STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Officials broke down what happened during a failed murder-for-hire plot after a well-known Flint rapper paid a hitman $10,000 to kill a Sterling Heights woman, according to authorities.
Clifton E. Terry III is accused of hiring Andre D. Sims in November 2020. Terry offered Sims $10,000 to kill a Sterling Heights woman, according to court documents filed Wednesday (Aug. 24).
The attempted murder took place at 11:18 a.m. Nov. 28, 2020, outside a home at the Park Place Condominiums near Metro Parkway and Dequindre Road in Sterling Heights, officials said.
Police said the woman was shot multiple times and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The indictment also references several other people, labelling them as “Individuals.”
Here’s how the scheme played out, all according to the indictment:
Preparations
Nov. 27, 2020:
- 6:04 a.m.: Terry texted “Individual 1″ asking to buy two guns.
- 6:21 a.m.: Terry rented a 2019 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck from the Hertz rental company at Detroit Metro Airport.
- 6:10 p.m.: Terry sent Sims a text message telling him to travel to Flint that day. Sims responded and said he was about to make his way there.
- 6:20 p.m.: Sims sent “individual 2″ a text message asking for a ride to Flint in exchange for gas and money. He told that person that if he got to Flint, he would return with “10 bands.”
- Sims told “individual 2″ to delete the message after reading it.
- 8:30 p.m.: Terry sent Sims a text message asking about his arrival time.
- 10:07 p.m.: Sims texted Terry to say he was about an hour away.
- 11 p.m.: Sims arrived in Flint.
- 11:01 p.m.: Sims called Terry.
- 11:18 p.m.: Terry’s cellphone transmitted with cell towers in Flint. He called “individual 3,” the registered owner of a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck.
Nov. 28, 2020:
- 12:07 a.m.: Terry made a call from the vicinity of the victim’s address in Sterling Heights.
- 12:08 a.m.: Sims’ cellphone transmitted with a cell tower about 0.3 miles away from the victim’s address in Sterling Heights.
- 12:10 a.m.: Terry made a second call from the area of the victim’s home in Sterling Heights.
- 12:11 a.m.: For a second time, Sims’ cellphone transmitted with a cell tower about 0.3 miles away from the victim’s address.
- 12:41 a.m.: Sims texted “Individual 4″ saying, “Fasho I shot back to Flint to get a whip. I’m booming right back on S.I.”
- 12:59 a.m.: Sims called “Individual 3″ from the area of Flint.
- 1 a.m.: Sims called “Individual 5″ from the area of Flint. (Officials said this person’s CPL was found inside the Colorado after the shooting.)
- 1:20 a.m.: Sims stored the victim’s address in the Notes app on his phone.
- 2:34 a.m.: Sims texted “individual 4″ an address a few hundred feet away from the victim’s home.
- 2:59 a.m.: “Individual 4″ sent a text with his own address to Sims. That address is in Detroit.
- 3:02 a.m.: Sims texted “individual 4″ that he was on his way.
- 3:50 a.m.: Terry texted Sims the address of the Sterling Landings apartment complex. They planned to meet there after the murder, officials said.
- During the early morning of Nov. 28, Terry went to the Sterling Landings apartment complex and stayed there for several hours.
- 4:38 a.m.: Sims stored directions from the Detroit address to the victim’s address in his phone.
Murder attempt
Nov. 28, 2020:
- 5:05 a.m.: Sims drove the Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck to the victim’s home. He backed the truck into a parking spot across the street from her front door.
- 11:18 a.m.: The victim walked out of her house and got into an SUV that was parked out front. Sims approached the SUV and fired 7-8 shots at it, striking the woman about three times.
- 11:19 a.m. (approximately): Immediately after the shooting, Sims drove the pickup truck to the Sterling Landings apartment complex, where he and Terry had planned to meet.
- 11:31 a.m.: Sims parked the pickup truck in a parking space at building nine of the complex.
- 11:34 a.m.: Sims sent Terry a text message showing his exact location.
- 11:40 a.m.: Sims called Terry.
- 11:47 a.m.: Terry arrived at the apartment complex in the Dodge Ram and picked up Sims. They left the Chevrolet Colorado at the complex.
- 2:08 p.m.: Terry sent Sims a text that said, “I understand you frustrated, bro, but everything was in your hands. I could have got you a ride back to the crib with no problem. You gotta understand just like you need to get things done I do as well. I was supposed to be leaving state to take care of my business. If you need a couple dollars after I take care of my business I’ll send you some. Other than that everything was on you.”
- 2:26 p.m.: Sims bought a one-way bus ticket from Indian Trails/Greyhound. The bus ticket was for a ride from Detroit to Grand Rapids.
- 2:45 p.m.: Sims texted Terry that he left a “winter vest” in the back seat. Terry responded, “You ain’t have to leave that at all bro, I’m not gone be around to use it.”
- 3:23 p.m.: Terry texted Sims about the location of the vehicle keys. Sims confirmed that he had them.
- 3:39 p.m.: Terry told Sims he would come get the keys.
- 4:51 p.m.: Terry texted Sims asking for his location. Sims sent him the address of “Individual 4″ in Detroit.
- 5:42 p.m.: Sims was in the area of the address belonging to “Individual 4.”
- 8:02 p.m.: Terry returned the Dodge Ram to the Hertz rental company at the airport.
- 9 p.m.: Terry flew from DTW to Washington, D.C. via Delta Airlines.
Aftermath
On Nov. 29, 2020, Sims took an Indian Trails/Greyhound bus from Detroit to Grand Rapids. The next day, Terry texted Sims that he would pay him $2,500 for his attempt to kill the Sterling Heights woman, according to authorities.
At 3:13 p.m. Dec. 1, 2020, Sims received a text from “individual 4″ that contained a tweet from a Twitter account called Metro Detroit Crime. The tweet included a link to video footage of the attempted murder.
At 8:40 p.m., “Individual 6″ texted Terry an article that contained the the video footage and details about the attempted murder.
On Dec. 19, 2020, Terry told “individual 7″ to send Sims $300 via CashApp for his attempt to kill the Sterling Heights woman, officials said.
At 12:04 p.m. Dec. 21, Sims texted Terry that he had received the $300, authorities said.
Charges
Terry and Sims are both charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire resulting in personal injury, commit murder-for-hire resulting in personal injury, and using/carrying/brandishing/discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Sims is facing an additional charge of felon in possession of ammunition.
