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The Case of Jonathan Parker
📻 Episode #543
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Sep 22, 2025
About This Episode
On April 9, 1997, shortly after midnight in Buffalo, NY, Officers Charles “Skip” McDougald and Michael Martinez were patrolling near Northampton and East Parade in Buffalo’s East Side when they observed what they described as a “suspicious person.” According to police accounts, when they approached, the individual produced a handgun and fired. Officer McDougald was…
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The Case
On April 9, 1997, shortly after midnight in Buffalo, NY, Officers Charles “Skip” McDougald and Michael Martinez were patrolling near Northampton and East Parade in Buffalo’s East Side when they observed what they described as a “suspicious person.” According to police accounts, when they approached, the individual produced a handgun and fired. Officer McDougald was struck in the chest and fatally wounded, and Officer Martinez was shot and seriously injured but survived. Nineteen-year-old Jonathan Parker was convicted for the shooting death of Officer McDougald and the attempted murder of Officer Martinez, and was sentenced to life without parole plus consecutive terms. The prosecution’s case rested heavily on eyewitness testimony and seized items, while Parker has consistently maintained his innocence.
https://www.instagram.com/metcalflawnyc/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/159-jason-flom-with-keyontay-ricks/
https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/s1e1-us-senator-dick-durbin-on-ending-mass-incarceration/
Or call:
Steven Metcalf: 631.521.1499
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:05:05“Speaker 4: High School. Once you do a lot of times, you Speaker 4: returned to a normal high school of South Park High Speaker 4: School didn't want to accept me because I was a Speaker 4: year behind the man and I kind of dropped out Speaker 4: of high school, at which point I got involved in”
00:20:14“Speaker 5: as to acquit Jonathan, but to keep him alive. So Speaker 5: trying to create sympathy or pity from the jury, He said, Speaker 5: Jonathan did it, but it was in the spur of Speaker 5: the moment. He didn't plan on doing it, which is all. Yes,”
00:35:08“Speaker 5: Motion, I had four issues. Issue one was based on McCoy. Speaker 5: Issue two, McCoy is retroactive because at that point under Speaker 5: Montgomery and Welch they had held it to be retroactive. Speaker 5: Third was newly discovered evidence, basically Aaron Yacht and Aaron Speaker 5: Yarborough's testimony. And the fourth issue actual innocence. I did”
Listen to the Episode
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