GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay police announce the arrest of a man in connection with the murder of Krystal Torres-Smith on the UW-Green Bay campus last month.
26-year-old Percy Sims appeared in court Wednesday afternoon on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Sims is being held on a $1 million bond.
Torres-Smith was found shot to death inside a vehicle in the Lambeau Cottage parking lot on the UW-Green Bay campus June 8.
During a news conference Wednesday, police indicate that this was a drug deal gone badly.
“We learned that Krystal Torres-Smith was there at that location to deliver 2 ounces of marijuana,” Green Bay Police Lt. Chad Ramos said. “Torres-Smith’s phone records indicated she was communicating with a phone number that we learned belonged to Percy Sims.”
Ramos added that technology played a vital role in tracking down Torres-Smith’s killer. Sims apparently took her cell phone after the shooting and returned to a residence in Appleton, where he was living.
“During the time of his arrest, he was in possession of two cell phones including the one registered to the victim,” says Ramos. “And the detectives recovered a Smith and Wesson 9-mm semi-automatic handgun, which had bullets in it consistent with shell casings found at the crime scene.”
Police say subsequent interviews with Sims led to his confession of the crime, after a friend of Sims told them he admitted to the killing. Authorities also say blood and DNA of Torres-Smith was found on a shirt belonging to Sims.
