A Minden woman was arrested last Tuesday after stabbing her boyfriend in the parking lot of her apartment building in the 800 block of Carolina Street.
From the police’s point of view, the incident began when they were dispatched to Minden Medical Center at 8:30 a.m. to interview a stabbing victim. The man had two severe lacerations in his right arm and one severe laceration in his left shoulder blade. At first the man claimed that, as he was leaving his girlfriend’s apartment and approaching his vehicle, he was attacked and stabbed by an unknown assailant. But the officer didn’t think this was the whole story.
“[The victim’s] injuries were inconsistent with his story,” the officer reported in the arrest record. “He had scratch marks all over his chest and back. [The victim] admitted that his girlfriend, Tiara Sims [23], was the one who had stabbed him. He stated that he was attempting to leave the residence following an argument. Sims was trying to force [him] to stay. Sims armed herself with a knife and blocked the front door, threatening acts of violence to [him] if he didn’t stay.
“[The victim], in fear for his life, forced his way out of the residence. Sims pursued [him] to the back parking lot, attacking him. During the struggle, Sims stabbed [him] in his right arm, left shoulder blade, and scratched his torso up. [He] stated that the attack took place in the parking lot.”
Officers next attempted to make contact with Sims at her apartment. There was no answer. While the police waited for a search warrant to be issued, Sims’ mother arrived and also tried to reach Sims through the door. There was still no answer. Before the warrant arrived, there was a new twist to the incident.
“A random citizen came by and stated that a witness saw that Tiara was struck in the head with a hammer and may be inside injured,” the arrest report stated. “The mother began screaming, ‘Please go check on her. I give you my permission.’”
With the possibility of a severely injured person inside and the mother’s permission, the officers entered Sims’ apartment to check on her safety. She was not there.
The report continued, “Sims was not in the apartment. There were no signs of struggle in the apartment, and no weapons were located. There was no blood splatter on the walls or on the floor of the apartment. As I stepped out of the apartment, I informed Sims’ mother at 10 a.m. that, if Sims did not provide her side of the story, warrants would be issued for her arrest.”
At 11:43 a.m. Minden Medical Center contacted the police again. Sims had checked into the emergency room stating that she had been hit in the head with a hammer. Officers came to interview Sims.
“There was a laceration on the middle of her head that was raised and a small laceration,” the report stated. “The blood was fresh. It was not dried and coagulated which, from my training and experience, it should have been dried and coagulated with her receiving the wound approximately three hours prior to checking into the emergency room.
“I asked Sims what happened, and she stated the following, ‘He hit me in the head with a hammer, and I guess I stabbed him.’ When I asked where the incident took place she stated inside the apartment. I informed her that I had been in the apartment, and there were no signs of a disturbance. She made the excited utterance that ‘Me and my cousin cleaned up the apartment, and the hammer’s in the trash can.’”
With such conflicting stories, this incident was turned over to a detective for further investigation.
After being discharged from the hospital, Sims was transported to the Minden Police Department and charged with two felonies (aggravated 2nd degree battery with domestic abuse and false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon) and one misdemeanor (criminal damage to property).
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.