Opinion ID: 2093950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Sims' Evidence

Text: A homicide detective who interviewed Gatewood on the day after the shooting was called as a witness by Sims. He testified that during this interview, Gatewood stated that Cannon was one of the occupants of the Blazer when he observed it in the vicinity of 39th Street and Ellison Avenue prior to the shooting. Johnsen, a close friend of Sims, testified that he and Hill accompanied Sims to Fremont on March 24, 1997, to purchase weapons. On March 25, he and Sims were together at the garage where they both worked, modifying suspensions on vehicles. He stated that Cannon and Winefeldt arrived at the garage at approximately 6 p.m. on that date and spoke to Sims. After they had been there a few minutes, Sims told Johnsen that he had to go somewhere real quick. Johnsen stated that Sims returned alone about 15 minutes later and remained at the garage during the remainder of the evening. He testified that approximately 2 hours later, Cannon and Winefeldt returned to the garage and that Cannon appeared nervous while Winefeldt appeared calm. Johnsen stated that after Sims, Cannon, and Winefeldt conversed in a corner of the garage, Sims asked Johnsen to take Winefeldt to his girl friend's house, and he did so. Johnsen stated that he then returned to the garage and had a brief conversation with Sims, consisting of normal talk, before Sims took him home. Johnsen testified that on the afternoon of March 27, he and Hill met Sims at a cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where Sims stated that he was leaving town because he was a suspect in a murder which he did not commit. However, he acknowledged that the weapons which he had purchased on March 24 were used in the crime. Johnsen testified that he knew that Sims used marijuana but had never known him to be involved in selling it. Hill, also a friend of Sims, testified that he had never known Sims to deal in marijuana. He testified that he supplied Cannon with 2 pounds of marijuana several days before the shootings, for which Cannon paid him $500 on March 24, 1997. Hill testified that on that same day, he accompanied Sims and Johnsen to Fremont where Sims purchased the SKS assault rifle and four boxes of ammunition for Hill with $280 he had given Sims. Hill, who was 21 years old at the time of trial, explained that he wanted the assault rifle for [t]arget shooting ... out in the woods somewhere. Sims used his own money to purchase the shotgun, and completed and signed the necessary documentation for both weapons. Hill stated that upon their return to Omaha, he left the assault rifle with Sims because his mother and stepfather with whom he lived did not approve of weapons in their home. Hill testified that he next saw Sims at approximately 10:30 p.m. on March 25, 1997, and that Sims told him that Cannon had borrowed the two weapons purchased on the previous day and he had not seen them since. Hill further testified that Cannon contacted him earlier that day and told Hill that Gatewood had stolen marijuana from him and inquired about a 9-mm handgun which Cannon had recently sold to Hill. According to Hill, Cannon was screaming, yelling, cussing during this conversation and stated that he had just been jacked for a half pound of marijuana and that he was going to kill someone. Hill said he told Cannon that if he wanted to go get the marijuana back ... I had an SKS and Michael had a shotgun and that he could come get me from my house, and I had the 9-millimeter. He also told Cannon where Sims could be found. Hill said that he waited for Cannon to pick him up, but he never arrived. Hill testified that he met with Sims on the day after the shooting at a motel in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and again on the following day at a Council Bluffs cemetery and that on both occasions, Sims discussed his intention to leave town because the weapons he had purchased on March 24, 1997, had been used in the shooting. After being advised of his privilege against self-incrimination by his attorney in the presence of the trial judge and acknowledging that he understood that it was his decision whether or not to testify, Sims testified on his own behalf. He stated that he purchased the shotgun for himself and the assault rifle for Hill and that he completed the documentation for both weapons because Hill did not have his identification. Each weapon was packaged in a plain brown box. Upon their return from Fremont, Sims and Hill went to Sims' home where they removed the weapons from the boxes, observed their mechanisms, and read the instructions. Sims testified that on the following day, he gave Johnsen a ride to work, picking him up at approximately 10 a.m. He stated that late that afternoon while he was working at the shop, Cannon approached him and asked to borrow the weapons because he had been jacked and needed protection. According to Sims, Cannon told him that he had been informed by Hill that Sims had the weapons in his possession. Sims testified that he, Cannon, and Winefeldt then left the shop and drove to Winefeldt's home in Cannon's Blazer, stopping there briefly so that Winefeldt could drop off his gun. They then went to Sims' home where he retrieved the two weapons and brought them back to the Blazer. From there, they proceeded to a pawnshop on 30th Street. Sims testified that while Cannon went inside, he loaded the SKS assault rifle and determined that Winefeldt was familiar with the shotgun, which was already loaded with five rounds. Sims stated that when Cannon returned to the vehicle, Cannon took Sims back to the garage where he worked and that Cannon then left with Winefeldt and the two loaded weapons. Sims testified that Cannon and Winefeldt returned to the garage that evening and explained that they had to dispose of the weapons, that Cannon needed to take his wife to the hospital, and that Winefeldt needed a ride to his girl friend's house. Sims said that Johnsen transported Winefeldt while he continued working and that after Johnsen returned, they cleaned the garage and went home. Sims stated that later that evening, he told Hill about Cannon's borrowing and disposing of the weapons, and Hill replied that he had heard on a police scanner that an incident had occurred involving Cannon's Blazer. Sims testified that while at work on the following day, he learned that police were at his home, so he left the garage and had Louis Godoy take him to a motel in Council Bluffs. After meeting with Hill, Godoy, and Sims' girl friend at the motel that afternoon, Sims decided to leave town but returned to Omaha on the following day to pick up his vehicle. While there, he contacted Hill and Johnsen and asked them to meet him at the Black Angel cemetery in Council Bluffs. Sims testified that after this meeting, he drove to Chamberlain, South Dakota, but then returned to Omaha, picked up his girl friend, and went to the same motel where he had previously stayed. On the following day, Sims turned himself in to Omaha police. Sims denied supplying or fronting marijuana to Cannon and further denied that he was in the vicinity of 39th Street and Ellison Avenue at the time of the shooting on March 25, 1997. On cross-examination, he acknowledged that spent cartridges found at the scene of the shooting were from shells that he loaded into the clip of the SKS assault rifle.