James William Parsons III, 19, of Pinson applied for youthful offender status Thursday.
A hearing on the matter is set for Dec. 16 before St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Charles Robinson. If granted, Parsons’ criminal hearing would remain behind close doors, much like a juvenile hearing.
Parsons, whose father is interim Fire Chief Jim Parsons, is charged with two counts of theft of property second-degree.
“He’s a good kid, but he was hanging around someone older,” Parsons said shortly after his son’s arrest in June. “I’m not trying to justify this. What he did was wrong, and he’ll have to answer for what he did.”
The younger Parsons allegedly stole four Motorola radios used by firefighters. The radios were valued at $2,600 and were stored in the closet at one of the fire stations.
His father said the radios were old and not frequently used. Technically, the radios belong to the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency, but the radios were stored at the main fire station and used by Pell City firefighters.
“They were not something we used everyday,” he said.
Parsons said he only discovered the radios were missing when police approached him shortly before his son’s arrest.
The radios were allegedly stolen between Jan. 1-Feb. 17, but were only discovered missing in June when authorities notified fire department officials about the possible theft of the radios.
“When a police officer approached me, wanting to talk to my son, it surprised me,” Parsons said.
The younger Parsons was released shortly after his arrest in June, posting a $5,000 bond.
“It’s a bad situation all the way around,” said Parsons said shortly after his son’s arrest.
Parsons said his son admitted to the theft.
“He came clean,” Parsons said. “I believe he did something really stupid. Now, he’ll have to answer for what he did.”
Contact David Atchison at datchison@dailyhome.com.
