Hello,

If you guys could share this, we would greatly appreciate it. We’re pretty sure you all remember the Dollar General murder of Darrence Kindle from 2017. Last month marked the 5-year anniversary and this crime remains unsolved.

COLD CASE – DARRENCE KINDLE: Five years ago last month, the life of 31-year-old Darrence O’Brien Kindle was taken in a random act of a violence. Like so many of us do, the night of Nov. 3, 2017, Darrence stopped at his neighborhood Dollar General to pick up a few things when an armed black male wearing a “Scream” mask rushed into the store demanding money from the register.

Because the clerk was in the midst of Darrence’s debit card transaction, he could not immediately open the register. Within four seconds of entering the store, the suspect fired a round from a black and silver handgun, striking Darrence in the head. The suspect then attempted to fire at the store clerk, but the gun malfunctioned, saving the clerk’s life. Following the botched robbery attempt, the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area beside the store.

Officers arrived to find Darrence with a faint pulse. He was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wound.

Officers immediately began canvasing the neighborhood around the store, but the suspect was not found.

Detectives launched an investigation into the identity of Darrence’s killer but ultimately found few leads.

               Here are the few things we know about the killer:

• He was a lighter complected black male, likely in his teens to twenties, according to the store clerk’s description.
• We believe him to be around 5’10-6’0, based on height marks on the store’s exit.

Though the suspect wore gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints, he DID leave a shoe print on the register counter.

Using gel lift technology, crime scene technicians were able to reproduce an image of the suspect’s shoe tread.

That shoe print was sent to a forensic shoe examiner and identified as a Nike Air Zoom Kobe Venonmenon 4 basketball shoe. What’s more, the shoe DID come in a bright red color scheme with accents of black and mint. Though the store’s surveillance video is low resolution, the shoes identified by the expert do appear to be consistent with the suspect’s bright red footwear.

We are releasing this information in hopes that it will jog someone’s memory as to a possible suspect – maybe you remember a classmate who bragged about owning these rare shoes OR, maybe you have a photographic memory, and you recall an old boyfriend, friend or acquaintance who had these.

Darrence Kindle was a father, son, brother and friend with a zest for life and a gentle sense of humor to match. He is seen here wearing what family described as his favorite shirt – “HUG LIFE.” Sadly, this is the same shirt he was wearing when his life was cut short.

With little evidence and few leads we ask you – the public – to come forward with new details that will help us bring Darrence’s killer to justice.

Tips can be reported directly to the Department at 936-633-0356 OR online via Crime Stoppers at 639TIPS.com. It is important to note that no monetary limit has been put on the Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to the arrest and grand jury indictment of Darrence’s killer. Crime Stoppers tipsters always remain anonymous.

COLD CASE video:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1zhbg5dplgnqmu/Darrence-Kindle_2022-12-02.mp4?dl=0

Thanks,

Jessica Pebsworth

Communications Director

City of Lufkin