BRENHAM, TEXAS — Clenard Parker, the truck driver accused of intentionally driving a stolen 18-wheeler through the Brenham Texas Department of Public Safety office in April 2024, has pleaded guilty and will spend the rest of his life in prison. The plea agreement, finalized in Washington County, spares him the death penalty.
The attack happened April 12, 2024, and killed two people and injured numerous others. A Washington County grand jury had indicted Parker on capital murder charges, which made him eligible for capital punishment under Texas law. By accepting the deal, he waives his right to a jury trial and will serve a life sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The plea ends a case prosecutors had warned could take years to try.
The Attack
The day before, Parker visited the DPS office at 975 Highway 290 W to renew his commercial driver’s license and was denied. Officials said he threatened staff before leaving and vowed to return.
The next morning, he stole an 18-wheeler from a gas station in Chappell Hill and drove toward Brenham, leading local law enforcement on a brief pursuit. At about 10:55 a.m., he turned onto the eastbound Highway 290 service road, made a sharp turn into the DPS parking lot, and drove the semi straight through the building’s main double-door entrance, destroying the entryway.
Parker then threw the truck into reverse to ram the building a second time. Responders and law enforcement officers apprehended him at the wheel before he could.
Fourteen people were inside. Brenham Fire Department, Washington County EMS, Brenham Police, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office pulled victims from the rubble, and several critically injured patients were airlifted to regional trauma centers.
The Case
Parker was held in the Washington County Jail on multi-million-dollar bonds as charges were upgraded from aggravated assault and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle to multiple counts of capital murder, evading arrest, and criminal mischief. Earlier this year, reports said he had been deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Information courtesy of The Banner Press.
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