One of the men charged in connection with the 2020 disappearance of Justin Tyler Sawyer in Oak Grove entered a guilty plea to amended charges Friday.
Marquel Sims is represented by defense attorney Michael Thompson, and both appeared virtually in the Christian Circuit Courtroom of Judge John Atkins Friday, as Sims entered a guilty plea to charges of facilitation to robbery, facilitation to kidnapping and facilitation to first-degree assault. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling detailed the agreement, saying each charge comes with a recommended five years to be served concurrently, for a total of five years.
Judge Atkins accepted Sims’ plea and released him on an ankle monitoring, pending final sentencing, with multiple conditions.
Sims must also testify, either by appearance or recorded statement, at the trial of co-defendant, 21-year-old Dawuan Davis. The other co-defendant in the case, Gene Douglas Henry of Oak Grove, recently entered a guilty plea to tampering with physical evidence.
Davis is the alleged shooter in the case and he’s charged with first-degree assault, kidnapping and first-degree robbery. Kentucky State Police say Sims was in the car with Davis and Sawyer on December 17 during a drug deal gone bad that led to Davis allegedly shooting Sawyer five times.
Sims reportedly got out of the car after the first two shots were fired and walked across KY 115 from the car at the Shell Station to the Pilot gas station. Police say Davis later in the night used the help of Henry to move Sawyer’s body from the back seat to the trunk of his stolen car.