Gainesville man arrested for trying to light woman on fire, threatening child with a knife, and attempting to escape custody

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Omar Sheeree Sims, 49, was arrested yesterday after allegedly trying to pour bleach on a woman and then spraying her with roach spray and trying to light her on fire, then threatening a 13-year-old girl with a knife and trying to escape custody after he was arrested.

The responding Gainesville Police Department officer reported that at about 6:25 p.m. on May 2, Sims got into an argument with the woman because he was supposed to be moving out of her apartment at Carver Gardens Apartments (1101 SE 15th Street); the woman said Sims picked up a bottle of bleach and tried to pour it on her, but she wrestled the bleach from him. She said he then went into the kitchen, picked up some roach spray, took a cigarette lighter from his pocket, sprayed her with the roach spray, and tried to light her on fire. After that, she said, he threw the roach spray down and jumped on her, hit her, and choked her. She said he was extremely intoxicated and fell to the ground after he was unsuccessful in choking her.

A 13-year-old girl in the apartment heard the commotion and came out of her room; both the woman and the girl told the officer they heard Sims saying, “I’m not scared of killing anybody.” Sims allegedly turned his attention to the girl, got up from the floor, picked up both a 7.5-inch hunting knife and a 4.5-inch kitchen knife, and chased the girl out of the apartment. The girl fled in fear for her life, and Sims reportedly closed the apartment door but then learned that the woman had called the police. He reportedly place the kitchen knife in the sink and put the hunting knife in a box near the front door before leaving the apartment. The 911 call-taker reported that a man could be heard screaming in the background during the woman’s 911 call.

The woman told the responding officer that Sims went to her mother’s apartment in the same complex and started banging on the door.

Officers reportedly found Sims a short time later in the apartment complex. He reportedly smelled of roach spray and resisted attempts to handcuff him. A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a lighter in his pocket that was covered in an oily film and smelled of roach spray.

Sims was previously trespassed from the common areas of Carver Gardens Apartments.

Post Miranda, Sims reportedly said there was roach spray on his lighter because he was cleaning the woman’s apartment with the roach spray and went to light a cigarette with his other hand. He denied spraying the victim with roach spray or anything else. He also denied chasing the girl with a knife. He allegedly said he would be “bonding out in the morning” and would be “right back” at the woman’s door in the morning.

After Sims was handcuffed, he allegedly tried to slip out of the handcuffs. When an officer told him to stop, he allegedly took several steps forward in an attempt to flee, but an officer grabbed him. Sims allegedly sagged and then tried to slip the handcuffs into the front and resisted being placed in a patrol vehicle.

Sims has been charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, felony battery, escape, trespassing, and resisting an officer without violence. He has seven felony convictions (three violent) and three misdemeanor convictions (non-violent); he served an 18-year prison sentence for second-degree murder out of Miami-Dade County and was released in 2012. Judge George Wright ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.