A Durango man who shot and killed another man during a 2023 hotel room altercation was sentenced last week to more than four decades in prison.
Johnny Cash Kimbrough, now 22, was found guilty in December of shooting Quentin Mayberry in the head on Oct. 25, 2023, at the Wapiti Lodge in west Durango.
Mayberry was shot after he entered the motel room where Kimbrough and Hunter Griswold – his on-again, off-again girlfriend, who also had a romantic history with Mayberry – were staying.
During a two-week jury trial, prosecutors said Kimbrough wanted to eliminate a romantic rival out of jealousy and had ample time to consider firing the gun or resolving the standoff in some other manner. Because he chose to pull the trigger, prosecutors said Kimbrough acted deliberately.
The defense argued Kimbrough was a scared 20-year-old who acted in self-defense to threats and intimidation from Mayberry, who was acting erratically and had forced his way into the motel room – Kimbrough’s safe space. Additionally, Kimbrough was being manipulated by Griswold.
On Friday, 6th Judicial District Judge Nathaniel Baca sentenced Kimbrough to 44 years and 364 days in prison.
Kimbrough was found guilty of four counts. He was given 32 years for second-degree heat-of-passion murder, 12 years for two separate counts of witness tampering – all felonies – and 364 days for violating a protection order, a misdemeanor. Kimbrough must also serve five years of mandatory parole after being released from prison.
District Attorney Sean Murray said Kimbrough has already been held in jail for nearly 2½ years, which will be deducted from his sentence, per Colorado statute.
He said Baca’s decision shows how seriously the courts take witness tampering, specifically regarding instances where Kimbrough tried to influence Griswold to tell investigators misleading information that would make him less culpable.
In jailhouse phone calls, Kimbrough asked a friend to speak with “my moon” for him, believed to be Griswold, so they could “get on the same page.”
In another call, Griswold told Kimbrough that Mayberry didn’t break into the motel room; rather, he was let in by Kimbrough. That version of events appeared to be supported by motel security footage. But Kimbrough said she needed to testify differently or else “I’ll spend the rest of my (expletive) life in here.”
Murray said witness tampering during investigations can impede justice for victims.
“The whole point of the justice system is to seek the truth,” Murray said. “When people are willing to try to get witnesses to say something that they want them to say rather than what actually happened, it can undermine that truth-seeking function and diminish the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
Kimbrough also showed a lack of remorse and even seemed to celebrate news of Mayberry’s death by pumping his fist, according to video calls with his friends and family from jail. Murray said Kimbrough tried to distance himself from that behavior while addressing the court at sentencing.
“The prosecution played some jail calls where he seemed remorseless or to be celebrating the death and mocking the victim’s family and their suffering,” Murray said.
Murray said Friday’s sentencing will hopefully bring some healing to Mayberry’s family.
“They’ve endured tremendous trauma and loss,” he said, “and their courageous spirit throughout these proceedings made this outcome possible.”
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
