Victim's loved ones baffled

The number of homicides in Youngstown reached 14.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- "You never know what the day will bring," Tharmaine Phillips said as she cried over the shooting death of the man she loved.
Dirk C. Sims, 32, of Thornton Avenue died Thursday evening at St. Elizabeth Health Center from multiple gunshot wounds. His friend, Thomas Helms, 22, of Brookline Avenue, was shot in the buttocks.
Reports show that both men had parked near the Belmont Drive-Through, 1840 Belmont Ave., and were talking outside the store when shots rang out around 8:40 p.m. Thursday. Police said the shooter likely fired from the sidewalk, where most of the casings were found.
Shot from behind
Helms told police at the hospital that he and Sims were facing Belmont when they heard gunfire coming from behind them on Wirt Street. He had no idea who fired.
Phillips, 32, said she and Sims had lived together for about 11/2 years and he treated her four children as if they were his own. Tears ran down her face Friday as she sat on the porch of the house they shared.
"He was the best, got along with everybody," said Phillips, whose friends call her Maine. "I can't understand why this happened."
Coti Robinson, one of Sims' three sisters, said she learned of the shooting after stopping for gas Thursday evening on the way to her parents' house on Crandall Avenue. She immediately drove to the North Side shooting scene and found her brother lying on the ground.
Sims' mother also arrived but was held back by her daughter.
"I couldn't let my mother see him like that -- he's her only son," said Robinson, 28. "I held his hand, told him to hang on, and he said he'd be all right."
At the scene
Robinson, sobbing as she recalled what happened, said her brother was fighting to get up, and it took four or five paramedics and officers to put him in an ambulance. "I thought he'd be OK."
She said he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure last fall and was unable to work.
"He was just trying to live his life," Robinson said. "He always said friends come and go, and he thanked God for a good family. He had the biggest heart in the world and was loved by everybody."
Detective Sgt. Rick Alli said Friday that no suspects or motive had emerged. Sims is the city's 14th homicide victim of the year, the same number as this time last year.
Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said Sims was the intended target judging by the number of times he was hit and the fact a high-caliber weapon was used. He declined to identify the type of firearm or say how many times Sims was hit.
meade@vindy.com