James Kimbrough III sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 31 years, for killing Milenna Lopez in 2022

More than two years after he shot his ex-girlfriend multiple times, killing her in broad daylight outside her workplace in Sheffield, James Kimbrough III learned that he will spend at least the next 31 years in prison before the Ohio Parole Board hears his case. Kimbrough showed no emotion as Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook handed down the sentence: Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 31 years, for shooting and killing Milenna Lopez, 24, in January 2022. Cook also ordered Kimbrough to pay $9,900 to Lopez's mother, Jessica Mojica, as restitution for the cost of her daughter's funeral. Tuesday would have been Milenna Lopez's 27th birthday. She left behind four children, including two she shared with Kimbrough. Kimbrough, 36, admitted shooting and killing her outside the McDonald's she managed in Sheffield on Jan. 6, 2022. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, evidence tampering, having weapons under disability and violating a temporary protection order, all felonies, and two firearms specifications in Cook's courtroom on Friday. The maximum possible penalty was life in prison without the possibility of parole, and there was no sentencing agreement between defense attorney Mike Stepanik and the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office. Cook said when he hands down a sentence, state law requires him to consider protecting the public from future crime and punishing the offender. "Which a life sentence will do," Cook said. "And despite the family not wanting to hear this, I have to promote rehabilitation of the offender using the minimum sanction possible. I'm required to do that under law. I took an oath to the constitution and the state to follow that." Still, Cook said he expects Kimbrough will spend the rest of his life in prison. "Mr. Kimbrough has essentially forfeited his freedom," Cook said. "All I can say is, my heart goes out to the family for this tragic loss and I'm sure you'll get through it: You have no choice." Kimbrough also spoke in court, reading from a statement in which he said "the fact that I'm very sorry doesn't mean anything to anyone. "My actions were very selfish. It was no secret to the courts or to the families that Milenna and I had a very toxic relationship. I can only believe that I did what I did to get her out of my life, however in doing so I created more harm than I ever could imagine," he said. "I did not just take her life from her, but I took her out of the lives of her children, and her family, and her friends. Not only did she not deserve that, but they didn't either. There's nothing I could say and nothing that I could do will make up for that. I could say that I'm sorry and I don't expect forgiveness, but I will spend the rest of my life begging for it," Kimbrough told Cook. Prosecution case Lorain County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre, who handled the prosecution along with Assistant Prosecutor Paul Griffin, said Kimbrough shot Lopez five times. One went through her left palm after she put it up to try and defend herself, Pierre said. Most of the shots were to her back as she tried to turn away from Kimbrough's gunfire, he said. Pierre said Kimbrough, who was out of work and out on bond after being charged with several crimes against Lopez, had convinced her to meet him during her smoke break at work the day of the murder. She had a protection order against him at the time. Kimbrough apparently promised to return multiple pairs of Lopez's shoes that he had stolen when he burglarized and vandalized her home only days before the murder, Pierre said. Instead, he brought a gun, the prosecutor said. Kimbrough tried to control her, but Lopez was "not one to be controlled" by Kimbrough's threats and violence, Pierre said. "She spoke her mind, and this led to a relationship that led to frequent fighting, which many have called toxic," he said. "In some relationships like that, some partners respond to women who have the power to speak their mind with another type of power: Physical violence and threats, and this was the history of the (Kimbrough's) relationship with Milenna." There were multiple criminal charges filed against Kimbrough by Lopez over the years. Pierre said what wasn't in the record were at least nine cases "in which Milenna Lopez was the named victim" of domestic violence, violating a protection order, criminal damaging and other crimes allegedly committed by Kimbrough. Those included three separate criminal cases filed in 2018, five more cases in 2019, and a ninth case in 2020. All were filed in Lorain Municipal Court and all nine were eventually dismissed, Pierre said — "a sad example of the cycle of abuse that is so familiar to those who work with victims, who work in the court systems, who work with law enforcement," he said. Pierre said Lopez was "trapped in a cycle of abuse. … The cost to her was her life," he said. Kimbrough fled after the killing and was on the run for more than 100 days until he was found hiding inside a duplex in Lorain in April 2022 and taken into custody by bondsman Tony Horn. He has been held on $2 million bond in the Lorain County Jail ever since. Pierre said when Kimbrough was arrested, authorities found written statements of his including one that said: "I'm living without regrets." Two other criminal cases against Kimbrough, in both of which Lopez was the alleged victim, were dismissed by the Prosecutor's Office after Kimbrough pleaded guilty in the murder case. Family speaks Lopez was going to school to become a dental assistant at the time of her murder. She would have graduated in February 2022 "if James Kimbrough hadn't savagely taken her life a month earlier," her mother said. In a victim impact statement she delivered in court, Mojica said her first-born child was "happy," "empathetic," "strong" and a "fierce protector" of her younger siblings. She had worked since the age of 16 and had "the best sense of humor" with a "beautiful smile," Mojica said. "The pain and devastation inflicted by James Kimbrough began long before my daughter was murdered," she told Cook. "To witness the suffering of a beloved child is something I do not wish on any parent." Kimbrough abused Lopez, fracturing her bones and bruising her, and leaving her with a "broken" spirit, Mojica said. Lopez was "depressed, anxious and paranoid" from how Kimbrough treated her, even as she tried to make a better life for herself and her children, Mojica said. All of Lopez's children "greatly suffered," as did her younger siblings, she said. "No one should have to bury their children," Mojica said. "James (Kimbrough) not only took my daughter from me, but he also caused so much damage to her body that we could not even hold her hand to say goodbye at her funeral." Kimbrough "cowardly" hid from justice for 101 days after the murder, she said. "As we mourned her loss, we also lived in fear" of what Kimbrough might do to her remaining family, Mojica said. One of Lopez's two children, a 6-year-old identified by the initials H.C. in court, said in court that he was "confused" when his grandmother told him his mom wasn't coming home. Kimbrough "needs life in prison for taking my mom," H.C. said. "I hope it gets miserable for you in prison," said Lopez's younger brother, a 7-year-old identified by the initials M.A. in court. "What you did was not right." Cook praised the children as "brave" and said their remarks were "pretty impressive." Lopez's family is "sentenced to a lifetime of only memories,'' her sister Erika Padilla said. Kimbrough's legal acknowledgement of guilt "does not bring my beautiful sister Milenna back," she said. Kimbrough stared at Padilla as she delivered her victim impact statement, telling him that his actions showed "a blatant disregard for law and human decency." Many members of Lopez's family who showed up for the sentencing wore purple T-shirts, the color of domestic violence awareness, or green, which was Lopez's favorite color. Defense attorney speaks With their "toxic" relationship, Stepanik said there was no question Kimbrough and Lopez "weren't good for one another." Kimbrough is "responsible for something that is absolutely awful," he said. "He's recognized that he's owned that by his plea here in this case." When he went on the run for more than 100 days after the murder, Kimbrough "panicked not knowing really full well or thinking full well of the consequences of his actions, which is completely inexcusable," Stepanik said. Attempts were made on Kimbrough's life during his relationship with Lopez, he said, including an attempted shooting and a beating he suffered at the hands of her supporters, but nothing justifies Kimbrough's actions. "I'm sad for James, because of what he did," Stepanik said. "These two people didn't belong to one another, didn't belong with one another. … The nature of their relationship was such that, there was some back-and-forth and it's important for the court to know that." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.