5.David Sims — Direct/Cross
66 linesMS. CAPPLEMAN: The State calls David Sims.
JUDGE WHEELER: David Sims, please.
(Pause. )
JUDGE WHEELER: Good morning, sir.
JAMES GEIGER: Good morning.
JUDGE WHEELER: Before you have a seat, we are going to swear you in.
JAMES GEIGER: Okay.
JUDGE WHEELER: If you could please raise your right hand and respond to the clerk.
whereupon, DAVID SIMS was called as a witness, having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:
JUDGE WHEELER: Please have a seat.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Sir, please introduce yourself and spell your name.
DAVID SIMS: David Sims, D-A-V-I-D, S-I-M-S.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How are you employed?
DAVID SIMS: I am currently retired, not employed.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long have you been retired?
DAVID SIMS: From the police department since 2015.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: How long were you with the police department?
DAVID SIMS: Twenty-eight years.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: which police department?
DAVID SIMS: Tallahassee Police Department.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to ask you about an incident that occurred back in July -- July 18th of 2014. were you working that day?
DAVID SIMS: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. Did you respond out to Trescott Drive?
DAVID SIMS: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: what did you observe when you arrived at the scene?
DAVID SIMS: when I arrived at the scene, I parked my car in the street. And I believe it was the neighbor next door, Mr. Geiger, pointing me towards the garage; and he said, There's something going on in there.
So I went towards the garage and found a vehicle in the garage that was inside the garage. The garage door was up. The car was in the garage. The car was running. I walked to the driver's side of the door and looked in. I could see there was an individual in the car, and there was some broken glass. The driver's side window was broken, and inside the car, the gentleman -- the victim inside the car was not responsive to me.
I called the name "Daniel" because the witness had told me that his name is Daniel. I called his name; didn't get a response. He was still breathing, but it was an odd sucking sound actually. There was blood on his front. He was leaned over a little. I could see a cell phone in his left hand and what looked like a business card in his right hand.
Like I said, the car was running. I reached into the window with a ballpoint pen and unlocked the car, went around to the other side and opened the door, reached in, took the keys out, and shut the car off for our safety, dropped those on the garage floor. And by that time, Officer Bradshaw and EMS arrived, and they took control of the victim at that point.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: when you reached in through the window, was there a void enough where the broken glass was that you were able to reach in without disturbing any glass?
DAVID SIMS: Yes. It was kind of almost broken kind of in half, and the lower part, I believe, was missing. I reached in through there, and there was shattering on the other part of the glass and a small -- probably half a circle inside the window like the glass -- like something like a bullet had gone through the window. You could see where it was smooth on the inside of that glass, the part that hadn't fallen out.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And other than opening the passenger side door and removing the keys, as you've described, was the vehicle moved at all during the time that you were on the scene?
DAVID SIMS: No.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. So obviously Mr. Markel was still breathing. That's going to inform what you do next, right?
DAVID SIMS: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And what was done next?
DAVID SIMS: Like I said, at that point EMS arrived, and they took charge of him. I just assisted them with the stretcher and everything to get him out, and they loaded him and transported him.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And that was the first priority at that point, right?
DAVID SIMS: Correct.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I'm going to approach and show you what I've marked as State's Exhibits 8 through 10.
DAVID SIMS: Yes, right here is the glass.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Do you recognize State's Exhibits 8 through 10?
DAVID SIMS: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Are these fair and accurate photos of the scene as you observed it on the day in question?
DAVID SIMS: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, at this time I'd ask to move into evidence State's 8 through 10.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection?
MR. DECOSTE: No objection.
JUDGE WHEELER: They will be admitted as State's 8 through 10.
(State's Exhibits 8 through 10 received in evidence.)
MS. CAPPLEMAN: May I publish?
JUDGE WHEELER: You can.
BY MS. CAPPLEMAN:
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Publishing State's 8. I do have a pointer that we are not having a lot of luck with, but if you can press the middle there, you can show us what you were referencing regarding the potential bullet hole.
DAVID SIMS: Right there -- that little part right there, and then, of course, this lower part here that was broken out. That's where I reached in to unlock the door.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Publishing State's Exhibit 9. was this glass present on the garage floor when you arrived?
DAVID SIMS: Yes.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: All right. And there was some items present on the floor -- showing picture 10 here, this piece of broken glasses. was that there, or did that get there through the removal of the victim?
DAVID SIMS: Through the removal of the victim.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: And the cell phone shown here on the garage floor, where was that when you first arrived?
DAVID SIMS: I believe that was in his left hand.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Thank you. Did you observe any indication that this was a burglary? Any forced entry to the home?
DAVID SIMS: No. After the EMS loaded the victim up, then officer Bradshaw and -- I believe it was Officer Brannon -- we retrieved the keys off the floor of the garage that I had dropped there, and we had to use them to open the person door into the house. And we searched the house; found no one in the house. It didn't appear that anything was disturbed. And like I said, that door was locked. I used the key for that. And the front and back doors were both locked.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: One moment, please.
Nothing further, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Cross-examination?
MR. DECOSTE: No cross, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. we can release the witness?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, sir.