Dec. 10—A man was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend in Miami Twp. nearly two years ago.
Juvall Antonio Jenkins, 31, pleaded guilty two to counts each of murder and felonious assault on Tuesday, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
He was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.
On Dec. 17, 2022, Miami Twp. police responded to Spring Hill Apartments on state Route 741 for a report of gunfire.
When officers arrived, they spoke to a resident who said a bullet hit a bedroom wall, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Police used the trajectory of the bullet that struck the headboard of a bed to determine the shot was fired inside another apartment, according to Miamisburg Municipal Court documents.
The front door to that apartment was reportedly unlocked, and no one responded when police called out.
Officers found 29-year-old Kayla Marie Davis dead inside the apartment. She had been shot several times.
Police also found four shell casings.
Investigators determined from prior calls to the apartment that Davis lived there with her children and had a protection order against Jenkins, the father of the children, who also had lived there.
Officers contacted Jenkins, who said he had no idea where Davis or the children were, according to municipal court records. Police later learned the children were with their grandmother.
Hours later, Tennessee State Highway Patrol told dispatchers Jenkins approached a trooper on in Knox County and said he shot and possibly killed his girlfriend, according to the prosecutor’s office.
A Miami Twp. detective spoke to the trooper, who said “Jenkins told him the address the incident happened at … and gave his girlfriend’s name,” an affidavit stated.
Jenkins was arrested and brought back to Ohio before being booked in the Montgomery County Jail.