Murder charge filed against man in slaying at Salt Lake truck stop

Prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a man accused of killing a truck stop security guard, apparently over a pack of gum.

Roger Allen Malcolm, 51, was charged late Friday in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court with a single count of first-degree felony murder in the death of 31-year-old Verne Jenkins.

Salt Lake City police said Malcolm walked into the Sapp Brothers truck stop at 1953 W. California Ave. on Wednesday to buy a pack of gum.

"The defendant stood at the cash register and demanded that the clerk wait on him immediately," Salt Lake City police detective Mark Knighton wrote in a probable cause statement filed with the criminal charges on Friday.

"Security Officer Vern (sic) Jenkins approached the defendant to escort him out of the store. The defendant refused to cooperate and began to struggle and wrestle with Mr. Jenkins," he wrote.

Police said Malcolm then pulled out a gun and shot Jenkins twice in the neck.

"The defendant put the gun down on a chair, sat down and waited for the police to arrive. Mr. Jenkins died as a direct result of the gunshot wound," Knighton wrote.

Malcolm remains in the Salt Lake County Jail where he is being held on $1 million bail. He is expected to make his first court appearance to answer to the charges next week.

Jenkins' family said he worked at the truck stop in security as a stepping stone to becoming a police officer. He was armed with only a Taser.

Jenkins leaves behind a wife and a 3-year-old son.

"That little boy was his whole world," his wife, Stephanie North-Jenkins, told the Deseret Morning News Thursday. "He was probably the most giving person ever. He would help everybody."

A fund has been set up to help Jenkins' family. Donations can be made at any America First Credit Union branch.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com