Preston Parker, Former-Atlantic Football Star, Facing Drug, Weapon Charges

By CRA News Service

Preston Lenard Parker, the former Atlantic High School star wide receiver who went on to play for Florida State University and the NFL, was arrested after Boca Raton police said they found drugs and a gun during a traffic stop.

Parker, 29, of Delray Beach, was released from the Palm Beach County jail April 1 on a $15,000 bond. He was charged with cocaine possession, displaying a firearm during a felony and tampering with evidence.

According to the March 31 arrest report, Parker ran a stop sign as he left the BP gas station, 5440 West Glades Road, in a black Chevrolet Impala shortly before 4 p.m.

An officer also noticed that the tint on the window appeared to be darker than the legal limit, according to the report.

As the officer tried to stop Parker, he continued driving while making movements toward the car’s center console and under the driver’s seat, police said.

Parker continued onto entrance ramp to Interstate 95 where he slowed down to 20 mph, then 5 mph before eventually stopping about three quarters of a mile from where the traffic stop began, according to the report.

The car was swerving back and forth between the pavement and the grass while traveling north on Interstate 95, the officer wrote.

Police said they found marijuana in a mason jar and white powder substance, later tested to be cocaine, in a small zippered bag and on the floorboard. Police also said they also found a loaded 9mm Glock under the driver’s seat.

Parker said he did not know the “white powder substance” was cocaine, according to the report. This is not Parker’s first brush with the law. In November 2006, Tallahassee police said he tried

to steal a DVD. Police arrested him again in April 2008 after police found a concealed weapon and marijuana in his possession, state records show. After his third arrest in January 2009 on suspicion of driving under the influence, former head coach Bobby Bowden kicked him off the

team the following month. Parker finished his collegiate career at Division II University of North Alabama.

He began his NFL career in 2010 and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until he was released in 2012. He spent the 2013 preseason with the New Orleans Saints, but he was cut priorto the start of the season.

The New York Giants signed Parker in 2014, but released him in early last season after playing just two games, several costly drops, and making five catches for 43 yards, according to published reports. He has not played since. During his career, Parker caught the ball 85 times

for 1,054 yards and five touchdowns.