Opening statements were made Wednesday in the trial of a Durango man accused of shooting and killing another man in 2023.
Jonnie Cash Kimbrough, now 22, is on trial for the Oct. 25, 2023, shooting of Quentin Mayberry at the Wapiti Lodge in west Durango. According to an arrest affidavit, Mayberry forced his way into the room, refused to leave, and threatened Kimbrough and Hunter Griswold. He then sat on a bed, and Kimbrough threatened to shoot him.
Mayberry all but dared Kimbrough to pull the trigger ‒ and Kimbrough did, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors William Davis and Connor Wills said Kimbrough saw a chance to eliminate a romantic rival – and he took it.
“This case is unique because we get to know what was in his (Kimbrough’s) mind,” Wills said.
Wills showed videos of Kimbrough speaking with friends after his arrest. Kimbrough said he had dreams that Mayberry was still alive and with Griswold. In one video, he said he was not sorry.
“My mission was successful,” Kimbrough said in another video, pumping his fist.
Kimbrough’s version of events changed throughout the investigation and differed from Griswold’s, Wills said.
In one account, Kimbrough told law enforcement that Mayberry chased Griswold to the motel and forced his way inside. But security footage taken from two angles showed Griswold and Mayberry walking calmly into the room, with no effort by Kimbrough to stop him.
Police bodycam footage recorded Kimbrough saying that Mayberry got on top of Griswold on the bed and threatened to hit her. Kimbrough said he shot Mayberry while he was on top of her. But in a later recorded interview, Kimbrough said Mayberry only tried to get on top of Griswold, and he shot him in the head as he sat on the bed.
Wills showed jurors photos of a white hoodie Griswold was wearing the night of the shooting, pointing out there was no blood on it. That would have been impossible if she had been under Mayberry, Wills said.
The bullet wound also indicated Mayberry would have been sitting on the bed, not turned away and forcing himself on Griswold, Wills said.
Kimbrough had previous conflicts with Mayberry, Wills said. Executing a romantic rival is murder, he said.
Durango defense attorneys Katherine Whitney and Brian Schowalter said Kimbrough behaved like a frightened 20-year-old defending himself from Mayberry.
Mayberry had been on a downward spiral, Schowalter said. He was suicidal, facing homelessness and becoming increasingly aggressive toward both Kimbrough and Griswold. Schowalter said Mayberry punched Griswold in the arm during a car ride sometime prior to the shooting, leaving a bruise.
Kimbrough, by contrast, was trying to get his life together, Schowalter said. A family friend paid for a motel room, giving him a stable, safe place to stay.
Griswold, who was still in a complicated relationship with Mayberry, asked Kimbrough to allow Mayberry to stay at the motel. Kimbrough agreed, but tensions escalated.
On Oct. 25, Griswold went to a bar, arranged a drug deal with Mayberry’s help, and he followed her back to the motel.
Kimbrough, who was underage, did not go to the bar. Text messages presented by the defense show he was worried about Mayberry following Griswold, but he didn’t know Mayberry was with her when she returned to the motel.
Kimbrough was smaller than Mayberry and would have lost a physical fight if he tried to block him from entering the room, so he let him in, the defense said.
“This idea that he was invited in, nobody said that,” Schowalter said. “If somebody you’re afraid of is coming in and you stand by, that is still trespass.”
Kimbrough and Griswold tried to get Mayberry to leave. Kimbrough eventually threatened him and shot him. Kimbrough then called police.
Kimbrough had been harassed repeatedly by Mayberry, and Griswold kept putting him in that position, the defense said.
Schowalter said Kimbrough was traumatized by the shooting, which explains his conflicting accounts to law enforcement. While Mayberry may not have broken into the motel room, Kimbrough consistently maintained that Mayberry entered without permission – which the defense says constitutes trespassing.
Kimbrough appeared remorseless in jail videos shown by prosecutors, but he cried when the 911 call was replayed.
Kimbrough is charged with first-degree murder, violating a protection order and two counts of tampering with victims or witnesses. The trial in 6th Judicial District Court in Durango is scheduled to run through Dec. 19.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
