In Ponca City, Oklahoma, a dispute over a mere twenty dollars culminated in the tragic death of Jessie Len Trimble III, a 39-year-old male. On the evening of November 17, 2018, Trimble was inside a local apartment when an argument escalated to a fatal conclusion. The man he was arguing with, Waylon Dehaven Rhodd, then 25, pulled out a gun and shot him, ending his life.
Jessie, born on July 17, 1979, was a man known for a contagious smile that he shared freely with everyone he
encountered. A graduate of Ponca City Public Schools in 1998, he was a father who loved watching his children play football and enjoyed a game of cards or dominos. By trade, he was a construction worker and had also spent many years employed at Tyson Foods in Ponca City. His life was cut short in a moment of senseless violence that left his family and community mourning their loss.
The investigation into Trimble's death led the Ponca City Police Department to Waylon Dehaven Rhodd, who was arrested and charged with murder. The subsequent trial revealed the petty argument over money as the motive for the shooting. In March 2021, a jury took only 36 minutes to find Rhodd guilty of murder. He was later sentenced to life in prison, bringing a measure of justice to Jessie Trimble's family.
Two other individuals were also implicated in the aftermath of the crime. Chase Lamar Warrior, 20 years old at the time, faced charges as an accessory to murder in the first degree. He entered a no-contest plea and received a 25-year sentence, with 15 years to be served in prison. Another accomplice, Catherine Leanne Rhodd, who was 32, also pleaded no contest to a charge of accessory after the fact to murder in the first degree and was given a deferred sentence for her role.
