Man accused of shooting five, killing two, shows no remorse

The home of Victoria and Jermaine Sims still has crime scene tape stretched across the front.

The screen door is open, and there are toys in the large yard. Two vehicles are parked out front.

If not for the yellow tape, it would be hard to imagine what took place there early Friday morning that ended in the death of Jermaine Sims, 31, and his 9-year-old child.

Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said the man accused of shooting all five members of their family, killing the two andcritically injuring the other three, shows no remorse.

"Right now he's acting like he did what he had to do," Bell said of suspect Jimmy Lyons, 32.

Including allegedly to kill a child and to shoot two others, Bell said.

The mother, Victoria Sims, 29, is at Southwest Mississippi Medical Center and the other two children, ages 6 and 14, are at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, all with gunshot wounds, police said.

Lyons rented a room in the home on South First Street with them.

"Basically we have a confession from him. We have evidence that we have collected from the crime scene to send to the crime lab, and we're going to have to interview the survivors of this situation once they're able to talk to us," Bell said.

Capt. Clint Earls said police received a call around 12:20 a.m. from someone who thought a woman had been attacked by a dog. When police responded, Victoria and the 14 and 6 year old children were outside the home, and all three had gunshot wounds.

The third child and Jermaine were still inside. Earls said Sims and the 9-year-old were found inside the house, one in the kitchen and one in the hallway. Lyons was hiding in a bedroom, he said.

Bell said from the one side of the story police have from Lyons, the shootings were allegedly a result of an argument that got out of hand.

"The argument led to a confrontation and a gun came up that was supposed to be Mr. Sims gun, and once he retrieved the gun, he started shooting," Bell said, adding that Lyons said he shot every member of the family because "he said he was scared."

Bell said he has no doubt that Lyons meant to harm everyone in the family.

"I think the whole thing is deliberate. I think if you listen to his statement, you can see it's deliberate. I don't think it's a situation where he can say it's self-defense or anything," Bell said.

The Sims were shot with a .45 caliber weapon, Earls said. It's unclear what else was done to them.

"There were injuries that were noted to the body of some of the victims that were on scene long enough for us to note their injuries," Earls said. "Other injuries were discovered by EMS on the way to the hospital. Some injuries are still not known completely."

Neighbors said they didn't hear anything on Thursday night through the heavy rain. The homes on South First Street have decently-sized yards, and the Sims' home is set off the road about 50 to 60 yards.

Bell said Jermaine Sims was from Monticello, and married Victoria, who was from Brookhaven.

Lyons is in custody and is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of aggravated assault. Earls explained that aggravated assault carries a stiffer penalty than attempted murder.

"This is one of those things you can't police, you can't go in a home and police these things. All we can do right now is pray for both sides of the family and hope they're able to deal with what's happened," he said.

Brookhaven residents are stunned by the crime. Dinki Davis said she's heartbroken to think about what the children went through.

"They had to be so afraid. I can't comprehend how a person can just shoot innocent children," she said. "It's just something you don't expect to happen in Brookhaven."

Frank Case, of Monticello, said he didn't know Sims, but that he's upset for the family.

"The guy was just there with his wife and his three kids, and this guy tries to kill them all, and does kill him and a child," he said. "It's heartbreaking. Prayers for that family."

Small towns are not as safe as they used to be, said Amanda Chandler of Wesson.

"This doesn't happen in Brookhaven," she said. "This is the kind of thing that happens in the big cities."

This is a developing story. Stay with ClarionLedger.com for updates.