The girlfriend of the man sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing two people during the 2023 St. Paddy’s Day Parade in Jackson has pleaded guilty to deliberately misleading law enforcement.
Jenny Lukens fessed up to embellishing Jordan Cummins’ side of the story in the aftermath of volunteer firefighter Joshua Spann and daycare employee Jubilee Simpkins being killed in the shooting near the parade grounds on Jefferson Street.
A Hinds County jury determined in June that Cummins was beating Lukens inside his vehicle when a group of concerned paradegoers stopped their car to intervene. The result of the encounter was fatal gunfire, leaving Spann and Simpkins deceased. Cummins’ attorneys unsuccessfully argued a case for self-defense in court.
Ahead of Cummins’ trial, the Florence native was caught bragging about the murders through a social media post he was able to make behind bars.
“Free me, man. You walk up on me, and I’m going to bust your [expletive],” Cummins said in the video. “It’s real, man. I know it looks sweet, but [expletive] ain’t sweet man. Two dead.”
At the time of the crime, Lukens fled the scene instead of speaking to police officers. She also admitted to trying to help his case through her testimony, rather than sticking to hard facts. The two had previously been crossed up with law enforcement in connection with this case when Cummins was caught spending time at Lukens’ residence in violation of his curfew while out on bond.
Lukens was originally taken into custody for hindering prosecution. After pleading guilty to bearing false witness, she was sentenced to a decade in prison, with six years suspended and four to spend on house arrest with credit for time served.
