MIAMI – By the time police came to arrest him on murder charges, 22-year-old Johnny Simms – whose many tattoos included the word “savage” and images laced with violence – already had a long criminal history that began with theft and trespass charges when he was 14.
The Miami man killed in a Thursday shootout that left two police officers dead was what police called a career criminal: He’d been arrested for cocaine and marijuana trafficking, burglary, car theft and armed robbery, according to a copy of Simms’ criminal history obtained Friday by The Associated Press. He was arrested 11 times as a juvenile and became more violent as the years passed.
Simms finally went to prison in March 2007 for grand theft and robbery convictions, getting out on probation in February 2009, according to state prison records. It would be only a few months before he was arrested again on robbery and cocaine charges and sent back to prison in August 2010.Simms’ second stretch in prison lasted a few weeks, mainly because of credit for time served in jail. He was released Sept. 3, 2010. His probation provided no requirements for keeping tabs on him.
“This is a type of probation that is always objected to by prosecutors,” said Ed Griffith, spokesman for Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
A few weeks after his release came the slaying that ultimately led to the fatal police shootout.
Miami-Dade police officer Roger Castillo 'was passionate about his job'
To the residents of his well-kept Davie street, fallen Miami-Dade police Detective Roger Castillo was the type of neighbor you wanted to have around.
He was the dad you'd see on the front lawn, tossing around a football with his boys. The one who brightened up the cul-de-sac with Christmas lights and inflatables. A helping hand if you were struggling with a fix-it job.
"If I'm fixing something, if he passes by, he will ask if I need help, do I need to borrow tools?" said Andre Jean-Louis, a real estate broker. "He gives me some advice about my pool. He will tell me what to do and where to go."
Wednesday night, Castillo and Jean-Louis had a chat - like they did often. The 41-year-old police officer told him he was feeling a little low.
Jean-Louis offered simple advice: "Stay strong."
On Thursday, Jean-Louis had to remind himself of those words. It was early afternoon when Castillo's wife of nearly 16 years, Debbie, stopped by and delivered haunting words: Roger had been killed.
Family members said Castillo loved two things most: his family and his job. In fact, he met his wife on his job. She also is a Miami-Dade officer."That was his life,'' said Nancy Flaherty, his cousin. "He was so passionate about his job, and was always talking about it.''
Together the couple was raising their three boys -- 9-year-old Brian, 11-year-old Michael and 14-year-old Anthony -- and a small dog named Lola.
"He was so fun and full of life,'' Flaherty said. "He didn't drink but had this natural energy. He was such a great character in the family.''He also enjoyed the outdoors, neighbors and relatives said. They'd catch him paddleboating and canoeing on the lake behind his house. He loved to jump on a jet ski, and talked about taking his family to the Bahamas.
"They stole him,'' neighbor Lisa Tuffy said. "He made this world a better place."
when i die, i want people to talk about me like they do about officer roger castillo. God bless, brother.
ReplyDelete