'I need justice': 5 weeks after Sheffield killing, suspect James Kimbrough remains at large

LORAIN — Five weeks after he allegedly gunned down the mother of his children outside her workplace, suspected killer James Kimbrough III remains a wanted man. Local and federal authorities both are looking for him. His face and name are all over social media. There is a $5,000 reward out for his capture. The family of Milenna Lopez, who had four children including two with Kimbrough, want him brought to justice. Calling him an abuser who assaulted her daughter and grandchildren multiple times, Jessica Mojica said she wants Kimbrough to know she won't rest until he's behind bars. She told The Chronicle-Telegram that she will go wherever she has to in order to get the word out that he is wanted for shooting and killing her daughter. She wants him to spend the rest of his life in prison, feeling powerless. Also known by the nickname "Fam," Kimbrough, 34, of Lorain, allegedly shot and killed Lopez, 24, in her car in the parking lot of the McDonald's on Detroit Road in Sheffield the morning of Jan. 6. Authorities said Kimbrough pulled up next to Lopez' car in his black Chevrolet Impala, shot her and fled. Lopez died at the scene. Kimbrough abandoned his car in Lorain that day and has not been seen in public since. Lopez, a mother of four who was attending the dental assistant program at Lorain County Joint Vocational School, had recently been promoted to general manager at the restaurant where she was killed. Co-workers and family members said she smiled all the time, no matter how bad her day was. She wanted to help other people smile, which is why she was in dental assistant training. The murder left Lopez' children without a mother forever and two of them with a father on the run from the law, Mojica said. The children miss their mom, she said, and she is now a grandmother taking care of four children under the age of 7 plus two of her own minor children. (A GoFundMe account to help Lopez' mother take care of the children has been set up.) "I need justice. This is very devastating for me, for her siblings, for her kids," Mojica said. Mojica said she has been calling Sheffield police constantly for updates (The Chronicle also left a message with the department last week seeking an update). Not knowing if he's still hiding in Lorain with help from family or friends, or in some other city in Ohio or whether he's fled the state and is in another city somewhere else, the family wants Kimbrough's photo and news of what he allegedly did to go viral across the country. After hearing rumors that Kimbrough might have fled to Columbus, the family is thinking about traveling there to hand out flyers they printed up with his face and reward information on them. The flyers have several different photos of Kimbrough on them, from his past mugshots and from Facebook. "With him, you never know," Mojica said. "He could have transformed himself" by changing his hair or shaving. Anyone hiding Kimbrough, she said, needs to give him up. Kimbrough also threatened Lopez' family, including her mother and brother, and Mojica said she tries not to look over her shoulder. She hasn't been staying at her home, because the children "don't feel safe at home." "They said 'Mom, I want to come home but I don't feel safe here, could you get another house?'" Mojica said. The children have a hard time sleeping, and children "shouldn't be worrying about that," she said. "'Fam ruined our family,'" they tell her, she said. Mojica said her daughter died before her youngest started walking. "It's very emotional," Mojica said. Other times, when she can't find the children, they're gathered around their mother's photo, staring at her. "When they're missing her, that's where they go," she said. "They deserve justice. My daughter deserves justice. She was trying to do good." Kimbrough has a long arrest record, and numerous protection orders and restraining orders were brought against him in the past involving incidents in which he threatened or assaulted Lopez. He also physically assaulted Lopez' children, family and police reports said. "He's done a lot of damage," Mojica said. He recently pleaded not guilty to felony charges of aggravated burglary and kidnapping and misdemeanor domestic violence and endangering children charges after police said he broke into Lopez residence and assaulted her the night of Oct. 17. A warrant is out for Kimbrough's arrest in that case, too, after Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Chris Cook revoked his bond. It was the most recent in a series of six violent incidents between Lopez and Kimbrough between June 2019 and October 2021. Kimbrough is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 185 pounds. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the Sheffield Police Department at (440) 949-6155, the U.S. Marshals Service at (866) 4WANTED (866-492-6833), or notify their local police department if they see him. Tips also can be sent online or through the "USMS Tips" mobile app at usmarshals.gov/tips/index.html. Mojica said she wants everyone to share Kimbrough's photo out there online and for national media to pick up the story. She also wants the $5,000 reward to go up, hoping that it will entice someone to give Kimbrough up to the police. "They need to raise it," she said. Mojica said she doesn't want anyone among the public to get in trouble by going after Kimbrough. No vigilantes, no street justice, no more lives or families ruined. She also wants him taken into custody before he can hurt anyone else. "I'm sure he's around," Mojica said. "I'll go to the end of the world to find him. I want him to be arrested and I want him to pay." Contact Dave O'Brien at dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @daveobrienCT.