“Not enough time in the world” for her brother’s killer

CEDAR RAPIDS — The sister of a Moline, Ill., man, who was fatally shot by his girlfriend’s former boyfriend in 2019, said Friday she had no remorse for what happened to his killer.

Alexandria Ward, sister of Reginald Ward Jr., 27, said in a victim impact statement that she has struggled for the last two years. She thought she would be satisfied when the guilty verdict came in for Todd Ricky Jenkins and he would be sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder and going armed with intent. But her brother still is gone and “there’s not enough time in the world” to change that.

“Couldn’t you just use your fist?” Ward said to Jenkins, 26, of Davenport. “Couldn’t you just walk away?”

Jacqueline Brown, Ward’s grandmother, in a statement told Jenkins he didn’t know what he took from their family. Her grandson helped many people. He was a brother, father, nephew and her firstborn grandson.

“This tore my family apart,” Brown said. “This was senseless. He was such a special person. He had a smile that would light up a room.”

Brown thanked the Cedar Rapids police for their work on the case and specifically, Lt. David Dostal, who called her first, as promised, when an arrest was made.

Reginald Ward Sr., his father, in a statement said he told his son to “leave that girl alone.” He told Jenkins he wasn’t there to “beat you up. It won’t comfort me. I wish you the best.”

Jenkins declined to speak before he was sentenced.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover, who found Jenkins guilty in September of first-degree murder and going armed with intent, sentenced him to life in prison without parole and ran the other five-year sentence concurrently.

Hoover also ordered Jenkins to pay $150,000 in restitution to Ward’s heirs or estate.

Jenkins waived his right to a jury trial and had a bench — non-jury — trial in May. He claimed self-defense.

Hoover, in her verdict, ruled Jenkins wasn’t justified in killing Ward, who was unarmed, during an early morning confrontation Oct. 30, 2019, in the parking lot of the Kum &, 3132 First Ave. NE.

According to testimony, Jenkins came to Cedar Rapids in the early morning that day and parked the vehicle he was driving, which was his sister’s, near the apartment of his former girlfriend, Kiara Morrise, 23, of Cedar Rapids. He waited for Morrise and Ward to leave and then followed them.

Hoover said investigators recovered surveillance footage from businesses of Jenkins following Ward and in the Kum & Go parking lot.

Investigators also used the GPS from the car Jenkins was driving to track his movements that day. At some point when the cars were moving, Ward and Morrise saw that Jenkins was following them, and Ward sent him a text, threatening to beat him up, Morrise testified.

Jenkins got out of his car in the convenience store parking lot and confronted Ward, who also got out of his car. Morrise testified that Jenkins was armed with a handgun and told Ward, “Get back, get back,” as Ward was walking backward toward Jenkins, saying, “Shoot it, shoot it.”

Ward then reached for Jenkins’ gun, and Jenkins fired three shots and possibly two more, Morrise said.

Hoover, in her ruling, noted other witnesses in the parking lot or in the store testified to seeing Jenkins with a gun, hearing gunshots and offered aid to Ward or called police.

Ward died the next day from a gunshot wound after a bullet shattered in his right thigh, severing the femoral artery, an autopsy showed.

Hoover said the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Jenkins shot Ward and that he acted willfully, with premeditation, deliberation and malice aforethought and that he had specific intent to kill Ward.

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