PARSONS, Kan. — Following the arrest of a violent offender this week stemming from a traffic stop, Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks is once again calling on the judicial system to hold criminals accountable.
At approximately 11:41 p.m. Tuesday, Parsons Police Officer Devin Wisdom conducted a traffic stop in the 2300 block of Morgan Ave. in Parsons for an equipment violation. The driver, Osric Maleke-Rashaad Edwards, age 24 of Parsons, was found to be operating with a suspended driver's license status and it was also expired, according to the Parsons Police Department.
Edwards was also found to be in violation of his Kansas Violent Offender Registration requirements, according to the PPD. Edwards was convicted in November of 2018 for criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling, stemming from a shooting at a Parsons residence in February of 2017, and is required to register as a violent offender for 15 years. Edwards has also been convicted of aggravated battery, which is from a conviction for breaking a facial bone of an elderly male in March of 2017. Edwards was discharged from the Kansas Department of Corrections in January 2021.
"This is a great example of what Parsons Officers are out doing day in and day out,” according to Patrol Lt. Kyle Wiford, who assisted Officer Wisdom and also runs the police department’s Parsons Registered Offender Program (PROP). “Officer Wisdom was just out doing his job and turned a minor traffic stop into the felony arrest of a convicted, violent offender for violating the terms of his registration."
Edwards is being held on no bond and charges are being requested through the Labette County Attorney's Office for three counts of violation of offender registration, driving while suspended and defective vehicle equipment, according to the PPD. Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks, who has previously criticized the court system for being too lenient, also weighed in on Edwards’s arrest.
"It is up to the community to ensure that our judicial system is holding these violent habitual offenders accountable,” Spinks said in a press release. “My Officers can only arrest criminals for their actions and provide the best information available to the court system. It is the judicial system's responsibility to ensure our community will be safe for as long as possible from these habitual and repeat violent offenders. Court actions carry consequences when violent criminals are released on innocent citizens who will ultimately pay the price."
This continues to be an ongoing investigation and citizens are encouraged to "See It, Hear It, Report It," according to the PPD. If anyone has any further information on this incident or any other criminal activity in Parsons, they are asked to contact the Parsons Police Department at 620-421-7060, call the department’s tip line at 620-421-7057, or email tips@parsonspd.com.
