A Durango man was found guilty this week of second-degree murder for shooting and killing another man in a motel room in 2023.
A two-week trial was held this month for Jonnie Cash Kimbrough, now 22, for the Oct. 25, 2023, shooting of Quentin Mayberry at the Wapiti Lodge in west Durango.
Mayberry forced his way into the room, refused to leave and threatened Kimbrough and Hunter Griswold, according to an arrest affidavit. He then sat on a bed, and Kimbrough threatened to shoot him.
Mayberry all but dared him to fire the weapon, according to the affidavit. Kimbrough shot Mayberry in the head, causing a “nonsurvivable injury,” according to an emergency room doctor affiliated with Mercy Hospital. Mayberry died in the hospital Nov. 1, 2023.
In closing arguments Friday, prosecutors William Davis and Connor Wills said Kimbrough eliminate a romantic rival out of jealousy and a desire to have Griswold “all to himself.”
Kimbrough described being in an “on again, off again” relationship with Griswold, who had also previously been romantically involved with Mayberry.
Durango defense attorneys Katherine Whitney and Brian Schowalter said Kimbrough was a scared 20-year-old who responded in self-defense to a “scary individual,” and that he was being manipulated by Griswold.
Prosecutors said Kimbrough had ample time to consider firing the gun, and he chose to pull the trigger – making it a deliberate act.
Griswold told Kimbrough to “stop” and “put the gun down” at least 15 times before the weapon was discharged, Wills said. He said the time it took Kimbrough to retrieve the gun from Griswold’s bag and fix a jam in the gun’s cartridge before firing represented a conscious and deliberate decision to shoot, rather than a heat-of-the-moment reaction.
Prosecutors showed video calls Kimbrough made with friends and family while he was at the La Plata County Jail. In one call, Kimbrough is seen pumping his fist in the air after hearing that Mayberry died, saying, “My mission was successful.”
“She only has one boyfriend now,” Kimbrough said in another call, referencing Griswold.
“I don’t regret a damn thing,” he said in yet another. “I almost feel (expletive) empowered.”
Prosecutors said communications Kimbrough had with friends, family and Griswold also amounted to witness tampering.
In one call, Kimbrough asked a friend to speak with “my moon” for him – believed to be Griswold – so they could “get on the same page.”
In a call with Griswold, Griswold said Mayberry didn’t break into the motel room. Kimbrough replied, “I opened the door for you, not for him, and you need to say that or else I’ll spend the rest of my (expletive) life in here.”
The defense said Mayberry had meth in his system. Mayberry’s erratic behavior – like yelling threats at Kimbrough and Griswold while in the room and daring Kimbrough to shoot – is evidence of Mayberry being a “scary person,” they said.
Mayberry followed Griswold home after a night out at the bars, and Griswold had texted Kimbrough for help while on her way back to the Wapiti Lodge, Whitney said.
Griswold also arranged a drug deal the night of Oct. 25 with Mayberry’s help.
Whitney said Mayberry entered the room despite Kimbrough and Griswold repeatedly verbally denying him entry, making Mayberry’s presence unlawful and Kimbrough’s actions within his legal rights.
Security camera footage from the night of the incident shows Kimbrough, Mayberry and Griswold seemingly calmly entering the room together. Kimbrough can be seen moving aside slightly, leaving room in the doorway for Griswold – and then Mayberry – to enter.
Whitney argued that that was not an invitation by Kimbrough to come inside, but an inability on Kimbrough’s part to physically stand up to Mayberry in that moment.
Kimbrough was young, traumatized and “doing the best he could,” Whitney said.
Whitney described Griswold as an “emotionally needy person” who manipulated Kimbrough and undermined his boundaries by continuing to spend time with Mayberry while in a relationship with Kimbrough.
Griswold texted Mayberry the night of the incident, in one message reportedly writing, “I love you,” Whitney said.
When confronted about the messages while on the stand during the earlier days of the trial, Griswold told the defense she “didn’t know” and “couldn’t remember” anything about the texts.
Kimbrough bit his lip and clenched his jaw as the verdict was read Monday, but remained composed.
“I love you, dad,” he told his father, who attended most of the trial, as he exited the chamber Monday after the verdict.
In addition to second-degree murder, Kimbrough was found guilty of tampering with a witness and violation of a protection order.
The 12-person jury spared him a first-degree murder conviction.
Sentencing is set for Feb. 20.
epond@durangoherald.com
