Keon Simms was formally charged with the crime of fatally shooting a backseat passenger after he was allegedly cut off by another driver. He appeared in court Friday. Keon Simms, 24, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and a felony charge of trying to elude police. He was being held Friday at the Pierce County Jail after a county Superior Court judge ordered Simms held on $1 million bond.
Simms, also facing charges in Wisconsin for an apparent firearms violation there, has an extradition order is pending, which is a $50,000 bond for the pending charges in Wisconsin. Simms was in court Thursday to face charges related to threats he allegedly made to the sister of his girlfriend in which prosecutors said he threatened to shoot up the woman’s home.
Officers were called around 3:15 p.m. Monday on January 31 by a woman who said someone was shooting at her car, one of her passengers had been hit and she was taking him to St. Clare Hospital. At S. 54th and Washington streets investigators said Victor Scott, 56, was shot while he was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle. Scott was later transferred to Tacoma General Hospital, where he died.
A man and woman who were inside the vehicle with Scott at the time of the shooting were not injured, police said. Investigators have said the shooting stemmed from one driver cutting off Simms in traffic. The other two in the car with Scott told detectives they were looking for a buyer for a catalytic converter when they took a wrong turn and “inadvertently” cut into another vehicle on South Washington Street. “She said the other vehicle pulled up next to her and several occupants held firearms at them,” records say. The woman tried to flee but the gunmen followed her, hitting the back of her vehicle with theirs before starting to shoot. After Scott shouted “I’m shot” from the backseat, his friend drove several blocks to make sure the gunmen weren’t following, then stopped to call 911.
Police found CCTV footage of the road rage shooting, which showed the shooter’s Hyundai Sonata following closely behind the other car before the front passenger pointed a handgun through the window and fired. The driver, later identified as Simms, then turned around so the rear passenger could also shoot the victims’ car. 9mm and .40 caliber casings were found at the scene. On CCTV, detectives were able to see the Oregon license plate and found the car had been rented by Simms’ mother, who told police her son had been hit by a driver while driving. The rental car was found with the license plates removed and severe damage to the front.
Simms was arrested on Wednesday after his girlfriend tried to flee from officers trying to arrest them, but crashed her car. A handgun was recovered from his vehicle that Simms said he purchased after the homicide, records show. The gun was reported stolen in Tacoma. Simms told police he drove the car but did not shoot the victims. No further arrests have been made in the death of Scott, who was the fourth homicide victim in the city this year.
