A judge agreed today to cut two attorneys loose from representing Cortez Sims, the 20-year-old convicted of a 2015 murder earlier this year.
A Hamilton County jury convicted Sims of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony after a three-day trial in April.
But since that time, Sims has claimed his defense attorneys didn't act in his best interests and filed for a new trial.
"I felt like I was done incredibly wrong ... due to the fact that my attorney didn't put on a closing argument," Sims said in his pre-sentence investigation report statement in May.
Cortez Sims, shown at age 17, is is charged with first-degree murder after police say he shot up an apartment in College Hill Courts and killed a 20-year-old woman.Judges often use those reports, which include a defendant's criminal background, their community involvement, and their chances of committing another crime, when sentencing someone.
Because his statements created a possible ethical violation, Sims' attorneys asked to withdraw from his case in a motion filed Friday in Criminal Court.
"During an interview for purposes of the presentencing report, the defendant made various accusations," attorney Lee Ortwein wrote. "As a result, counsel contacted the Ethics Counsel for the Board of Professional Responsibility and was advised to file this motion."
Judge Barry Steelman granted the motion today and pushed Sims' next court date to Aug. 2. Sims still needs to be sentenced on his attempted murder convictions.
This is not the first time Sims has clashed with his lawyer.
Sims fired his first attorney, Brandy Spurgin-Floyd, claiming she wasn't listening to his suggestions on how to win the case in 2016.
Steelman said he didn't find evidence that supported that accusation but let Sims pick a new attorney after Spurgin-Floyd asked to get off the case.
Prosecutors say Sims, then 17, opened fire inside a College Hill Courts apartment on Jan. 7, 2015, because of an ongoing feud between two Chattanooga street gangs, killing Talitha Bowman, injuring Bianca Horton and Marcel Christopher, and paralyzing Horton's then 1-year-old baby.
Horton was found dead in May 2016 in the 2100 block of Elder Street.
Christopher, who is in federal custody on gun charges, refused to testify at Sims' trial.
This is a developing story. Please check back later.