Kionta Parks. Courtesy of Spalding County Sheriff's Office
SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - A Spalding County gang member has been sentenced to life in prison plus five years for the 2023 shooting death of 11-year-old Asijah Jones, who was killed by a stray bullet while sleeping in her bed.
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What we know:
Kionta Parks, 23, of Griffin, pleaded guilty on Aug. 5 to multiple charges, including felony murder, aggravated assault, domestic terrorism, and violations of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. Parks, a known member of the Zoo Krew gang with ties to the Rollin 20s Neighborhood Bloods, was sentenced in Spalding County Superior Court.
Authorities say Parks opened fire on a rival gang member's vehicle on March 13, 2023, as it entered Spalding Heights—an apartment complex in Griffin known as a gang stronghold. A bullet from the rifle pierced a nearby apartment wall, striking Asijah as she slept next to her 9-year-old sister. Her mother and brother were also inside the apartment.
Parks fired a total of 28 rounds that night, authorities said—23 from a rifle and five from a 9mm handgun. Ballistics linked the handgun to another shooting a month earlier, in which a fellow gang member was shot and refused to identify the gunman. Surveillance footage also captured Parks carrying a rifle and selling drugs in the community.
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What they're saying:
District Attorney Marie Broder praised the collaborative efforts that led to the conviction and said her office remains committed to fighting gang violence.
Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said Parks admitted in court to the killing, facing Asijah’s family as he entered his guilty plea.
The case was investigated by the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office and jointly prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit and the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office.
Parks pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- 1 count of Felony Murder
- 2 counts of Aggravated Assault
- 1 count of Domestic Terrorism
- 2 counts of Violation of the Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act
- 1 count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
Big picture view:
The Gang Prosecution Unit, created in 2022 by Attorney General Carr, has secured nearly 115 convictions since its inception and is continuing to expand across Georgia.