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Woman in car when driver killed by Warren officer to be arraigned Monday
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Regan Jelks, 21, of Warren and Detroit will be arraigned Monday morning on charges of involuntary manslaughter and improperly handing firearms in a motor vehicle.
If convicted, she could get more than 10 years in prison.
Jelks was the passenger in a car driven by Taemarr Walker, 24, of Kenwood Drive Southeast, when Walker was shot to death by Warren Patrolman Mike Krafcik on Oct. 19 on Risher Road Southwest.
A Trumbull County grand jury last week found no wrongdoing by Krafcik but indicted Jelks.
The grand jury said Krafcik acted in self-defense when Walker disobeyed most of the 15 to 20 commands Krafcik gave him to stay still and show his hands and instead picked up a gun under the seat.
Krafcik, a veteran officer, hit Walker with five shots, and Walker was pronounced dead at the scene. Jelks was seen in a dashcam video from the second officer on the scene screaming “Please don’t kill me” as she was being led from the scene.
Jelks, who was brought to the Trumbull County Jail Friday afternoon, is facing a charge of involuntary manslaughter in Walker’s death and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle. Her hearing will be in front of Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
A statement released Thursday by county Prosecutor Dennis Watkins doesn’t mention when or how Jelks purportedly handled a firearm or why she’s charged in Walker’s death. It said no further information was available, and Jelks’ indictment was not available at the courthouse Thursday or Friday.
But the statement said Jelks had been at the II Hype Lounge at 948 Mahoning Ave. NW earlier on the night of Walker’s death. Later, an employee at the lounge told a security guard that Walker was on his way there to “shoot the bar up.”
Bar managers took the threat seriously enough to close early that night.
“It was only minutes later that Officer Krafcik encountered Taemarr Walker in a motor vehicle wearing latex gloves and with two firearms, one of which was a loaded assault rifle in the “fire position,” Watkins said in the statement.
The charges against Jelk apparently are similar to ones prosecutors brought against four people last year who participated in an attempted Niles burglary that resulted in the death of one of the burglars.
At the time, prosecutors agreed it was the first time in county history that they had charged an accomplice in the death of a co-conspirator.
In the Niles case, four accomplices were charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Terry Allen, 37, of Mineral Ridge as a result of his death during a July 12 break-in on state Route 46.
The homeowner fired a single shot through the front door after hearing several burglars trying to get into his house. The shot killed Allen.
Accomplice Michael Burns was convicted at trial of involuntary manslaughter in Allen’s death and attempted aggravated burglary for his role in the break-in. The jury found him not guilty of murder. Burns was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Three other co-defendants accepted plea agreements that included guilty pleas to involuntary manslaughter and attempted aggravated burglary, and received prison terms of between two and six years in prison.
The homeowner was cleared of wrongdoing because he was defending himself against individuals who were breaking into his house with a crowbar, which is considered a deadly weapon.