In the late morning of Tuesday, June 9, 2015, the life of 23-year-old Sterling Dreyfus Jenkins was tragically cut short in a fatal shooting at the Walsh Drive Apartments in Hardeeville, South Carolina. Jenkins, a male known to his loved ones as 'Slim,' was found with multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide. Born in Beaufort, SC, on October 5, 1991, he was remembered as a kind-hearted individual who was proud of his skills in concrete work, a trade he had been involved in
since the age of 10.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led authorities to identify a suspect. The day after the incident, the Hardeeville police announced they were searching for 20-year-old Naijuwuan Chisholm, who was considered armed and dangerous. Warrants were issued for his arrest on charges of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force apprehended Chisholm in Savannah about a week and a half after the shooting. Another individual was also taken into custody at that time and charged with accessory after the fact to murder for allegedly assisting Chisholm in evading capture.
In February 2017, Naijuwaun Chisolm, then 22, stood trial for the murder of Sterling Jenkins. After a two-day trial at the Jasper County Courthouse, the jury deliberated for just one hour before finding him guilty. Prosecutors described the killing as a 'daytime execution,' stating that Chisolm had waited for Jenkins to be alone before shooting him in the head in a brazen act with no regard for the lives of others, including children in a nearby apartment. Chisolm was subsequently sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison, receiving 40 years for the murder conviction and an additional five years for the weapons charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
