Marvin Gabriel Jenkins Jr., a 21-year-old Black man, was a father of two and a barber in Little Rock, Arkansas. Friends and family remembered him as a sweet, kind, and loving person who was a very caring and a good listener. His life, along with his father’s, was tragically cut short on a Friday afternoon.
On October 13, 2023, Marvin Jr. was with his father, 47-year-old Marvin Jenkins Sr., when both were shot. Little Rock Police Department officers responded to a call at 4:51 p.m.
and discovered the two men inside a vehicle near the intersection of Mabelvale Drive and Mabelvale Circle. Both had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Despite immediate life-saving efforts by Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, Marvin Jr. and his father succumbed to their injuries at the scene.
The Little Rock Police Department’s Homicide Detectives and Crime Scene Search Unit launched an intensive investigation into the double homicide. They canvassed the area for witnesses and any available video surveillance that could shed light on the crime. The bodies of both victims were transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for autopsy. The investigation led to a significant development approximately two weeks later. On October 26, 2023, authorities arrested 20-year-old Daylon Bland, a resident of Little Rock, in connection with the killings. Bland was subsequently charged with two counts of capital murder.
The case concluded when Daylon Bland was sentenced in connection with the fatal shootings. In May 2026, the Little Rock man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the deaths of Marvin Gabriel Jenkins Jr. and his father.
