On a Saturday afternoon in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the promise of a spring day was shattered by violence that ended the life of 43-year-old Stanley Jones. On May 2, 2020, police responded to reports of a shooting and discovered Jones unresponsive near the Staples store on East Harding Avenue. He had sustained apparent gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Jones was a Black male.
The investigation into the city's ninth homicide of the year quickly led to an arrest.
Kendra Howard, a 28-year-old woman, was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting. She was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County jail.
According to accounts from witnesses, an argument had taken place prior to the deadly encounter. Two witnesses told police they were in a vehicle with Howard and a small child on their way to Staples when an argument broke out between Howard and one of the witnesses. The witness then called Stanley Jones to come and pick them up. When Jones arrived, one of the witnesses got into his vehicle. It was then that Howard allegedly approached the passenger side, and after a brief exchange, pulled out a handgun and began shooting Jones. A struggle over the gun ensued, allowing the witnesses and the child to flee into the Staples for safety. Howard then reportedly left the scene in a vehicle but was later stopped by a Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy. Stanley Jones was laid to rest on May 23, 2020, in Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
