BONIFAY – The third defendant in the 2020 shooting death of Raul Ambriz Guillen has been found guilty as charged Tuesday and sentenced to life in prison.
William Shane Parker, 36, was found guilty of Second Degree Murder, and Destruction of, Tampering with, or Fabricating Physical Evidence. The jury took less than hour to reach its verdict after two days of testimony.
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Chief Circuit Court Judge Chris Patterson ordered Parker to serve life in prison on the first charge, and 5 years in prison on the second.
Parker was the final of three defendants in the case, and the one accused of pointing a gun at the back of Guillen’s head and pulling the trigger as they watched fireworks July 4, 2020.
Jeremie Odell Peters is serving a 20-year sentence after he was found guilty of Accessory after the Fact to Second Degree Murder with a Firearm, and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Tampering with a Witness. Lauren Wambles pled no contest to Accessory After the Fact to Second Degree murder with a Firearm and is serving a 10-year sentence, to be followed by 5 years felony probation. As part of her plea, she agreed to testify truthfully against Parker and Peters.
Prosecutors Peter Overstreet and Ben Keown presented evidence and witness testimony Monday and Tuesday proving that Parker intended to kill Guillen that day at co-defendant Peters’ residence.
“For 50 long days and nights Raul Guillen’s body lay in the ground,” Overstreet told jurors. “Raul Guillen’s body, wrapped in black tarp and blankets, covered in barrels, and put in the ground. In a grave dug by two men – William Shane Parker and Jeremie Peters.”
Evidence showed that while fireworks were set off to cover the noise, the defendant shot Guillen in the back of the head and he fell to the ground but was not dead. Wambles testified the victim was making a “snoring” noise and that the defendant first shoved dirt into the victim’s mouth and nose, then beat him with a shovel as he was dragged to the woods.
His body, wrapped in a black plastic tarp, was relocated and buried the next morning by Parker and Peters.
“The defendant hoped that no one would come looking for Raul Guillen, that he would never be found, that he would never be held accountable for what he had done,” Overstreet said. “They were never going to find him where he was buried.”
However, Guillen’s daughter testified she communicated with her dad almost daily. When she couldn’t get in touch with him following July 4, 2020, she soon reported him missing to several agencies.
On Aug. 24, a man contacted authorities saying Peters told him that Parker had killed Guillen after Wambles “lured” him out of the house. He said Peters admitted to helping Parker bury the victim.
Within a day authorities found the body and began questioning suspects, with all three implicating themselves.
Wambles testified she was Parker’s girlfriend at the time and pregnant with his child. She said after he shot Guillen, she did what he told her to do because she was afraid he would kill her, too.
State Attorney Larry Basford thanked the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the other agencies involved for their collaboration and work on the lengthy investigation.
For additional information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.