TULSA, Okla. — A suspect from Dallas awaiting trial for the murder of a 9-year-old girl in 2019 was found at a Tulsa hotel and taken into custody Friday by Tulsa Police.
23-year-old Tyrese Simmons was on house arrest for allegedly shooting into the wrong apartment over a rival rapper’s diss track in 2019 and killing 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett. A day after the shooting Simmons turned himself in.
In May of this year Simmons cut off his ankle monitor and disappeared. Simmons made a statement on social media saying, “I will not willingly allow them to assassinate my character any longer by painting a picture that I’m a rapper who shot into the wrong home.” (CBS News)
Another suspect, 22-year-old Davonte Benton was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in Brandoniya’s death.
A new bill signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, just one week before Simmons went on the run, will take effect September 1st making it a felony to remove an ankle monitor.
“Violent criminals should not be allowed the leniency of an ankle monitor. They do not work. Period,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said when asked about the Simmons case. (CBS News)
Simmons faces life in prison if convicted.
(Sources: CBS News / Fox 4 News / Tulsa Police Department Facebook Page | Image Courtesy of Tulsa County Jail)
