chicago Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Gary Fatal โคShooting
GARY, โIN – โ A Chicago man was sentenced to 20 years in โprison Tuesday after pleading guiltyโฃ to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a Gary man last June, according to defense attorneyโฃ Michael Campbell.
DyeQuan Kizer, 30, enteredโข a plea agreement โฃin April for voluntary manslaughter underโ sudden โheat, admitting to fatally โขshooting Darius Sims, โฃ29, of Gary, on June 9, 2023. Sims died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Theโ incident stemmed from โa domestic dispute. Court filings indicate Simsโค had evictedโ his girlfriend and their two children from aโค residence. Kizer,โ the children’s father, was on the phone with the woman and reportedly overheard a portion of the argument.
A “heated argument” thenโ ensued between Kizerโ and Sims, culminating in Kizer retrieving his children and returning toโข confront Sims, ultimately shooting โฃhim,โ prosecutors stated.
Kizer faced a โขpotential sentence ofโ 10 to 30 years. While โhe is ineligible for sentence modification in the near future, Campbell notedโ in a text message that Kizer could โapply โฃfor a modification โฃat a later date.He will remain on parole for the remainder of his life, court documentsโ show.
Campbell โalleged that Sims used a โracial slurโ when โขdirecting โฃKizer to โฃpick up the children,โฃ creating a “toxic and tense situation.” At the sentencing hearing, Kizer reportedly apologizedโ to Sims’ family. filings indicate Kizer had no prior criminal record but made a “terrible decision.”
Gary police responded to a homicide call at โคa residence in the โฃ2500 block of Madison Street around 4:10 a.m. on June 9, 2023. According to a probable cause โฃaffidavit, the โขwoman had called Kizer, a Lyft driver, to collect theโฃ children.While on speakerphone with Kizer, both โmen began shouting obscenities. The woman toldโฃ police Sims assisted โขher โin gathering her belongings and there was noโฃ physicalโ altercation prior to the shooting.
A witness told police Kizer โappeared and shot Sims,whoโค immediately clutchedโข his chest before โขcollapsing.
The case was presided overโ by Judge Gina Jones, with Deputy Prosecutor Maureenโค Koonce assigned to the prosecution.
Post-Tribune archivesโค contributed.
mcolias@post-trib.com
