Athens teen arrested for having illegal automatic weapon

By Joe Johnson

An Athens teen reportedly was arrested Saturday night when found in possession of a handgun that had been illegally converted to a fully automatic firearm.

Attached to the .40 caliber Glock was a drum magazine that can hold up to 40 rounds of ammo, according to police.

Zechariah Tyrone Parks, 19, of Highland Park Drive was charged with unlawful possession of firearms or weapons, and is being detained at the county jail without bail.

An officer noted in the arrest report that Gang Unit detectives had seen Parks earlier that day on a music video posted to social media in which he “is clearly seen waving the automatic Glock pistol.”

A .40 caliber Glock pistol with a barrel ammo magazine

The arrest occurred when police chased a speeding car into the Hallmark Estates trailer park on Spring Valley Road, where Parks exited the car with a book bag that he threw while running through thick brush, police said, and when located, the bag was found to contain the illegal gun and barrel magazine. Parks was arrested after he stumbled while running and was tasered by an officer.

The car’s driver, 20-year-old Ty ’Quan Marquez Johnson of Sartain Drive, was arrested without any incident that was noted in a police report.

He was charged with speeding, and attempting to elude law enforcement.

Police said that Parks claimed that he ran from the car with the bag because Johnson, who had been released from jail the day before on drug possession charges, told him to.

He claimed that he thought the bag contained only marijuana.