Jurors Monday found Arik Adanti Sims guilty of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and three related weapons charges in connection with the shooting death of Lamar Fonville after less than two full days of deliberations.
Fonville, 33, was found shot on a sidewalk in the 7400 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest on September 30, 2012. Prosecutors argued that Sims shot Fonville seemingly without provocation in front of Fonville’s friend during the two week trial.
Sims took the stand to tell jurors that he was at a nearby party earlier that night, but he returned home before the shooting to attend to his sick mother and a tattoo client.
“He was my man,” said Sims. “I’ve never had any hard feelings against Lamar.”
Outside the courtroom, Fonville’s sister Rushell Fonville said that though the verdict won’t bring her brother back, it ensures that Sims “won’t be able to do this to another family.”
“[Lamar] was a good brother, a good uncle, and a good friend,” said Fonville, “That’s why I don’t understand why it is the way that it is.”
Sims is scheduled to be sentenced at 11:00 a.m. on August 22.
