Detective: Aspiring Santa Rosa Junior College football player shot and paralyzed woman

A suspected prostitute was paralyzed from the neck down after being shot by an aspiring Santa Rosa Junior College football player this summer when the two met for sex in a Rohnert Park motel room, a detective testified Thursday.

Ronnie Threadgill, 23, of Santa Rosa is charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in the July 2 shooting at Motel 6 on Commerce Boulevard.

The victim, Kenisha Jackson, 24, of Sacramento was shot in the neck and leg and was left a quadriplegic, Detective Deborah Lamaison testified at Threadgill’s preliminary hearing.

In interviews from her hospital bed, Jackson was able to identify Threadgill in a photo lineup, Lamaison said.

Other evidence, including a pair of designer glasses left behind in the hotel room and blood-stained boots found at Threadgill’s apartment, connect him to the killing, the detective suggested.

Jackson, whose paralysis was said to be irreversible, had rented a room at the Rohnert Park motel 26 times from April to July 1, Lamaison said.

She described exchanging text messages with Threadgill before meeting him early that morning in room No. 139.

They haggled over a price, settling on $190, before having sex, Lamaison said.

After, Threadgill went into the bathroom and emerged with a gun in his hand, demanding all Jackson’s money, the detective said.

When she responded she had only the $190 he gave her, Threadgill became angry and pointed the .44-caliber pistol at her leg, Lamaison said.

He fired when she let out a scream, hitting her in the upper thigh, the detective said.

Threadgill fired a second shot, hitting her in the back of the neck, when she turned toward the door and tried to call her alleged pimp on a cellphone, Lamaison said.

That man, Alton Emanuel Stewart, 24, also of Sacramento, rushed to the room from the parking lot only to be pistol-whipped by Threadgill as he ran by, Officer Adam Strongman testified.

Stewart called 911 to report the bare-chested Threadgill fleeing on foot across the parking lot. Stewart failed to show up in court Thursday to testify.

Judge Julie Conger issued an order to have police bring Stewart to court today for a contempt hearing.

Jackson was found lying in the threshold of the door when officers arrived. She was naked except for a pink bra, Strongman said.

Prosecutors said Threadgill’s roommate and fellow football player, Koa Sibley, 19, picked up Threadgill and drove him home.

The two were stopped for a traffic violation and released after leaving a nearby Jack in the Box restaurant. They were arrested later when police suspected they could be connected to the shooting.

Sibley, who is free on bail, is charged with being an accessory.

A search of their North Street apartment turned up a pair of Timberland boots with blood on them as well as a Bulgari case that matched the prescription glasses left in the room, Lamaison said.

Also, Facebook pictures showed Threadgill wearing the glasses, she said.

Sibley and Threadgill, who both had been trying out for the Santa Rosa Junior College team, lived in the apartment with two other male roommates, the detective said.

The hearing was continued to Monday.

You can reach Staff ?Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.