FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – A Mount Hope man has been sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.
Kayce R. Simms was convicted in March of shooting Ashtin Owens at his house in Glen Jean.
It followed an argument that Owens had been having with Simms’s grandmother.
Simms took his gun to Owens’s house and confronted him about the argument. Simms shot Owens twice and fled.
Two witnesses in the house were able to identify Simms as the killer, and he was arrested.
Since his conviction, authorities say he has been disciplined multiple times for breaking jail rules, including possession of a weapon, as well as making threats and physically assaulting guards.
Simms must serve at least 18 years in prison before he is even eligible for parole.
He is eligible for parole because the jury recommended mercy with its guilty verdict.
Both Prosecuting Attorney Anthony Ciliberti, Jr. and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney R. Wes Toney prosecuted the case.
