Kayce R. Simms (Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office)
A 21-year-old man in West Virginia may spend the rest of his days behind bars for killing a 37-year-old man, gunning down the victim over a Facebook post. Fayette County Circuit Judge Thomas H. Ewing on Thursday ordered Kayce R. Simms to serve a sentence of life in a state correctional facility with the opportunity for parole over the 2022 slaying of Ashtin Owens, authorities announced.
A jury found Simms guilty of one count of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting. Jurors also convicted Simms for felony use or presentation of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Ewing sentenced Simms to another 10 years on the latter charge, to be served consecutive to the life sentence.
At the earliest, Simms will be eligible for parole after serving 17.5 years — 15 years on the murder charge and 2.5 years for the firearms charge.
According to a news release from the Fayette County, West Virginia Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, police responded on November 21, 2022, to a home in the 90 block of Teng Lane in regards to a shooting. The residence is located about 50 miles northwest of Charleston, West Virginia.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the victim — later identified as Owens — who appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Owens was transported via helicopter to a trauma center in Charleston for treatment. However, he succumbed to his wounds shortly after arriving at the facility and was pronounced dead.
Authorities said the fatal shooting was the result of an interaction Simms’ grandmother had with Owens earlier in the day, which she then posted about on Facebook.
“During the investigation it was determined that earlier in the day that Owens had been in an argument with the grandmother of Simms,” prosecutors said in the release. “Simms obtained a firearm from an acquaintance and went to Owens’ residence to confront Owens for disrespecting his grandmother. Upon arriving at Owens’ residence, Simms entered the residence to confront Owens and after a brief argument, Simms shot Owens two times with a firearm. Simms then fled the scene.”
At the time of the fatal shooting, three witnesses were in Owens’ home. Two of those witnesses were able to positively identify Simms as the shooter, prosecutors said.
“He saw the Facebook post and called her (his grandmother) and found out from her what had happened and that prompted Mr. Simms to get possession of a firearm and then later that evening went to Mr. Owens’ residence and confronted him and shot him,” Fayette County Prosecutor Anthony Ciliberti said in a statement. “There was no reason whatsoever that this had to happen. There was no allegation that Mr. Owens did anything but argue with this man’s grandmother.”
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