A Pierce County judge has handed 18 years in prison to Keon Eugene Simms, closing out two separate Tacoma homicide cases that trailed him for years and rattled South End neighborhoods.
Simms pleaded guilty to manslaughter in two killings that happened about a month apart: the Dec. 20, 2021 shooting that left Jason Arkell dead outside a South End apartment complex, and a January 2022 road-rage shooting that killed Victor Scott. The judge ordered the sentences to run at the same time, wrapping up multiple felony cases that had been hanging over Simms since before the shootings.
Sentence, Pleas and the Deal
According to The News Tribune, Simms admitted in mid-January to manslaughter counts in both deaths. A Pierce County Superior Court judge then imposed an 18-year prison term last Friday.
Prosecutors told the court the plea was part of a negotiated agreement that bundled together several open cases. As part of that package, they moved to dismiss a string of unrelated felonies dating back to 2019, a resolution a deputy prosecutor described in filings as a “global resolution” of Simms’ county cases.
How Investigators Connected Simms to the Shootings
Detectives said surveillance video captured a light-colored 2015–2016 Mercedes-Benz CL250 near the scene of Arkell’s killing, and charging documents state that phones linked to Simms and co-defendant Kenneth Lamar Jr. hit the same cell towers before, during and after the shooting, according to Tacoma Police.
The road-rage shooting that killed Victor Scott was reported on Jan. 31, 2022, near South 54th Street and South Washington Street. Police took a suspect into custody shortly after that incident, as covered by FOX13.
Prior Record and Case Details
Court records and prior reporting note that Simms had earlier convictions, including a 2018 conviction for delivering firearms to a person barred from having them and a 2017 drug-possession conviction while he was incarcerated. Those cases formed part of the backdrop to the plea talks.
Under the agreement, prosecutors agreed to move to dismiss four additional felony cases against Simms, spanning from 2019 through 2025, resolving his open county matters, according to The News Tribune.
What’s Next
With the sentence now in place, Simms faces an 18-year term, and Pierce County officials consider the criminal cases against him closed for the time being. Investigators are continuing to probe other violent incidents in the county that authorities have at times associated with gang activity, according to reporting.
Defense attorneys had raised concerns about parts of the Arkell investigation, and those questions remain in the public record as Tacoma police and county prosecutors press ahead with other cases, according to The Spokesman-Review.
