PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Reporter Sierra Jenkins of Norfolk has become the name and face of the story that she was supposed to cover.
Shots rang out outside Chicho’s Backstage during the early morning hours of March 19. When Jenkins failed to show up to cover the incident, another reporter was sent to cover the crime. That’s when her colleagues at The Virginian-Pilot learned 25-year-old Sierra and another person of the same age, Devon Malik Harris, were killed. Three others were injured.
Sesil Jenkins, Sierra’s third cousin, is currently a Las Vegas-based entertainer. The Jenkins family has deep roots that began in the Campostella section of Norfolk.
WAVY-TV anchor and reporter Regina Mobley has known Sesil Jenkins for 30 years. They first met along Granby Street in Norfolk, not far from the scene where Jenkins died.
Regina Mobley: “Sesil, it’s been two weeks. How is the family holding up?”
Sesil Jenkins: “Not having a suspect causes it [shock and sadness] to linger on and on.”
Sesil Jenkins will not be able to attend Saturday’s funeral. Called “Marvin Gaye’s protege,” he will perform Saturday night on what would have been Marvin Gaye’s 83 birthday. The Motown R&B icon was shot and killed by his own father on April 1, 1984.
“It would be quite difficult for me to return to Las Vegas from the tribute that we are doing here,“ said Jenkins in a Zoom interview from his Las Vegas area home.
As the suspect remains at large, Jenkins remains critical of the City of Norfolk’s response.
“It’s been difficult for me to say greater things about Norfolk because there has been so much division,” he said. He summed up problems in Norfolk with a reference to Marvin Gaye’s critically acclaimed song “What’s Going On.”
“When are we going to get the note in our lockers that says ‘Only love can conquer hate?'”
Regina Mobley: “What is your message to the killer?”
Sesil Jenkins: “We will find you. You will not get away — the streets talk. The very person — you, my man — that you are sitting next to could be the very one to tell on you. We will find you.”
The funeral service for Sierra Jenkins will be held Saturday, April 2, at 11 am at Metropolitan Funeral Service, at 7246 Granby Street in Norfolk, Virginia.
The funeral service for Devon Malik Harris is set for Monday, April 4, 12:00 pm at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church at 2714 Frederick Boulevard, in Portsmouth, Virginia.