Testimony begins in ‘14 murder case

March 30, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Prosecutors said Tuesday during opening statements in the Keith Sims murder trial that the victim, Shaniece Wells, was shot as she was walking away after an argument between two groups of women at a South Side home.

Defense attorneys for the 27-year-old Sims disagreed, saying that the fight still was going on when Wells was shot Oct. 25, 2014, in the 800 block of East Boston Avenue and later died.

Testimony began in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the case against Sims, who faces a charge of murder with a firearm specification in the death of the 23-year-old Wells, of Maplewood Court. Jurors were chosen Monday before Judge Maureen Sweeney.

Assistant Prosecutor Michael Yacovone said that the night Wells was killed, an argument broke out between Sims and a man who lived in a detached garage who was making a lot of noise. A woman was with that man, and two women were with Sims.

The woman who was not with Sims got mad and drove away and recruited three other women, one of them Wells, to go back and fight, Yacovone said. Yacovone said one of the women had a stun gun, another had a can of chemical spray, and Wells had a knife. However, the women never entered the yard of the home, and the fight broke up when Wells found out she was related to two of the women they were arguing with.

As they walked away, Sims came outside and fired three shots. The second shot hit Wells in the pelvis, and she was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital in Boardman, and she was then transferred to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where she later died from blood loss.

Yacovone said one of the women who came to the fight had a clear view of Sims shooting at Wells.

Defense attorney J.P. Laczko said that the fight was not over when Wells was shot. He said there were several 911 calls about the fight, and a lot of those were placed after the time that prosecutors said the fight had stopped. Laczko also said that his client was never involved in the fight between the women.

The women who Wells were with egged on the other women to come out and fight, Laczko said.

“This isn’t a situation where they’re coming over to have a slumber party,” Laczko said.

Yacovone said police recovered three .380-caliber shell casings at the shooting scene, and when they served a search warrant at Sims’ home, they found the same caliber of ammunition.