Forty-seven year old Ameal Parker a/k/a Ameal Varnado of New Orleans was sentenced by U. S. District Judge Karl Engelhardt to thirty years in federal prison in connection with the murder of DEA Agent Thomas J. Byrne. Byrne was visiting New Orleans for the U. S. Department of Justice sponsored Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Southeast Regional Conference which began on August 26, 2008 at the Sheraton hotel downtown.
On August 28, 2008, he fell prey to a robbery gone bad. Supervisory Special Agent Byrne died at Tulane Hospital on August 30, 2008 from injuries sustained in an assault during commission of the robbery. Byrne was last seen around 12:10 a.m. leaving the Bourbon Rocks bar. Around 1:30 a.m., NOPD received a call that a male subject was injured on the Elysian Fields overpass. Upon arrival, they discovered Agent Byrne badly beaten, but he was able to partially rehash the attack. His personal belongings were missing and it was obvious that he had been robbed and beaten.
Parker was developed as a suspect and was arrested. He plead guilty to the murder on July 23, 2009. In addition to being sentenced to thirty years for Agent Byrne's murder, Parker was sentenced to five years of supervised probation upon release.
Byrne was a sixteen year veteran of the DEA and at the time of his death, he was assigned to the Houston Division. He was married and was the father of four children.
Investigation and prosecution of this case was handled by the DEA, FBI, U. S. Attorney's Office, U. S. Marshall's Service, New Orleans Police Department, and the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office. According to an FBI press release, Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans was instrumental in gathering evidence in connection with the case.
Comments