MINOT -- “I’m at a loss for words. I can’t recall anything like this,” Judge Todd Cresap told the defendant. “Take it to heart and clean up your act.”
With that, Cresap accepted the guilty plea of Scott Parizek, 33, Minot, in a change of plea session Thursday in North-Central District Court. Parizek was charged with Negligent Homicide, a C felony, and False Information to Law Enforcement, an A misdemeanor.
According to a declaration of facts read in court, the contents of which Parizek agreed were accurate, Parizek was implicated in the death of Kyra Derouin, 28, who died on August 19, 2022, due to injuries that occurred on Aug. 8, 2022. Parizek was arrested on March 20, 2023.
Parizek gave conflicting statements to law enforcement as to how Derouin suffered her injuries and whether she was provided timely and proper medical care. According to law enforcement, Derouin suffered her injuries from a vehicular accident in the Deering area. Parizek claimed Derouin fell from a dirt bike but a North Dakota Highway Patrol investigator who examined the scene concluded otherwise.
Parizek initially brought Derouin to his residence, then to Trinity Hospital but left that medical facility without Derouin receiving any care, reportedly telling hospital staff that “no law enforcement was to get involved.” Several hours later he returned to Trinity ER, leaving Derouin there and departing the hospital.
Neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Wood operated on Derouin, stating that the time that lapsed from the time of her injury until treatment was the main factor leading to her death. Dr. Wood told investigators that Derouin had a blood clot, or “subdural hematoma”, on the surface of her brain.
When asked by Cresap if the State’s assertion was accurate, Parizek replied, “Yes, your honor.”
Cresap then asked Parizek if he had anything additional to say. The response was “I’m deeply sorry.”
Parizek was sentenced to five years in the State Penitentiary with the stipulation that he serve at least 18 months, received three years of probation, and ordered to pay $1,100 in fines. He was also sentenced to 360 days on the False Information charge, which will run concurrently with his five-year sentence.
