A former Delta Force soldier again faces federal criminal charges for allegedly stealing grenades and drones from his unit, according to court documents.
Parker Allen Gibson, who records say was a retired intelligence noncommissioned officer assigned to the secretive unit, had similar charges against him dismissed in 2022 due to a dispute over who had access to a North Carolina storage unit where various military gear was recovered. His then-wife, according to a 2022 transcript, is a special operations warrant officer.
In the first case, prosecutors claimed Gibson had stolen live grenades and stored them alongside various Delta Force memorabilia. The storage unit also held special operations ammunition and approximately 20 surveillance drones ranging in size from small DJI copters to fixed-wing units with a 10-foot wingspan.
Prosecutors filed new charges against Gibson on Feb. 23, and the retired soldier was arrested March 12. The Assembly, a North Carolina news outlet, first reported the new indictment.
His new charges include four felony counts related to the grenades and one charge of unlawfully retaining classified information. The indictment did not detail how prosecutors resolved the first case’s evidentiary shortcomings.
The Delta Force veteran medically retired in 2021 after a career that included a stint as a combat engineer before entering the special operations realm. He earned two Bronze Star Medals and received a Purple Heart, according to court records.
Gibson was released pending trial on conditions including limited contact with his spouse, travel restrictions and GPS monitoring.
Davis Winkie covers the Army for Military Times. He studied history at Vanderbilt and UNC-Chapel Hill, and served five years in the Army Guard. His investigations earned the Society of Professional Journalists' 2023 Sunshine Award and consecutive Military Reporters and Editors honors, among others. Davis was also a 2022 Livingston Awards finalist.
