LORAIN, Ohio — A Euclid ATM delivery driver charged in connection with the theft of $200,000 was arraigned Friday in Lorain Municipal Court. It’s a case police say is connected to a double fatal shooting that happened earlier this month.
Tyra Parker, 24, pleaded not guilty to obstructing official business, a second-degree misdemeanor. She was also charged with tampering with evidence and aggravated theft, both third-degree felonies. Those charges were bound over to a grand jury for consideration. Her bond was set at $150,000.
According to the Lorain Police Department, on Feb. 3, officers responded to a theft complaint. Parker told police that she was an ATM delivery driver and was making rounds in Lorain when she noticed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing from her work vehicle.
Parker told officers she made a delivery in Lorain, then went to her next stop. On the way to her third stop, she noticed the money was missing.
“Instead of contacting the police immediately, she drove back to her prior location and asked to check the cameras at the store; however, the area she parked in did not capture her delivery vehicle, which police learned later was clearly against company policy,” police said.
Upon further investigation, police said that her story changed when questioned and the lockbox containing the money had no signs of forced entry. During questioning, she was also extremely nervous and stopped cooperating with officers, authorities said.
According to police, detectives found evidence linking her to the theft.
Authorities charged her Thursday.
Police also state that Parker’s case is related to a double homicide that happened last week.
On Feb. 13, police responded to a home in the 1300 block of F Street in Lorain for a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Abril Mills, 28, and Jerhonda Edwards, 29, injured by gunfire. They had both been shot multiple times and later died.
Authorities have released no information detailing how the two cases are connected, but they did state additional persons of interest have been identified.
RELATED: Two women found shot to death Saturday, Lorain police investigating
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