Three men who were arrested in the Jan. 8 death of Calvin Kirklin were ordered Thursday by a Jefferson County District Court judge to remain held without bail in the Dub Brassell Detention Center.
Roderick Marks, 22; Steven Grady, 20; and Rahn Clay, 18, were each charged with capital murder and five counts of terroristic acts. Capital murder carries a sentence of either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
Reading from the affidavit of Pine Bluff police Detective Ryan Edwards on Thursday, Jefferson County prosecutor Kyle Hunter told Judge John Kearney that police discovered Kirklin, 55, unconscious in the driver's seat of a Chrysler 200 with a gunshot wound to the left side of his head at about 2:45 a.m. Jan. 8. Kirklin was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers also found several .40-caliber spent shell casings inside the vehicle, Hunter said.
According to the affidavit, officers observed in a video from the Chester Hynes Community Center on Monday that a white passenger car drove past the location where the shooting happened.
"The vehicle turned around and then came back to that location and parked beside Mr. Kirklin's vehicle," Hunter said. "When that happened, the vehicle they were all in began to move away and they all jumped in the car and fled the scene. In the video, you can tell the vehicle was missing the front driver's side bumper and also the two front tires were different from the back tires. They were able to identify the vehicle through their investigation and determine that it was a Chrysler 200 bearing a certain license plate number."
Police reportedly traced the vehicle back to Marks, who allegedly confirmed with authorities that he was the owner. Marks allegedly told detectives his cousin was driving, and he and two friends -- whom he allegedly named as Grady and Clay -- were with him as they drove past Chester Hynes. Marks denied any knowledge of the shooting, police have said.
Clay and Grady were interviewed Tuesday and said they were with Marks inside the Chrysler 200 at a club. Both reportedly denied knowledge about the shooting. Clay allegedly said later he was driving Marks' car, that Grady was in the front passenger seat and that some unknown male was in the back passenger seat, according to Hunter.
Clay said they drove by Hazel Street Apartments and were asked by the unknown person to turn around to talk to the victim, Hunter said.
"He knew the people inside the car had guns," Hunter said. "He said he heard gunshots and he drove away. He denied that he shot Kirklin or that he owned the gun."
Grady allegedly told authorities he was dropped off and didn't know anything about a shooting.
"When officers searched the vehicle on the 19th -- that was Roderick Marks' vehicle -- there were two black holsters and three spent shell casings in the vehicle that was found," Hunter said. "There was also found a spent shell casing located on the lip of the trunk that matched the shell casings that were found at the scene."
The first court appearance for the suspects is scheduled for Feb. 10. Clay and Marks told Kearney they would hire a lawyer, and Grady was appointed a lawyer.
Kirklin's death marked the second homicide in Pine Bluff this year.