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Two Life Sentences For Century Man For Robbery

Shawn Demarcus Simmons of Century has been sentenced to two life prison terms for the March 4, 2010, holdup of Moyes State Line Food Mart in Century.

Simmons was convicted earlier this month of two counts of armed robbery with a firearm. Circuit Judge Frank Bell imposed the two life sentences and ordered that they be served consecutively with a 10 year minimum mandatory.

Shawn Demarcus Simmons is facing a 10 year mandatory minimum and a maximum of life in state prison on each count, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins. Simmons, who was once named one of Escambia County’s most wanted criminals, will be sentenced December 29.

Simmons forced the store clerk at gunpoint to empty the cash register, and took several hundred of dollars in Florida Lottery funds and several lottery tickets. After robbing the clerk, Simmons then robbed a customer at gunpoint.

K-9 units from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Century Correctional Institution joined Escambia County deputies and Flomaton Police Department officers in a lengthy manhunt for the suspect. The manhunt was centered in an area bounded by Highway 29, Old Flomaton Road, Highway 4 and the Alabama state line.

Less than two hours after the Moyes robbery, a resident just south of the convenience store called 911 to report that a black male wearing a dark colored hoodie jacket was standing at her door, covered in mud. The resident also described the man as having lips that were light in color and appeared to be burned.

‘Don’t you know me? Don’t you remember me? The police are after me’,” the suspect told the woman, according to the sheriff’s office report.

The man reportedly asked the female if he could enter the house, but she refused and called for help. A black jacket was recovered by an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician from behind the woman’s residence. Deputies called off the search about three hours after the robbery, unable to locate Simmons.

The woman at the house later identified Simmons from a photo line up as the man that was at her door. Another witness that was outside the store prior to the robbery also picked Simmons out of a photo line up.

Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers later named Simmons as one of Escambia County’s most wanted fugitives after he was accused of robbing and pistol-whipping a Century man. Simmons was also the subject of additional manhunts in Century and Brewton, Alabama.

He was later arrested on March 24, 2010, after a domestic disturbance and manhunt in Pensacola. During that incident, deputies were dispatched to West Lee Street where two victims advised that Simmons had ran from the residence toward Baptist Hospital.

While deputies were searching for him, Simmons reportedly called the victim from Baptist Hospital and “told her that he knows what’s going down and he’s not going back to jail,” according to the arrest report.  Again, deputies were unable to locate Simmons.

The following morning, Sheriff’s Office dispatchers were advised that Simmons was at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola trying to get a ride back to Century and had been observed by hospital security personnel.

Deputies were unable to locate Simmons when they arrived at Sacred Heart Hospital. A Pensacola Police Department K-9 was called to the hospital, and they were able to locate and arrest him.

Once arrested, “Simmons was bragging about how he eluded police when he fled from the residence,” according to the arrest report.

During the Lee Street incident, Simmons had reportedly told the female victim that he was going to kill her, her child and then kill himself. The victim, a Century resident, was staying with her aunt in Pensacola to avoid Simmons, according to deputies. When Simmons managed to find her at the Lee Street address in Pensacola, he violently attacked her, kicking her in the face and stomping on her stomach and chest. She was transported by ambulance to Baptist Hospital for treatment.

A friend of the victim had tried to set her up on a date with Simmons, but she declined because she already had a boyfriend, the sheriff’s report says. Since that time, Simmons had stalked the victim, the report states, even trying to kick in the door of her apartment in Century. She had fled Century and had been living with her aunt in Pensacola.

Pictured top: Deputies investigate the March 4, 2010, armed robbery of Moyes State Line Food Mart in Century. Pictured middle inset: Tracking dogs are used to search for Simmons following a Century armed robbery. Pictured  bottom inset: A crime scene technician dusts the door of Moyes State Line Food Mart in Century after a March 4 armed robbery.  NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.