An 80-year-old private security guard charged with shooting and killing a local man last year as he fled from an apparent robbery has been indicted for murder by a Dallas County grand jury.

Keiffer Bohannon was arrested July19, 2001 after he shot and killed 28-year-old Christopher Parks outside of Mr. Roy’s gas station and truck stop, located on the Cecil Jackson Bypass. Bohannon was released on a $10,000 bond in July and remains free.

According to police reports, the incident occurred around midnight, when the suspect (Parks), came into the store and used force to take money from the cash register. He then fled on foot outside the store, where Bohannon pursued him, demanding him to stop.

Police say as Parks entered a vehicle, Bohannon fired one shot at him. Parks was not carrying a firearm and died on the scene.

An autopsy report from the Department of Forensic Sciences determined Parks died of a gun shot to the back to the head. It also revealed Parks had cocaine in his system at the time of the incident.

District Attorney Ed Greene said Bohannon was employed as a private security guard apparently pursued the offender to the car, when he was attempting to drive away and shot him.

“While Mr. Bohannon, as an agent of the business had a living right and duty to protect the cashier and defend himself and to stand his ground in defending the business, the legal difficulty arises as he shoots the fleeing felon. The use of deadly force would require some element of danger to himself, the cashier or others,” Greene said.

“Certainly, this office has taken the position that criminals should be prohibited from carrying out their crimes.

In the state of Alabama, there is a laws that states a person can not use deadly force to shoot a fleeing suspect, Greene said.

Bohannon nor the Parks family was available for comment.