A judge ruled Thursday jurors can hear evidence of a year-long feud between two street gangs that prosecutors believe explains a 2015 murder case that is going to trial next week.
Numerous shootings involving two Chattanooga street gangs formed a motive for Cortez Sims to open fire inside a College Hill Courts apartment on Jan. 7, 2015, prosecutors say. That shooting killed 20-year-old Talitha Bowman, injured Marcel Christopher and Bianca Horton, and paralyzed Horton's child, then 16-month-old Zoey Duncan.
"The court will allow that Mr. Sims is a member of the Athens Park Bloods and the incidents of violence also to be presented to the jury," Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman said after several hours of arguments Thursday.
Steelman also said prosecutors can refer to Bianca Horton, one of the surviving victims who was found dead on the 2100 block of Elder Street in May 2016, as "deceased" during the two-week trial, which begins Tuesday.
Sims, 21, who faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, and one count of first-degree murder, has argued the year-long feud isn't clear and convincing evidence. Few of those shootings have been solved, the nature of gang validation is subjective, and a confidential informant provided police with information on the Dec. 26, 2013, starting point of the feud, his attorneys argue.
"He's wearing gang clothing and clothing. He's wearing red, pink and blue. I'll be the first to say I like polo shirts as well, your honor," defense attorney Clancy Covert argued. "There were Facebook signs, flashing signs, and known contact with other members. But as [police said], they all went to school together, they all grew up together. So six of those points are pretty subjective in nature."
Covert, who is working the case with his law partner Lee Ortwein, was referring to the points system Chattanooga officers use to validate someone as a gang member. Tattoos, self-admittance, and associating with other gang members are all weighed differently, and a person only needs 10 points to be validated as a gang member. Anything less means you're "associated" with gangs.
Prosecutors say the feud between Sims' Athens Park Bloods and the Bounty Hunter Bloods goes back as far as Dec. 26, 2013, when a bar fight exploded between several members of each group over a woman at Terry's Lounge.
One alleged rival member who had recently gotten out of custody was upset with Bobby Johnson, a leader of the Bounty Hunters, for messing around with one of his girlfriends, police said. That night, the group broke up when one man pulled out a gun. But the incident sparked several retaliatory shootings throughout 2014, including a drive-by on Sims' mother's home, and the homicide of a 13-year-old boy named Deontrey Southers, prosecutors said.
Sims' name came up during investigation of that January 2014 homicide, said Chattanooga police officer Jeremy Winbush, who will be a state witness during the trial. Police actually believe Bobby Johnson was the intended target the night Deontrey Southers died. Then on Jan. 1, 2015, Winbush said, Marcel Christopher's name came up in the homicide of Athens Park Blood member Deoaunte Dean. The alleged Sims shooting happened six days later.
Ortwein and Covert countered several gangs have ongoing feuds throughout the city and this attempt to connect everything was an overreach by the state. They also said the defense had a right to know which confidential informant told the police about the incident at Terry's Lounge.
But Steelman said prosecutors had introduced a phone call Sims made in May 2016 from Hamilton County Jail to Cornelius "Pooh" Birdsong, the leader of the Bounty Hunter Bloods, and several Facebook photos of their client throwing gang signs and wearing gang colors. Steelman conceded the state hadn't proved everything but pointed to the common thread: The victims.
"At the very least, the victims were either Athens Park or Bounty Hunter," Steelman said. "When you consider all of that, where there's smoke, there's fire. Something's going on with people who were validated [in these gang sets]."
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.