Jenkins Indicted For First Degree Murder

A Cocke County man was indicted this week on charges of first degree murder. The Cocke County Grand Jury heard enough evidence to bring an indictment against Charles Lucas Jenkins in a case that goes back to last November. Back on November 23, 2020, Jenkins allegedly struck James Spence over the head with a steel pry bar. The two men had been in a confrontation prior to that which had led Spence to take out an order of protection against Jenkins. After the attack with the pry bar, Spence was flown to the UT Medical Center where he died from his injuries. The grand jury concluded that Jenkins acted in a premeditated manner when he struck Spence with the fatal blow…and therefore indicted Jenkins for first degree murder.