STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Officials provided a moment-by-moment breakdown of how they say two people carried out a failed murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sterling Heights woman.
Federal officials named Andre D. Sims in an indictment filed Wednesday (March 16) in Flint. They said he was offered $10,000 by someone identified only as a “co-conspirator” to kill a Sterling Heights woman.
The attempted murder took place at 11:18 a.m. Nov. 28, 2020, outside a home at the Park Place Condominiums near Metro Parkway and Dequindre Road in Sterling Heights.
Police said the woman was shot multiple times and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The indictment also references four other people, naming them “individual 1,” “individual 2,” “individual 3″ and “individual 4.”
Here’s how the scheme played out, all according to the indictment:
Preparations
Nov. 27, 2020:
- 6:21 a.m.: The co-conspirator rented a 2019 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck from the Hertz rental company at Detroit Metro Airport.
- 6:10 p.m.: The co-conspirator sent Sims a text message telling him to travel to Flint that day. Sims responded and said he was about to make his way there.
- 6:20 p.m.: Sims sent “individual 1″ a text message asking for a ride to Flint in exchange for gas and money. He told that person that if he got to Flint, he would return with “10 bands.”
- Sims told “individual 1″ to delete the message after reading it.
- 8:30 p.m.: The co-conspirator sent Sims a text message asking about his arrival time.
- 10:07 p.m.: Sims texted the co-conspirator to say he was about an hour away.
- 11 p.m.: Sims arrived in Flint.
- 11:01 p.m.: Sims called the co-conspirator.
- 11:18 p.m.: The co-conspirator’s cellphone transmitted with cell towers in Flint. He called “individual 2,” the registered owner of a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck.
Nov. 28, 2020:
- 12:08 a.m.: Sims’ cellphone transmitted with a cell tower about 0.3 miles away from the victim’s address in Sterling Heights.
- 12:11 a.m.: For a second time, Sims’ cellphone transmitted with a cell tower about 0.3 miles away from the victim’s address.
- 1:20 a.m.: Sims stored the victim’s address in the Notes app on his phone.
- 2:34 a.m.: Sims texted “individual 3″ an address a few hundred feet away from the victim’s home.
- 2:59 a.m.: “Individual 3″ sent a text with his own address to Sims. That address is in Detroit.
- 3:02 a.m.: Sims texted “individual 3″ that he was on his way.
- 3:50 a.m.: The co-conspirator texted Sims the address of the Sterling Landings apartment complex. They planned to meet there after the murder, officials said.
- During the early morning of Nov. 28, the co-conspirator went to the Sterling Landings apartment complex and stayed there for several hours.
- 4:38 a.m.: Sims stored directions from the Detroit address to the victim’s address in his phone.
Murder attempt
Nov. 28, 2020:
- 5:05 a.m.: Sims drove the Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck to the victim’s home. He backed the truck into a parking spot across the street from her front door.
- 11:18 a.m.: The victim walked out of her house and got into an SUV that was parked out front. Sims approached the SUV and fired 7-8 shots at it, striking the woman about three times.
- 11:19 a.m. (approximately): Immediately after the shooting, Sims drove the pickup truck to the Sterling Landings apartment complex, where he and the co-conspirator had planned to meet.
- 11:31 a.m.: Sims parked the pickup truck in a parking space at building nine of the complex.
- 11:34 a.m.: Sims sent the co-conspirator a text message showing his exact location.
- 11:40 a.m.: Sims called the co-conspirator.
- 11:47 a.m.: The co-conspirator arrived at the apartment complex in the Dodge Ram and picked up Sims. They left the Chevrolet Colorado at the complex.
- 2:26 p.m.: Sims bought a one-way bus ticket from Indian Trails/Greyhound. The bus ticket was for a ride from Detroit to Grand Rapids.
- 8:02 p.m.: The co-conspirator returned the Dodge Ram to the Hertz rental company at the airport.
Aftermath
On Nov. 29, 2020, Sims took an Indian Trails/Greyhound bus from Detroit to Grand Rapids. The next day, the co-conspirator texted Sims that he would pay him $2,500 for his attempt to kill the Sterling Heights woman, according to authorities.
At 3:13 p.m. Dec. 1, 2020, Sims received a text from “individual 3″ that contained a tweet from a Twitter account called Metro Detroit Crime. The tweet included a link to video footage of the attempted murder.
On Dec. 19, 2020, the co-conspirator told “individual 4″ to send Sims $300 via CashApp for his attempt to kill the Sterling Heights woman, officials said.
At 12:04 p.m. Dec. 21, Sims texted the co-conspirator that he had received the $300, authorities said.
The indictment charges Sims with two counts of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire resulting in personal injury, one count of using/carrying/brandishing/discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and felon in possession of ammunition.
If convicted, Sims must forfeit any firearm or ammunition involved in the crimes, officials said.