State trooper gets paroled from life sentence for 1993 Fayetteville murder
A State Highway Patrol trooper sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Fayetteville car lot owner was approved for parole last week, the state Post Release Supervision & Parole Commission announced Wednesday.
Maurice Ilvento Parker, 56, was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of Vonnie Hall, 56, owner of Hall's Motor Co., formerly in the 3400 block of Cumberland Road. Parker was sentenced to life in prison.
According to the parole commission, Parker completed the Mutual Agreement Parole Program before his release.
In MAPP, inmates prepare for release through structured activities, scheduled progression in custody levels and participation in community-based programs, according to the Department of Public Safety. The parole commission announced in February 2022 that Parker had been accepted into the program.
While the state's current law, Structured Sentencing, eliminated parole on Oct. 1, 1994, people like Parker convicted of crimes committed before that date are still eligible for early release. He was released from custody Thursday, according to records with the state Department of Adult Correction.
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'He was the law'
In January 1993, Vonnie Hall was gunned down in the front seat of his car parked in front of Hall's Motor Co.
The prosecution presented evidence at trial that showed Parker and a Vonnie Hall employee, Mike Hall, no relation, were forging car titles stolen from the car lot to sell cars without Vonnie Hall's permission. Witnesses testified during the trial that Vonnie Hall found out about the scheme and told Parker that he needed to pay for the cars and return the stolen car titles or he would contact Parker's Highway Patrol superiors.
Assistant Public Defender John Britt said at the time of Parker's sentencing that Vonnie Hall did not want Parker to be criminally charged for stealing the titles but instead hoped Parker would be fired from the Highway Patrol.
A pimp and drug dealer named Willie Campbell, who at the time of Parker's trial was serving a 22-year federal prison term for drug violations, testified that Parker had asked him to kill Vonnie Hall. Campbell testified that Parker told him if he couldn't find a hitman, he would do the killing himself.
"I said no, and he said, 'Mr. Hall has got to go if he had to do it himself,''' Campbell told the jury.
David Martin Jr., a mechanic at Hall's Motor Co., testified that in the night of the murder, he saw Parker drive his Highway Patrol cruiser up to a car at the business and heard three gunshots.
Martin said that as he began to run, Parker pulled up next to him and ordered him to get into the vehicle. Parker threatened Martin and told him that if he opened his mouth his family would be harmed.
"Did you call the law at that time?" Assistant District Attorney Charles Scott asked Martin during the October 1998 murder trial.
"No," Martin said.
"Why not?" Scott asked.
"He was the law," Martin replied.
The murder trial was a capital case Parker was sentenced to life imprisonment after the jury deadlocked 6-6 on whether he should be sentenced to die.
Mike Hall pleaded to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the killing. The prosecutor said that Martin lured Vonnie Hall to his car lot on Cumberland Road so Parker could kill him.
Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Maurice Parker gets parole in 1993 Fayetteville murder of Vonnie Hall
