Arik Sims, the man on trial for shooting and killing 29-year-old Lamar Fonville, told jurors that Fonville was his friend and whoever shot him “needs to be locked up.”
“He was my man,” said Sims. “I’ve never had any hard feelings against Lamar.”
Sims is charged with first-degree murder and three related weapon charges in connection with Fonville’s death. On September 30, 2012, police found Fonville suffering from a gunshot wound outside an apartment building in the 7400 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest.
On the stand, Sims said he was at that building earlier that night with three of his friends for a party where he saw Fonville, along with a dozen other friends. Sims said he stayed at the party for approximately 15 minutes before he returned home to attend to his tattoo clients at around 2:00 a.m.
Dwayne Stroman testified Tuesday that Sims was touching up his face tattoo at approximately 3:00 a.m. when Stroman received a phone call from his friend Zero. Stroman said Zero informed him that someone told him Sims had just killed Fonville.
“That’s impossible cuz he is here doing my tattoos,” said Stroman. “I told Zero it was a lie and told [Sims] to chill.”
According to police, the shooting happened at approximately 2:29 a.m.
Leslie Issac testified that he saw Sims talking to Fonville on the steps between two buildings that night and that the two did not appear to be arguing. But then, without provocation, Sims pulled a gun from his waistband and fired at Fonville, Issac said.
Issac told jurors that it was not the first time he had seen Sims or Fonville. According to Issac, Fonville identified Sims to him, saying, “There go Arik.”
“I know exactly who shot Lamar,” Issac said on the stand. “He know it too.”
Sims’ mother Diana Maria Sims testified Tuesday that Sims was home at the time of the shooting because he was in charge of giving her an injection of her blood clot medicine at 2:00 a.m.
“He was very reliable,” said Sims mother. “He knew it was very serious and that I could possibly die if I missed it.”
In her grand jury testimony, Sims’ mother said that she had had a full knee replacement in Sept. of 2012 and her son was in charge of giving her medicine prescribed for a blood clot she had earlier that month.
Prosecutors questioned why Sims initially lied to police if he cared about his friend Fonville.
“I was scared,” said Sims during his testimony. “There were like 50 something cops outside my house. I did not know what was going on.”
Prosecutors also reminded jurors that Kalilah Speaks and Geoffrey Adams both testified that Sims asked them to lie for him by saying Sims was with them that night.
“Now that I think about it, it was very stupid,” said Sims, “and now I’m in trial for it. I just did not want to be in the position where I had to snitch people out.”
“In my experience dealing with the police, snitches get stitches,” Sims said on Wednesday.
Adams testified last week that Sims confessed to him that he shot Fonville that night but Sims said he is lying.
“Yes, I did ask him to be my alibi,” said Sims. “He was pissed off and said I was a loser and why I would put him in that position.”
The trial is scheduled to resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. in front of Judge Robert Morin.
Additional reporting by Imari Williams and Megan Arellano.
