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CMPD: Local bondsman arrested on rape charges

By Tina Terry, wsoctv.com
By Tina Terry, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE — A local bondsman is behind bars for the second time in three months after he was arrested during a sting at an auto body shop in Union County.
 
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's violent crime unit arrested Brian Parris Wednesday morning on charges of second-degree rape, sexual offense and filing a false police report.
 
Parris had been on the run from police since they issued an arrest warrant last week, accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman in the 200 block of McDowell Street in uptown Charlotte, authorities said.
 
Channel 9 had the only camera there as Parris was brought in for questioning, though he denied the allegations.
 
"Those allegations are false, they're under false pretenses," he said while being escorted to jail in handcuffs. "I've done nothing but help this woman and get her into drug treatment programs. If she would testify today, she would tell you I did not do that."
 
The bondsman was first arrested in October after police said he helped a former client, Shakeyra Cousart, rob two pharmacies in Charlotte, according to court documents.
 
Parris had intimate knowledge of the crimes and helped hide Cousart until she was arrested, the documents revealed.
 
Parris' fellow bondsmen said his latest arrest tarnishes the image of their vocation.
 
"It just looks bad for the whole industry when one of our people is out on the run also," said Jim Camp, who is vice president of the North Carolina Bail Agents Association.
 
Camp also said Parris' legal troubles will not interfere with his job as a bondsman for now.
 
"The Department of Insurance will not do anything to restrict his license unless he's found guilty of a felony," Camp said.

Channel 9 reported on Parris in October after he was arrested in connection with two drug store robberies.

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