‘No excuse for your actions’; Jury sentences Ward to life for officer’s death

A memorial for Cpl. Brent Scrimshire is shown at the Hot Springs Police Department on March 10, 2021, the one-year anniversary of his death. - File photo The Sentinel-Record
A memorial for Cpl. Brent Scrimshire is shown at the Hot Springs Police Department on March 10, 2021, the one-year anniversary of his death. - File photo The Sentinel-Record

After 20 minutes of deliberations, a seven-woman, five-man jury sentenced Kayvon Ward to two consecutive life sentences Friday morning for the March 10, 2020, shooting death of Hot Springs police Officer 1st Class Brent Scrimshire and the aggravated assault on Officer Anthony Larkin.

Late Thursday, the Garland County Circuit Court jury found Ward, 24, guilty of first-degree murder in Scrimshire's death. He was originally charged with capital murder and could have faced the death penalty, but after three hours of deliberations, the jury came back with the lesser murder charge and found him guilty on all the other charges he was facing.

On Friday, the jury sentenced Ward to the maximum on all counts, including six years for possession of a defaced firearm, a 15-year enhancement for using a firearm, one year for resisting arrest, and 30 days each for obstructing government operations and fleeing and even imposed the maximum fines on each count.

Judge Marcia Hearnsberger ruled to run all the sentences consecutively, telling Ward he took the life of "one of our protectors in our community," who "was only trying to protect your child that day."

"There is no excuse for your actions and the pain and suffering you caused for so many people," she said.

Scrimshire's wife, Rachel, told The Sentinel-Record after the sentence was announced that the initial verdict of first-degree murder "was disappointing, but fair is fair. The jury picked their verdict." She said she felt "they made up for that" with their sentencing and she was happy with the final result.

"Obviously we wouldn't have charged capital murder unless we thought the evidence would bear fruit and there would be a guilty verdict on that, but we appreciate (the jury's) time and the energy they put into this," Garland County Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Lawrence told the newspaper after Friday's verdict.

"It was two long weeks and it was difficult information to have to take in, a lot of graphic stuff. We appreciate their verdict and we're hopeful now that we saw justice for Brent and his family that now there can be some closure for them," Lawrence said. "We really loved him in this community and we appreciated the years that he put in protecting us. We miss him very much."

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Petro, who represented the state along with Deputy Prosecutors Caitlin Bornhoft and Trent Daniels, said she felt the sentence was a message from the jury. "I think they maxed (Ward) out and at the end when I told them 'You are the voices of Garland County and what we stand for' that they really took that to heart. I really do."

Lawrence said she wanted to commend all of her staff and the attorneys involved "because they worked tirelessly for weeks and weeks on end to make this case perfect and bring it to the jurors, and I am so appreciative of them and how much they want to work hard for our community and keep it safe."

During about two hours of testimony Friday morning, Hot Springs police Sgt. Patrick Langley told the jurors Scrimshire was "one of the smartest and most compassionate officers and just always the nicest person to everybody. He would do anything he could for anybody."

He noted Scrimshire was promoted posthumously to corporal, but stressed he "was on his way there anyway. He was definitely on his way up" in the department, but "he just never got the chance."

As a recruiter, Langley said, "If I could get 15 to 20 guys like him, it would be amazing."

In emotional testimony, Larkin asked, "How do you measure the impact of someone being shot and killed in front of your eyes? When you barely avoided the same thing?" and explained how traumatized the experience left him.

He said he suffers from PTSD since the incident and every moment of happiness he experiences in life with his family is followed by survivor's guilt because Scrimshire doesn't get to have those moments. "I get to be there, but Brent isn't there for his family," he said. "I felt like I was the one who shouldn't have survived."

Larkin said as a new officer in the department he used to "get excited" about every call he went out on, but "everything changed" after the shooting which ultimately led to him no longer being on patrol.

"In the months following the shooting, I relived it over and over," he said, trying to figure out "if I did something different that day, would he still be alive?" He noted he has flashbacks and nightmares about Ward "slipping from my grasp and then smiling at me as if it was a game."

He said he started drinking a glass of wine at night to help him sleep and soon found himself drinking a bottle of wine a night to cope. "Large crowds make me nervous," he said. "I get stressed and everything takes me back to the shooting. The slightest thing will set my anxiety off." He noted he's 31 and "taking blood pressure medicine to calm down."

Larkin said he thought maybe after the experience "I would come out a stronger cop, but I came out a broken man." He later added, "I will heal, but the scars will remain. I will live on, but I will never forget that day."

Rachel Scrimshire testified she and her husband "will never get to pursue the life we dreamed of. I have to live on without my best friend." She described how she and their two children, 5 and 6, watch videos of him "so we don't forget the sound of his voice."

She said she worries about her daughter, since she was only 2 when he died, not having any concrete memories of him as she grows up. She described the night when former Police Chief Jason Stachey "came to my door" to tell her the news and "my entire world crumbled at my feet. All our plans, hopes and dreams were gone in one moment."

She said her husband was "my soul mate. Most couples dream of having a relationship like ours." She also noted she catches their son "looking out the window for his dad's truck to show up."

She said her daughter came to her one day holding her husband's photo and crying, asking "why doesn't my daddy want me anymore?" She said she had to explain to her that he didn't choose to leave and "make her believe he loved her. Can you imagine the burden that puts on a 2-year-old child?"

She said she is reminded daily "that I lost the love of my life. I go to sleep alone, wake up alone, fall apart alone and have to pick myself back up alone."

Rachel Scrimshire said she hoped she would be able to forgive Ward and "not carry around that anger and hate forever. He had an opportunity to do right or wrong and he chose wrong. I hope he is constantly reminded of his choices on March 10 because I will forever be reminded of them."

Betty Giles, Ward's grandmother, testified Ward "has never been one of those kids that caused a lot of problems. He was never out on the street robbing anybody or breaking into cars. He was always a quiet person and stayed at home most of the time, taking care of his siblings. They used to call him the 'little father.'"

Ward's father, Kevin Ward, testified that Kayvon Ward was the oldest of his five children, noting, "I love him so much and I wish things were different." He said, "I never in my life thought I would see him in this situation. I've been through a lot in my life, but I wanted better for him."

He said he wanted to tell Scrimshire's family he was sorry, noting, "I wouldn't wish this on nobody. I wish I could change what happened." He started crying at one point and asked the jury, "Please, please, have mercy on my son."

In her closing remarks, Petro said, "This defendant has no regard for human life. He can't conform to society's rules. He literally just shoots at people with a gun."

She told the jury to "think about the big picture. Think about how Kayvon Ward's actions affected the entire law enforcement community. How it changed them. Those officers will always have that image of trying to save him burned in their minds," she said. "(Ward) put fear in the hearts of our law enforcement officers."

Petro said Ward "had an impact on this community, on so many different lives. What he did matters, it affects people."

She described Scrimshire's last moments and how much pain he was in "as he was drowning in his own blood. Crying out, 'help me please. Help me please.' He was polite right up to the end."

Petro said Ward "has to be held accountable. There have to be consequences for the destruction he wreaked."

William "Bill" James, Ward's attorney, spoke briefly to the jury in his closing, saying only, "I want to thank you for your verdict. There are no winners here, we're all losers. I'm not going to presume to tell you what to decide back there. I just ask that you be honest in whatever you do."

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