David Sims
Retired Tallahassee police sergeant who was the first officer to reach Dan Markel's car, called as a prosecution witness in all four trials.
About
Sims supplies the earliest law-enforcement account of the crime scene in the case record, and his testimony fixes the physical baseline — the victim's condition, the position of his belongings, the broken window, and the locked, undisturbed house — against which the forensic and investigative testimony that follows is measured. Because he documented each disturbance he personally introduced, his account also establishes how much of the scene's later condition is attributable to police and paramedics rather than to the shooting itself. Hearing the same witness across four trials shows how consistently that foundational picture was presented over more than five years of prosecutions.
Trial Record (10)
GM Garcia–Magbanua Sep 26, 2019 – Oct 11, 2019
Trial Summary
Testified as the Tallahassee Police Department sergeant who reached Dan Markel's garage first, describing the victim's condition and the untouched state of the scene before conceding on cross that he could not account for the interval before his arrival.
Testimony (2)
Mentioned (1)
KM Magbanua Retrial May 18, 2022 – May 27, 2022
Trial Summary
Retired Tallahassee police officer who testified on the trial's first day as one of the first officers to reach Dan Markel's Trescott Drive garage on July 18, 2014, describing how he found the victim and secured the scene.
Testimony (2)
CA Charlie Adelson Oct 26, 2023 – Nov 6, 2023
Trial Summary
Retired TPD Sergeant David Sims testified about responding to Dan Markel's home, observing Markel and the damaged vehicle, preserving the scene for EMS and investigators, and clearing the residence; the defense waived cross-examination.
Testimony (2)
Mentioned (1)
DA Donna Adelson Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 4, 2025
Trial Summary
Retired TPD Sergeant David Sims testified as the first law enforcement officer on scene at Dan Markel's Trescott Drive residence on July 18, 2014, providing foundational crime scene observations and authenticating three prosecution photographs; the defense waived cross-examination.