Affidavit: 19-year-old killed Dallas Lyft driver before taking his car
A 78-year-old man found shot to death Saturday in the parking lot of a motel in far northeastern Dallas was the Lyft driver for a 19-year-old arrested in his slaying, according to court documents.
Maurice Parker faces a capital murder charge and was being held on a $5 million bond at the Dallas County Jail, records show. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
Officers responded about 3:40 a.m. to the parking lot of the Budget Suites of America in the 9500 block of Forest Lane and found the body of Mohammad Haddad-Farshi, police said at the time.
Haddad-Farshi's wallet, phone and car were missing, according to an arrest-warrant affidavit obtained by The Dallas Morning News. Detectives learned the vehicle he was driving was one rented to him as a Lyft driver. The last ride Haddad-Farshi gave, according to Lyft, was to Parker for an address near where the body was found, the affidavit says.
As the murder investigation was ongoing, Parker was arrested the same day of the shooting on an unlawful carrying of a weapons charge after a witness reported about 6:40 p.m. that he was in the motel's courtyard firing shots at the ground while children were around, an officer wrote in the affidavit.
After officers arrested him at gunpoint at the motel, he told them the gun he was shooting belonged to his mother who gave it to him “as a gift for protection,” the affidavit says.
While searching Parker's belongings, the warrant says officers found a wallet containing multiple documents tied to Haddad-Farshi including his Texas driver's license, passport card and Social Security card.