted by license plate reading cameras in Bridgeville, Heidelberg and North Versailles — including at a Wal-Mart store.
The ligature used to tie Dallas’ ankles together matched a sheet set taken at Yancey’s girlfriend’s apartment, police said.
Yancey was sentenced in November to serve life plus an additional seven to 14 years in prison.
During the sentencing hearing on Monday, Parks’ defense attorney, Elbert Gray, told the court his client did not know the victim.
“He’s very apologetic,” Gray said. “He’d like to speak but doesn’t want to say anything that might make it worse for him.”
Gray said that Parks had been dependent on drugs and alcohol since he was 15 and has two children.
“He’s just sorry that he’s even here.”
