Trial starts for man charged in 2019 fatal shooting at Kum & Go in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — A non-jury trial starts Wednesday in Linn County for a Davenport man charged with killing an Illinois man at a Cedar Rapids gas station and convenience store in 2019.

Todd Ricky Jenkins, 25, is charged with first-degree murder and going armed with intent. He is accused of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, Reginald Ward, 27, of Moline, Ill., on Oct. 30, 2019, outside the Kum & Go, 3132 First Ave. NE.

Ward, who had gun injuries to his leg and hip area, according to a trial exhibit filed Tuesday, died the next day at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Hospital.

Jenkins drove from Davenport to Cedar Rapids with a loaded handgun that day and waited outside his ex-girlfriend’s home to confront Ward, according to a criminal complaint. When Ward and his girlfriend left in a vehicle, Jenkins followed and got into a road rage incident with Ward.

The two vehicles eventually stopped at the convenience store and Jenkins shot Ward, the complaint stated. Jenkins fled to the Quad Cities area, but he was identified by witnesses and surveillance video as the shooter.

Jenkins, who is claiming self-defense, waived his right to a jury trial, and 6th Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover will decide the verdict. She will make a written ruling sometime after the trial is completed next week.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Jenkins faces life in prison without parole.

Jenkins, who had a warrant out for his arrest, was taken into custody last July at a hotel in Aurora, Ill., with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Task Force, according to police. He was found with Kiara La Shae Morrise, 22, of Cedar Rapids, who is charged with helping Jenkins evade arrest and would not cooperate with law enforcement.

Jenkins attempted to run from police by going out a second-story window at the hotel but was quickly taken into custody, police said.

Another woman, Dawn L. Benavidez, 49, of Davenport, charged with accessory after the fact, helped Jenkins drive from Muscatine to Davenport and then helped conceal his whereabouts from authorities, according to a criminal complaint.

According to the defense witness list, Benavidez and Morrise will testify for Jenkins at trial.

Morrise and Benavidez are charged with accessory after the fact, an aggravated misdemeanor. Morrise’s trial is June 21, and the Benavidez trial is set for July 19.

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