Murder suspect back in custody after being released on wrong bail amount

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A murder suspect is back in custody Tuesday morning after being released on the wrong bail amount. Documents obtained by showed a clerk in Harris County’s 177th District Court missed a zero and entered the bail at $15,000 instead of $150,000.

Darius Sims, 27, is accused of shooting and killing Daniel Thompson, 19, during a fight at a Whataburger parking lot near Highway 290 and Hollister Road in January. Sims claimed he shot Thompson out of self-defense, but the victim’s family believes otherwise.

“You shot him to death. You didn’t shoot him to hurt him. Your intention was to kill him. You shoot a man nine, ten, twelve times, you’re trying to kill him,” said Thompson’s father, Charles.

He told Monday that his family found out two days ago that Sims was no longer in custody after they were unable to find him in the system. After learning Sims was released on a clerical error, he said he experienced anger in addition to grief.

“It was like a slap in the face. How could you make a clerical error on a person that’s in for murder? It’s hard,” he said.

On Tuesday, Sims showed up to court and was taken back into custody. He was visibly covered up, wearing a white hoodie, camouflaged gaiter, and neck brace. Thompson’s family members were in attendance and said they are relieved.

“We didn’t know his killer was on the loose until after Daniel’s birthday a few weeks ago. Just to know that he was out, we didn’t know his intentions. So we came here today to see if he would show up. That’s all we wanted. Let the courts handle the rest. It’s the only that matters for us right now,” said Thompson’s sister, Joyce.

Michael Simons, chief prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, said Sims has been indicted for murder and his bond has been corrected back to $150,000. They are still gathering evidence in the case before making a decision on whether to pursue a trial or plea deal.

Sims is scheduled to be back in court Wednesday to appoint a new defense attorney.