2 Charged in 2011 Cold Case Killing

Jennifer Whitmer, 28, is one of the suspects accused in the shooting death of Cordell King, 28, a San Diego man gunned down on Thorn Street on April 17, 2011

A man and woman have been charged with murder in connection with the slaying of a man shot to death on the streets of San Diego’s Swan Canyon community more than four years ago, investigators confirmed.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said suspect Jennifer Whitmer, 28, was taken into custody Friday morning by detectives and Gang Suppression Team officers in the 5000 block of Solola Avenue.

She was charged with murder in the killing of Cordell King, 28, a San Diego man gunned down on April 17, 2011.

Suspect Dionte Simpson, 25, was also charged with murder in connection to King's killing. Police said Simpson was already in custody at the South Bay Detention Facility on unrelated charges.

According to investigators, King was standing near a sidewalk just after 5 p.m. in the 4600 block of Thorn Street when a car carrying four people pulled up next to him and stopped. Several gunshots were fired from the car, striking King in the torso before he fell to the ground.

Police said the group initially drove away, but then turned around and returned to the wounded victim. A suspect got out and proceeded to shoot King several more times while he was on the ground.

King was left critically wounded, lying on the pavement. When police officers arrived, he was dead.

The suspects had fled and were never arrested – until now.

For the past four years, SDPD Homicide Detectives have continued to actively investigate this cold case, the department said. Recently, Homicide, Gang and Criminal Intelligence detectives received information that helped them identify the suspects involved in the killing.

Police said they anticipate more arrests in this case soon. For now, Whitmer has been booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility, while Simpson will soon be transferred to San Diego Central Jail.

The investigation is ongoing and police are working with the San Diego District Attorney’s office to bring forward a prosecutable case. Anyone with information on King’s killing should contact the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

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