Portland, OR- Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Jenna Plank sentenced 32-year-old Richard David Simms Jr. to 29 years prison on August 19, 2025.
The sentence came for the killing of Nicole Davis on November 22, 2023.
Simms Jr. was convicted on charges of Manslaughter in the First Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Glen Banfield and Deputy District Attorney Theresa Turner prosecuted the case for the state. After the sentencing Senior DDA Banfield said:
“Domestic violence is one of the most insidious crimes we confront because it usually occurs in the shadows of intimate relationships. This case however, was among the most callous acts of indifference to human life I have ever witnessed—Ms. Davis was shot in the back in front of her own family, by a person who claimed to have loved her. It is a stark reminder of the devastation domestic violence brings, not only to the victims, but to their loved ones and our entire community.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank Portland Police Bureau detectives Meghan Burkeen and Brian Simms for their outstanding work on this case.
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would also like to recognize MCDA Victim Advocate Karla Juarez for the care and compassion they extended to the victims during the case.
THE FACTS:
The defendant and Ms. Davis were in a relationship and had been living together but were estranged from each other. Relatives told police that Ms. Davis said the defendant had punched her two days before the killing, giving her a black eye. During the estrangement the defendant left the apartment they shared but later became angry that her family was staying there for Thanksgiving.
The family found a different place to stay and were shopping for groceries when the defendant returned to the apartment. When the family returned to the apartment complex as well there was a dispute between Simms Jr. and family members.
Simms Jr. pulled out a gun, aimed it at Ms. Davis, and pulled the trigger. The gun malfunctioned. Ms. Davis began to go back to the apartment when Simms got the gun to work and shot Ms. Davis three times in the back, killing her.
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