An arrest warrant citing aggravated murder charges was issued for James Kimbrough in connection with the Jan. 6 shooting death of 24-year-old Milenna Lopez, Sheffield Village police Detective Lt. Aaron Bober said.
Avon Lake Municipal Court Judge Darrell Bilancini signed the aggravated murder warrant Jan. 10, Bober said.
Kimbrough, 34, of Lorain, confronted Lopez in a McDonald’s parking lot, 5250 Detroit Road, where she was employed as the store’s general manager, police say.
The Lorain woman was sitting in her SUV on a mid-morning break when Kimbrough pulled up in a black Chevrolet Impala, fired a weapon into her vehicle and killed the mother of four children, police allege.
Kimbrough fled the scene and has yet to be apprehended.
Police recovered the vehicle he was driving, but did not say where.
Kimbrough is believed to have acted alone, said Bober, who declined to say how many shots were fired into Lopez’s vehicle.
Kimbrough was the father of two of Lopez’s four children, according to Lisette Gracia, a family spokesperson, who is related to Lopez’s mother and also is Lopez’s godmother.
The young mother had restraining orders in place against Kimbrough.
Kimbrough also had warrants for his arrest in connection to other cases, Bober said.
According to the Lorain Municipal Court website, Kimbrough has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 2007 for crimes including domestic violence, unlawful restraint, criminal damaging and endangering children, along with several traffic-related charges.
The U.S. Marshals Service already was actively searching for Kimbrough on other warrants, Bober said.
“The U.S. Marshals are actively looking for him on his other charges, but now they have these other warrants,” the lieutenant said.
At this time, Kimbrough only faces one count of aggravated murder, Bober said.
“I’m sure there’ll be other charges to follow,” he said. “But right now, we just have the murder charge.”
