Chattanooga murder suspect Cortez Sims to be tried as adult

Teen accused in January shooting that killed 1 and injured infant

Cortez Sims
Cortez Sims

Seventeen-year-old Cortez Sims will be tried as an adult in Hamilton County Criminal Court in connection with the quadruple shooting on New Year's Eve that left one dead and a baby seriously injured.

Judge Robert Philyaw made the decision in Hamilton County Juvenile Court on Thursday morning, after hearing all of the state's evidence against the teen.

Police say Sims burst into a College Hill Courts apartment and opened fire, killing 20-year- old Talitha Brown and injuring two others, including 1-year-old Zoey Duncan.

Survivors identified Sims, who fled. Sims was briefly placed on a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation list of the state's most-wanted fugitives, and was arrested days after the shooting in Knoxville.

Sims is charged with first-degree murder, and several counts of attempted first-degree murder. He will be transferred to the Hamilton County Jail on a bond of $1.6 million.

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