Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Roger Allen Malcom, convicted in 2008 for a 2007 murder, had a parole hearing.
- Malcom claimed self-defense in the shooting of security guard Verne Jenkins.
- The parole board will decide on Malcom's release after his lengthy testimony.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of shooting and killing a security guard at the Sapp Brothers Truck Stop in Salt Lake City nearly 20 years ago had his first parole hearing on Tuesday.
As during his trial, Roger Allen Malcom, on Tuesday, contended to the Board of Pardons and Parole that he was only trying to defend himself on Dec. 26, 2007.
"There was no intent to shoot him. All I was trying to do was to get him to stop attacking (me) and get the hell out of there and go to work," Malcom told the board. "He attacked me. He assaulted me."
Malcom stopped by Sapp Brothers, at 1953 W. California Avenue, on his way to work to buy gum and chewing tobacco. Prosecutors said Malcom was loud and disruptive at the truck stop because he wanted to know if a cashier was going to help him.
Verne Jenkins, 31, a security guard at the business, put his hand on Malcom's shoulder in an effort to either restrain him or escort him out. But the two ended up in a fight, during which Malcom pulled out a gun and fatally shot Jenkins.
Prosecutors successfully argued at trial that after the shooting, Malcom calmly sat down on a chair rather than helping the dying man, showing he had a depraved indifference to human life. The state also argued that Malcolm became belligerent and uncooperative with police after he was taken into custody.
Malcom was convicted of murder, a first-degree felony, in June 2008 and sentenced to 15 years and up to life in the Utah State Prison.
On Tuesday, Malcom, now 69, spoke almost continuously during his 40-minute hearing, often in a rambling manner to board member Greg Johnson, as he tried to explain his actions that day. He claimed Jenkins told the cashier not to sell him gum or tobacco. Accordingly, Malcom said he swore at Jenkins as he was leaving the store that day.
"I have the right to tell (him) how I feel about it," he said Tuesday.
But as he was walking away, Malcom says he felt Jenkins "pinch" him from behind. He alleged that Jenkins then threw him to the ground. During the ensuing struggle, Malcom says he thought to himself, "This guy is crazy, Roger, pull your gun."
Several times on Tuesday, Malcom stated that he was "being real careful … this is crazy stuff" when discussing the handling of his firearm. "I was being so careful."
Malcom claims he was trying only to fire a warning shot when the gun went off, striking Jenkins in the neck.
At that point, "I was in shock over the whole thing, went over to (the) table and sat down," he said of why he didn't try to help Jenkins. As for the notion that he was belligerent with police, Malcom claimed his handcuffs were too tight and he had tried for hours to get officers to loosen them.
"They knew they were torturing me," he said Tuesday.
As Malcom continued to explain his side of the story on Tuesday, he talked about how he couldn't understand why a bystander who claimed to be a war-time medic could not help Jenkins because Malcom had seen an episode of "M.A.S.H.," in which a person with a similar injury was saved; how he had put together a 6-foot by 4-foot color chart showing the structure and history of the National Football League while incarcerated and was disappointed that the parole board had not received a copy; and how he believes his public defender at trial was in cahoots with the state.
"I never knew how corrupt the criminal justice system could be," he said. "That public defender mismanaged everything."
Malcom claimed surveillance video allegedly withheld in court would prove his innocence and asked Johnson if the parole board had obtained a copy.
"Our decision is whether to release people or not," Johnson told him. "We don't go looking for videos or …"
"The truth?" Malcom interjected.
Johnson then explained that, at this juncture, there is no presumption of innocence and told Malcom that, if he believes there was a mistake in his conviction, he needed to appeal through the courts.
When reviewing his conduct while incarcerated, Johnson noted that Malcom hasn't had any disciplinary violations over the past couple of years. But Malcom admitted his sentence hasn't been without write-ups, while again claiming he has only been defending himself.
"You get paired up with certain inmates; some go out of their way to annoy you," he said. "It's a whole new world (in prison)."
The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole.
