Driver gets probation in fatal 2020 hit-and-run

Plea deal reflected suspect's remorse, his lawyer says

OAKLAND >> A Concord man has been sentenced to two years of probation and a 14-day jail sentence he'd already served for killing a man in a car crash nearly four years ago, court records show.

Richard Parquet III, 22, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter in the April 2020 crash that killed 55-year-old Ricky Vigil. According to police, Parquet initially fled after the crash, but two days later went to the Oakland Police Department to confess and turn himself in.

Parquet's lawyer, Colin Cooper, said he took Parquet's case on pro bono because he was so impressed with the young man, whom he described as “naturally smart and mature.” Parquet is involved in job corps programs and volunteer work with the city of Oakland and is working to raise a family, the attorney said.

“Every time we went to court he had some different accolade to show he'd been progressing in life,” Cooper said. “He also wrote one of the most heartfelt apology letters I've ever seen, very early in this case.”

Vigil was hit by a Mercedes-Benz

R-class multipurpose vehicle about 8:04 p.m. April 18, 2020, at the intersection of 35th and Brookdale avenues in East Oakland. Police said at the time that he was walking across the street in an unmarked crosswalk when he was hit by the driver headed northbound. He died later at a hospital.

Two days later, Parquet turned himself in to Oakland police and said he was involved the collision, but asked for an attorney after further questioning, police said in court records.

He later was freed from jail after securing $150,000 through a bail bonds company, court records show. The plea deal was finalized in December.