Jenna Parks

WARSAW — A Warsaw woman was sentenced Thursday, May 10, in Kosciusko Superior Court 1 on charges relating to a domestic battery incident that resulted in a male being transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital. 

Jenna Rose Parks, 33, 223 W. Jefferson St., Warsaw, was found guilty of domestic battery, a level 5 felony, and violation of probation. 

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 28, 2017, officers with the Warsaw Police Department responded to a fight at Victory Hotel, 223 W Jefferson St. Upon arrival, officers saw a female, later identified as Parks, walking down an adjacent alley. Officers soon became aware that Parks was a suspect in the fight complaint and spoke with her.

Officers located a black pocket knife on Parks. According to a Kosciusko County CSI technician, the knife had a blood stain on it.

The officers also located the other participant in the fight, Parks’ boyfriend. Parks and her boyfriend lived in apartment 8 at the Victory Hotel. The boyfriend suffered a 3 inch laceration to his lower left leg. It was noted that the laceration was very close to the bone.

The boyfriend said he received the wound while he was lying on the bed. The couple had been arguing when it suddenly turned violent. Parks approached the bed and the male raised his feet, which is when the injury occurred. He was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital for treatment.

Neighbors at the Victory Hotel advised they heard the couple arguing and reported hearing the male yell, “Oh my God, look what you did to me. You hurt me bad.” The neighbors then witnessed Parks leave the building, and the male asked them for help.

During sentencing today, Bill Fawley, founder and director of All Things New, a rehabilitation facility for women struggling with substance abuse, spoke about Parks. Fawley said he was there primarily because he did not want the court to be under the impression that Parks wasted her time there, even though she did not complete the program.

“Jenna was in our program for about seven months. She did not relapse. She had all clean drug screens,” Fawley said, describing Parks as a very hard worker. 

“She demonstrated a dogged determination to learn about her addiction and how to cope with it,” said Fawley.

When asked why she did not complete the program there, Fawley replied, “I think it was more of a personality thing. Jenna is a nonconformist and that is hard to deal with in a group living situation where we have to require some conformity.”

“I have rarely seen cases when so many respected members of our community have written letters in support,” Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz stated, “but nearly all of those letters are from people whose knowledge of Jenna are in a structured, strict oversight program. It seems that Jenna succeeds when she has someone keeping track of her but fails when she’s on her own.”

Judge David Cates ordered that Parks’ probation be revoked and sentenced her to two years at the Indiana Department of Corrections for violation of probation. For the domestic battery charge, Cates sentenced Parks to two years at IDOC. He ordered the sentences to be served consecutively and stated he would have no objection to the sentences being served through Community Corrections so long as she resides at and successfully completes a program at either Serenity House or Rose Home.  

Parks was ordered to pay a $50 domestic violence fee and to pay court costs. She was given 244 days of jail time credit.