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A jury found Terrell Simms guilty of second-degree murder in October in the death of Mamadou Diallo, pictured. Simms originally was set to be sentenced this week, but the date has been delayed.
File photo provided by the Ferndale Police Department
FERNDALE — A 39-year-old Oak Park man was found guilty of a murder that took place in Ferndale earlier this year, and he soon will be sentenced.
Terrell Simms was found guilty of second-degree murder on Oct. 23 in the March killing of Mamadou Diallo. He also was found guilty of one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm.
A representative from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office could not be reached for comment at press time.
At 1:45 a.m. March 9, Diallo was driving through Ferndale working as a DoorDash delivery driver. After making a pickup at a White Castle on Woodward Avenue and attempting to merge onto southbound Woodward, a GMC truck nearly collided with his vehicle.
At Eight Mile Road, the GMC truck, driven by Simms, had slowed down and waited for Diallo’s vehicle to catch up. It was here where six gunshots were fired into Diallo’s vehicle.
After police were called for gunshots in the area, officers found Diallo outside his Ford Escape with a gunshot wound in his torso. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
On the guilty verdict, Police Chief Dennis Emmi said he was “incredibly proud” of the work done by his officers and the collaboration with the FBI’s Oakland County Gang and Violent Crime Task Force, which led to Simms’ arrest on April 8.
“The work done by our investigators and working hand in hand with the Prosecutor’s Office to be able for the jury to return a guilty verdict in less than an hour is incredible,” he said. “That means there is absolutely no doubt in the jury’s mind that this person committed that crime.”
Emmi also was glad that this verdict will bring some justice to the family and community of the victim, Diallo.
Along with Simms, two other people were arrested in connection with the shooting, but they were released pending further investigation. Emmi confirmed that there is no active investigation into the other two suspects.
“We’re confident that the person that we arrested was solely responsible for the shooting,” he said.
Simms was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9, according to the Oakland County Circuit Court’s website, but Emmi stated that the sentencing has been delayed to January and no specific date has been set.
Simms’ attorney, Adam Clements, could not be reached for comment at press time.
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