Local murder suspect arrested in Chicago

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

A 33-year-old woman accused of fatally shooting another woman in McKeesport last month was taken into custody Wednesday by U.S. marshals in Chicago.

Gabrielle Parker is charged by Allegheny County police with criminal homicide and one count of carrying a firearm without a license. She allegedly shot Ericka Stevens, 29, of Pittsburgh in the face in the early morning hours of June 18 following an altercation the two women were allegedly involved in minutes prior inside of a bar on the 500 block of Fifth Avenue, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

McKeesport and Allegheny County police and emergency medical technicians from McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service found Stevens’ body in a vehicle in a parking lot across from the bar. She was pronounced dead a little over 10 minutes after being discovered, according to a report from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

U.S. Marshal Michael Baughman of the Western District of Pennsylvania office announced Thursday that Parker had been taken into custody without incident near Chicago’s Douglas Park. Marshals learned earlier in the day that she had been staying at a residence in the city.

The U.S. Marshals Western Pennsylvania Fugitive Task Force and Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, which each include members of the Allegheny County and Westmoreland County sheriff’s Offices, the Pittsburgh Police Department, state police and the state Probation and Parole Board, provided assistance in locating and apprehending Parker at the request of ACPD.

Parker’s preliminary hearing hadn’t been scheduled prior to presstime.