Photo courtesy of Hot Springs Sentinel-Record
After 20 minutes of deliberations, a seven-woman, five-man jury gave Kayvon Ward two consecutive life sentences Friday for the March 10, 2020, shooting death of Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Brent Scrimshire.
After just over three hours of deliberations, a seven-woman, five-man jury found Kayvon Ward guilty Thursday night of first-degree murder in the March 10, 2020, shooting death of Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Brent Scrimshire.
Ward, who was originally charged with capital murder and could have faced the death penalty, could still face up to life in prison for the Class Y felony.
Ward was also convicted of felony counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, a Class Y felony, and possession of a defaced firearm, a Class D felony, as well as misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor, obstructing governmental operations and fleeing, both Class A misdemeanors. Ward can face sentences of 10 to 40 years, or life, in prison for the two Class Y felonies, up to six years in prison for the Class D felony, up to 90 days in jail for resisting arrest and up to a year in jail for the Class A misdemeanors. He could also face up to a total of $16,000 in fines.
An hour and a half after retiring to the jury room, the jury requested to re-watch the dashcam footage from Scrimshire’s patrol unit as well as the bodycam footage of a park ranger, who was one of the first responding officers to the scene.
Garland County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro started her closing arguments by stating it “is undisputed that Kayvon Ward killed Officer Brent Scrimshire.”
Petro went back over the timeline of the case, noting that Scrimshire went on duty around 6 p.m. the night of the shooting and was shot about half an hour later. She said that Scrimshire was “nothing but kind” in his initial interactions with Ward, allowing him to call his girlfriend, Coraima Hernandez, to bring a car seat for their 2-year-old daughter in the back seat of the vehicle.
Petro said the case was clear that Hernandez “wanted him to get away,” and Ward “just wanted to make a break for it.” She said his testimony on the stand was not credible, saying, “Nothing he says is reasonable; nothing he says is credible.”
Ward knew that shooting Scrimshire “was an option to not go to jail,” Petro said.
Petro said Ward shot Scrimshire first, hitting him above his bulletproof vest. Scrimshire then fired back, “shooting as he falls.”
Petro showed the dashcam footage during her closing, encouraging the jury to listen for the shots. Following the video, she said Ward “leaves that jacket, his hat, his shoes, but he keeps that gun. … He brought a gun to a Taser fight.”
Lead defense attorney Bill James said, “There is nothing good about this case,” as he started his closing argument, noting he did not see anything that could “absolve Kayvon of what he did.”
James argued there was no chance Ward could have thought about what he was going to do before he shot Scrimshire because “he may be playing checkers; he’s not playing chess.”
He argued that Ward was shot by the officers first, which could affect Ward’s thinking, since “if you got shot, you’re not thinking too good.”
“I think he’s going to be found guilty of something,” James said, asking the jury to “be honest in whatever decision you make.”
Petro’s rebuttal focused on James’ argument that the shooting was in self-defense.
“You all know this wasn’t self-defense. … There is nothing reasonable about what he did,” Petro said.
Before the jury was sequestered to deliberate, Petro told them that Ward “took advantage of his kindness.”
The defense started the day by speaking with Ayanna Williams, a childhood friend of Ward who had been close to him beyond high school.
Williams said that they were “lifelong friends” who kept in contact despite her moving to Texas for some time. Williams and Ward both had daughters a few months apart who were often given the chance to play together.
She said that at one point Ward quit responding to her attempts to contact him, and she felt that it was a situation where “life takes us to different places.”
Williams was later contacted by Ward’s mother in the summer because Ward was not leaving his room, and Williams was able to talk him out of his room and took him to lunch. Williams said that she told him “You can talk to me; I’m still here,” but he replied that “everything’s fine.”
She said that was the last she had been in contact with him or heard anything about him until the shooting.
Dr. Lacey Willett, an expert forensic psychologist who works at the state hospital, said that she evaluated Ward at the state hospital on Feb. 3, 2021, to determine if he was competent for trial and to render a diagnosis of mental illness, if noted.
Willett said that Ward did not say he had any current or past symptoms of mental health or mental health treatment, and she did not notice any symptoms during the evaluation. She said he did indicate he was a regular marijuana user and had started using it around 10-12 years old.
Willett also noted that while Dr. Benjamin Silver, a forensic psychologist who testified Wednesday that Ward had a provisional diagnosis of schizophrenia, testified Ward was in remission, she said it “is pretty rare with the patients” she works with, and it typically only occurs with medication. She said remission usually happens when “all things go right in their life.”
Willett said she needed additional information to agree with or disprove Silver’s diagnosis. She noted the voices Ward allegedly heard were vague reports and wanted more information about the images he allegedly saw.
While defense attorney Alex Morphis focused on the previous day’s testimony about Ward’s grandmother and great-uncle who had diagnosed mental illness, Willett said it can be helpful to know a family history, but she never assigns a diagnosis based on family history alone.
Dr. Rachel Fazio, another forensic psychologist who does contract work through Ouachita Behavioral Health and Wellness, was the first psychologist to examine Ward on March 26, 2020, just 16 days after the incident.
While Fazio did not have the case file before her examination of Ward, she said she was there to determine his fitness to proceed, and she wanted to see how his mental state was close to the shooting because it is “easier to see his mental at the time” as opposed to years later.
Fazio said Ward did not indicate any family history or personal history of mental illness, recalling he told her he “ain’t been to no psychiatrist.”
Fazio also noted that while Silver diagnosed Ward provisionally, she also needed additional information beyond what was in his report to determine whether she agreed with his diagnosis.
She said Silver’s report showed a score of 53 on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, or RBANS, test which put him with a cognitive ability in the one-tenth percentile, meaning 99.9% of people have more cognitive ability. She said she was concerned about that score since it would indicate a level of functional impairment that would likely equal that of someone in a “residential care facility.”
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