Local

Warren woman found guilty in vehicular murder

By Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office

January 19, 2024 8:31 AM

A Trumbull County jury on Thursday found a Warren woman guilty of all three felonies connected to the November 2022 death of Jesare’e Harris, 36, outside of a Parkman Road nightspot.

Kenyana M. Pennock, 37, was found guilty of charges of murder, felonious assault and reckless homicide.

What happened in the crash?

Testimony during the two-day trial showed that Harris suffered major head injuries after traveling on the hood of Pennock’s Dodge Dart for about 2,495 feet along Parkman Road for at least 34 seconds at speeds averaging about 50 mph. Six days later, Harris succumbed to her brain injuries.

Pennock’s lawyer David Engler had asked for and Judge Andrew D. Logan refused to read instructions for a self-defense verdict to the jurors, who deliberated a little over an hour on Thursday afternoon.

Video evidence helped prosecutor’s case

The state’s testimony in the trial was enhanced by extensive video that showed Harris being struck by Pennock’s vehicle as she stood in the middle of Parkman Road and then showing the woman falling off the hood of the vehicle. Both defense witnesses, which included the defendant and her brother, had testified to a fight outside the tavern before the fatal sequence of events.

The state had called five witnesses, including two Warren police detectives and Sgt. Trevor Sumption who responded to the 911 calls to the scene on Parkman Road. Also testifying was a woman who was at the bar with the victim and then later tried to give her CPR in the middle of Parkman Road. Another state witness was a forensic examiner from Cuyahoga County who performed an autopsy on the victim.

Pennock is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6 and Assistant Prosecutor Michael Burnett said the murder conviction carries a potential maximum life sentence without the possibility of parole until Pennock has first served 15 years.