In the winter of 2018, a young man's life was cut short in Clarksville, Tennessee, following a dispute that escalated to fatal violence. Keondre Jenkins, a 20-year-old male, was shot and killed on Sunday, January 14, 2018, at the Independence Place Apartments on Fort Campbell Boulevard. Jenkins, a private at the nearby Fort Campbell Army base and originally from Portsmouth, Virginia, was sitting in a friend's car in the apartment complex parking lot when the shooting occurred.
The events
of that day began with a verbal altercation between Jenkins and Prince Jamal 'PJ' Ligon. Harsh words were exchanged, and though the initial confrontation de-escalated, Ligon later returned to the apartment complex. He was not alone; Jamarcus Edwards drove him back to the location and, according to police, provided the handgun used in the shooting. From the vehicle Edwards was driving, Ligon fired multiple shots into the car where Jenkins was seated. Struck in the chest, Jenkins managed to get out of the vehicle and ran a short distance before collapsing in the parking lot, where he died from his injuries despite efforts by first responders to save him.
The Clarksville Police Department's investigation swiftly led them to two suspects. The day after the shooting, on January 15, 2018, both Jamarcus Edwards, 21, and Prince-Jamal Ligon, 20, were arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail. Both men were initially charged with criminal homicide.
In February 2020, the case against Prince Jamal Ligon went to trial on a charge of first-degree murder. During the trial, testimony revealed the earlier argument as the catalyst for the deadly encounter. Ligon himself testified, claiming he was targeting the car and not Jenkins, and that he was unaware Jenkins was inside the vehicle. After several days of proceedings, the jury returned a verdict in March 2020, finding Ligon not guilty of first-degree murder but convicting him on the lesser charge of reckless homicide. His sentencing was scheduled for April of that year. The legal outcome for Jamarcus Edwards, the alleged driver, was not detailed in the available information.
