OP-NAT EYE
December 5, 2015
UPDATED December 21, 2017: Pike County cop Joel Jenkins sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.
UPDATED December 11, 2015: Grand jury indicts Jenkins on murder, reckless homicide charges.
WAVERLY, OHIO — Joel Jenkins has now killed two people in the last nine months; this time while drunk and off-duty.
The latest murder happened Thursday night around 11:40 p.m. at Jenkins’ home in Waverly – a town of 4,400 residents, 100 miles east of Cincinnati. Jenkins called the Pike County administrative line and told them he “accidentally discharged” a gun and shot his neighbor, 40-year-old Jason Brady, in the head.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined that Jenkins was drunk at the time so he was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter. He was taken to the Franklin County Jail Friday morning and will be there until at least Monday when he’ll likely post a small bond.
Coincidentally or otherwise, a grand jury was expected to convene this Thursday, December 10 to decide Jenkins fate in another shooting this past March. Jenkins and another cop fired numerous bullets when they killed 28-year-old Robert Rooker after car chase.
Witnesses and family told WBNS Channel 10 in Columbus that the shooting “horrifying” and it was absolutely unnecessary and excessive. Pike County prosecutor Robert Junk, in typical police state fashion, said the cops “feared for their lives” and were forced to kill Mr. Rooker.
Jenkins had only been back working as an active cop for about three months. Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader, who took over the office in May, ordered Jenkins to pass a mental health evaluation before putting him back on the streets. Less than 100 days later, he’s already killed another person.
The involuntary manslaughter charge is, for all intents and purposes, a slap on the wrist. Involuntary manslaughter not involving a pregnant woman in Ohio is a third-degree felony punishable by as little as nine months in prison if found guilty. The most likely scenario is that the cop signs some kind of plea deal, the city pays the family a pittance settlement, and the cop will work for another police organization thereafter.
Our thoughts are with the Brady and Rooker families.