A 19-year-old charged in a rampage at College Hill Courts that left one woman dead, a toddler paralyzed, and two others wounded said Thursday he wants his attorney fired just prior to the trial. Cortez Sims, who was 17 at the time of the Jan. 7, 2015, shooting, gave Judge Barry Steelman a list of "experienced" employees he would like to have represent him.
The list included Jerry Summers, Lee Ortwein, Bill Speek, Chris Dixon and Ben McGowan.
Attorney Brandy Spurgin, who has represented Sims for over a year without getting complaints, also asked to get off the case.
Judge Steelman, who recently ruled there was no reason to disqualify attorney Spurgin, said he will decide the issue later after Sims gave a list of complaints against attorney Surgin.
Sims filed several hand-written motions, including one seeking to "gag" the media.
Sims and his mother initially hired attorney Spurgin. He said, "We liked the things she was saying."
Recently, he has made two filings with the state Board of Professional Responsibility against her. Attorney Spurgin filed an answer to one of those.
Prosecutor Lance Pope has urged trying the case on Sept. 27, saying one eye witness, Bianca Horton, has already been gunned down.
Judge Steelman is expected to rule on Sept. 12 at 1:30 p.m.
At an earlier Juvenile Court hearing witnesses identified Sims as the shooter, though no motive was given.
Prosecutor Pope said Sims was apparently going after Marcel "Baby Watts" Christopher, but he said, "unbelievably he shot first into the bedroom occupied by the woman who let him in the house and the baby." Then he said he turned the gun toward Christopher and his girlfriend, Bianca Horton.
Christopher was shot multiple times, including near the heart, the lungs and the stomach as well as the side. He stood up and lifted his shirt to display his scars to the judge.
Prosecutor Pope said, "The brutality is unbelievable to me. It's horrific."
Judge Rob Philyaw said, "It’s a myth and a fraud that nothing serious or long-lasting can happen to youth who carry guns and shoot. It’s a lie. It’s a myth and fraud that young adults tell juveniles. There are actions and decisions that juveniles can make that have long-lasting, life-changing repercussions."
Ms. Horton, who testified in Juvenile Court, said her friend, Talitha Bowman, was in a bedroom with two of her (Ms. Horton's) children, while Ms. Horton was in another bedroom with Christopher. She said she saw Ms. Bowman going downstairs. Ms. Bowman answered a knock at the door and let Sims inside, it was testified. He proceeded up the stairs.
Ms. Horton said she heard Ms. Bowman say, "Baby Watts, somebody wants you."
The witness, who became choked up several times, said she then saw Sims outside the bedroom door where Ms. Bowman and the children were sleeping. She said, "He was holding a gun and shooting into the room."
She said he then moved outside their bedroom and began firing at them. She was grazed, and she said Christopher went to the floor with multiple gunshot wounds.
Ms. Horton said she went to the other bedroom and found her friend lying dead on the floor. She said she checked on her 15-month-old child, Zoey Horton, and saw that her t-shirt was covered with blood. She said, "I raised it up to see where she had been hit."
She said Zoey was left paralyzed by the incident and she had to have therapy in Atlanta and is still seeing multiple doctors.
Ms. Horton said she barely knew Sims, saying she had seen him about a month earlier "in a roomful of people." She said she heard someone call his name on that occasion.
The state called Chattanooga Housing Authority police officer James Avery, who was at the scene just minutes after the shooting.
His dramatic video of the scene was played in the courtroom.
It showed the child being carried out in the arms of an EMS technician.
The video also showed Ms. Horton sitting against a wall in her daughter's bedroom and being summoned by detectives, who were quizzing her about who had done the shooting.
Police were also asking Christopher, as he lay on the floor, who carried out the shooting. A detective said, "We need to know who did it."
Christopher looked up and said, "Cortez Sims."
He was asked, "Why did he do it?"
Christopher answered, "I don't know."
Christopher asked if he was shot in the heart. An officer told him, "You were shot in the side. You are going to be fine."
Prosecutor Pope asked for "an extremely high bond." He said Sims had been trying to contact the victims to get them not to testify.
Judge Philyaw set the bond at $1 million on the charge of first-degree murder. The bond is $200,000 each on three counts of attempted murder. It is $25,000 for reckless endangerment, $20,000 for possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and $5,000 on a gun charge.
Attorney Brandy Spurgin and Cortez Sims