16-year-old boy who died in parents’ arms outside Birmingham store was shot in self-defence, teen suspect claims

The fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy at the hands of another teenager after an altercation at a Birmingham convenience store was caught on surveillance video, as was the initial confrontation, according to testimony Tuesday.

The teenager charged with capital murder in the slaying of Jaylin Jenkins claims he fired in self-defense after Jaylin hit him with her vehicle.

New details were revealed in court when the suspect appeared before Jefferson County District Judge Katrina Ross for a preliminary hearing.

Birmingham police homicide Det. Kristopher Hatcher was the only witness at the hearing, and when it ended, the judge found there was enough evidence to send the case to a grand jury for indictment.

The judge is still considering whether to grant bail to the teenage suspect after hearing arguments from both sides.

Police initially said the young suspect was 17, but testimony in court Tuesday indicated he was 16.

Efforts to verify his age through court records were not immediately successful because of his minor status. He is not named because of his age.

Family members from both sides, including the mothers of the victim and the suspect, were in court. Jaylin’s mother, Amanda Jenkins, was visibly emotional throughout much of the testimony.

Jaylin was killed on April 9 when he drove to a neighborhood store to buy a Coke to go with the dinner his mother was making for him and his younger siblings at their home in Inglenook.

Jaylin hadn’t been gone long when his mother said she started to worry because he always came right back.

A short time later, his father, Jessie Jenkins, called Jaylin’s cell phone.

“Jaylin answered the phone and said, ‘Someone’s following me and shooting me,'” Amanda said in a previous interview with AL.com.

Jessie ran out of the house and reached his son, whose car had stopped in someone’s front yard.

“He (Jessie) held the wound on his neck,” Amanda said. “He called me and said, ‘Come here, please.’

Amanda ran five blocks to get to Jaylin.

“I got to him before the police or the ambulance or anybody got to him,” she said. “And he’s gone.”

Police responded shortly before 8:30 p.m. that Tuesday. Jaylin was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:40 p.m

The suspect turned himself in to police and formal charges against him were announced a few days later.

Hatcher testified that store video showed Jaylin arriving at the store, which was near his home.

He went inside, bought a few items, and returned to the family Acura he had driven there.

The suspect and another young man then arrived at the store, according to the video.

The suspected shooter entered the store, and the other man — who has never been identified — approached Jaylin’s vehicle and stopped to speak with him.

The detective said that’s when it appeared the unidentified man “took” something from Jaylin.

Jaylin pulled over in his vehicle and the teenage suspect, now outside the store, pulled out a gun but did not fire at that time.

The suspect and the other man then started walking down the street. Jaylin was driving alongside them in his vehicle.

“He walks with them,” Hatcher said.

Security video from a resident’s home then showed the unidentified man running down the street with Jaylin in pursuit, he said, and then showed the teenage suspect firing shots into Jaylin’s vehicle.

“You see the muzzle flash from the gun,” in the video, Hatcher said.

Jaylin was shot at least twice – in the neck and forearm.

Police recovered several shell casings from where the video showed the teenage suspect standing.

Under questioning from Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Charissa Henrich, Hatcher said Jaylin was not armed with a gun.

He also testified that investigators do not know what the unidentified man took from Jaylin.

Hatcher said authorities eventually received a call from the teen suspect’s attorney — Darryl Bender — who said the teen wanted to turn himself in but didn’t want to make a statement to police.

Bender, while cross-examining the detective, said he saw no evidence in the video that anything was taken from Jaylin.

Hatcher said it appeared to authorities when they reviewed the footage that something was taken from Jaylin.

Bender also questioned Jaylin who was driving with the suspect or suspects.

“Mr. Jenkins drove slowly by them for an entire block instead of going home,” Bender asked, and Hatcher said that was correct.

Bender told the court that his client was injured when he was hit by Jaylin’s car and went to the UAB Hospital emergency room to seek treatment for his injury.

“I can’t see (in the video) where he was hit,” Hatcher said, “but I can’t rule out that it happened.”

Questioned by Bender, Hatcher said he found no prior dispute between Jaylin and the suspect.

Hatcher said she could not talk about past relationships with the unidentified man because they have not identified or located him.

After the judge bound over the case to the grand jury, the court addressed the issue of bail.

Even though the prosecutor repeatedly emphasized that Jaylin did not have a gun, Bender argued that the victim’s car was also considered a deadly weapon.

The judge noted that there was no evidence to show that the suspect was hit by the car.

“I told the detective that the medical records at UAB would confirm that,” Bender said. “I thought he was going to go get them, he didn’t.”

“There was no problem between these young men, there was no reason why my client should have shot him other than the obvious,” Bender said.

“How likely is it, Your Honor, that a jury will convict my client in this case? I don’t think it’s likely at all,” he said.

Bender said his client is not a flight risk, has no criminal record and has lived in his community all his life.

“He has no reason to run. That’s why he turned himself in,” said Bender. “That’s an indication to believe that he’s justified in what he did.”

Bender said the suspect is in high school and should be allowed out on an ankle monitor to finish his senior year and graduate.

“He didn’t start this,” Bender said. “He did nothing but defend himself.”

Henrich opposed the bond.

“If we use his age, Jaylin Jenkins was also 16 years old and, unlike (the suspect), he will never have the opportunity to graduate from high school,” the prosecutor said.

“There is no evidence of any attempt to hit (the suspect) with his car or that he was injured,” he said. “He had the opportunity to tell Det. Hatcher what happened and he didn’t do that.”

“Something was taken from Mr. Jenkins, and he was trying to get it back, whatever it was, and it cost him his life,” Henrich said.

The prosecutor said he believes the suspect is a danger to the community.

“He fled the scene with a gun,” she said. “He was also 16 years old with a gun at a gas station at 8:30 at night.”

It was unclear when the judge would make a ruling on bail.

Because juvenile court records are not public, it is likely that this judgment will not be made available.

Jaylin was the oldest of Amanda and Jessie’s children.

Jaylin doted on his younger siblings — an 11-year-old sister and two brothers, ages 6 and 5 — and they adored him, his family said.

The brothers were homeschooled but planned to return to public school next year.

Jaylin was described as quiet, respectful, hardworking, sweet and genuine.

He enjoyed playing Fortnite, going to the ice rink, taking apart and reassembling cars and spending time with his family, they said.