A 25-year-old man who was shot in the head earlier this week at a Durango motel all but dared his shooter to pull the trigger – and the shooter did it, according to an arrest affidavit.
Quentin Mayberry suffered a “non-survivable injury,” according to an emergency room doctor affiliated with Mercy Hospital. Still, he was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center where he was on life support as of earlier this week, according to police and court documents.
Jonnie Cash Kimbrough, 20, appeared Thursday in 6th Judicial District Court to be advised of possible charges, which included attempted murder. That charge will likely be increased to first-degree murder if Mayberry does not survive his gunshot wound.
Kimbrough, wearing shackles and a jail-issued jumpsuit, appeared calm and collected as Chief District Judge Jeffrey Wilson moved through Thursday’s procedural hearing. But he sat down and put his head between his knees and sobbed for about three minutes at the end of the hearing.
Kimbrough is being represented by Durango defense lawyer Katie Whitney.
Deputy District Attorney Justin Howard Pierce asked that Kimbrough be held on a $5 million cash-only bail, saying the attempted murder charge is expected to be increased to first-degree murder, and because Kimbrough already has a prior criminal history.
Kimbrough is suspected of stealing cash, a vehicle and a firearm earlier this month from his girlfriend’s mother in Cortez, according to The Journal. Kimbrough was picked up on an arrest warrant in La Plata County, but he was later released on bail.
A black Taurus G3C 9 mm pistol, the same kind of gun that was stolen in Cortez, was used in the motel shooting, according to the affidavit.
Kimbrough self-reported the shooting at 3:08 a.m. Wednesday at the Wapiti Lodge at 21625 U.S. Highway 160 in west Durango. He initially told police that Mayberry broke into room No. 21 and was on top of Hunter Griswold, a woman with whom he had an on-again, off-again relationship.
He told police he shot Mayberry once in the head, according to the affidavit.
Police found a large pool of blood at the head of the bed.
But Griswold shared a slightly different story.
She told police she had an intimate relationship with Mayberry during one of the “off” periods with Kimbrough. She introduced the two men one or two months ago, and they seemed to get along, she said.
But a day before the shooting, Mayberry caused some “issues” and was asked to leave the motel room, Griswold said.
Later that night, Griswold went to a bar in Durango and ran into Mayberry. They hung out for a while, but Mayberry began hassling Griswold about being with Kimbrough. She asked Mayberry to set up a drug deal for later that night, and they went their separate ways, according to the affidavit.
Griswold said she returned to the Wapiti Lodge around midnight. About an hour later, she purchased drugs as part of the deal Mayberry had set up. But Mayberry was also in the drug dealer’s car, which apparently surprised Griswold, who said she didn’t want to be around Mayberry anymore that night.
After purchasing the drugs, Griswold began walking back to the Wapiti Lodge. Mayberry exited the drug dealer’s car and followed her, according to the affidavit.
She told police she tried to dissuade him from following her, but Mayberry continued running after her. She texted Kimbrough, who was at motel room, to inform him that Mayberry was following her to the room.
Kimbrough opened the door to let Griswold in, and Mayberry pushed his way in at the same time, she told police. Kimbrough and Mayberry immediately began arguing, she said.
Griswold said she and Kimbrough told Mayberry he was not welcome and told him to leave several times. But Mayberry got on the bed and refused to budge, according to the affidavit. He said he wanted to “smoke his foil,” a reference to heating drugs in a piece of aluminum foil and inhaling the smoke.
Kimbrough asked Griswold where her gun was located, but he quickly found it in her backpack, she told police. Kimbrough threatened to shoot Mayberry if he didn’t leave.
“Mayberry said he wasn’t leaving and challenged Jonnie Kimbrough about what he was going to do about it,” the affidavit says. “Quentin Mayberry said Jonnie Kimbrough wasn’t going to shoot him. But Jonnie Kimbrough did shoot Quentin Mayberry as he sat on the bed.”
Griswold said she screamed when the gun went off.
“I was just in so much disbelief that Jonnie did this,” she told police.
She said she did not want Mayberry in the room, but she was never in fear of being harmed by him. She said Mayberry had gotten “in her space” by standing over her, but he was never “on top of her” as Kimbrough had told police.
In speaking with police, Kimbrough said Mayberry lunged at Griswold and he had to grab Griswold out from under Mayberry before shooting him.
Formal filing of charges is scheduled for Nov. 3 in District Court.
shane@durangoherald.com
