Arrest made in Owen County murder investigation

An autopsy found that Sims suffered a gunshot wound to his head. The death was ruled a homicide by the examining pathologist.

An arrested has been made in last week's murder of a man in Owen County.

On Wednesday, Quentin Lamont Porter Jr. was charged with murder and auto theft in the Owen Circuit Court for the death of Malik Sims.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the Owen County Prosecutor's Office says that about 2:30 p.m. on July 15, deputies from the Owen County Sheriff's Office responded to a location on Stephenson Road regarding an unresponsive male found by a passerby. Owen County Emergency Medical Services also responded and upon arrival, a black male was located and determined to be deceased. The deceased male was found about 20 feet north of the gravel roadway, wearing red gym shorts, a white tank top, no shoes, and had a black plastic bag pulled over his head. Evidence technicians also found suspected blood and glass fragments.

An individual appeared at the scene and said he and Sims share their location with one another through "Find My iPhone," and Sims' last known location through this feature was in immediate proximity of where the crime scene had been established. That individual indicated this location stayed constant as Sims' location for over the past 20 hours, indicating Sims had been in that location since Sunday afternoon. Law enforcement was able to identify the deceased Malik Darea Sims, age 23.

A second male subject who was found to be a longtime friend and a current roommate of Sims arrived a few hours into the investigation from the west end of the established crime scene. That individual stated the last time that he saw Sims was about 1 p.m. Sunday. Later in the investigation the roommate stated he was leaving the apartment and saw Sims after 2:00 p.m. on their front porch with another male that he knew as Quentin Porter Jr., aka "QP."

A person who was identified as the girlfriend of Sims provided detectives with information that she received a Snapchat message from Sims at 3:15 p.m. Saturday. This message thread was later viewed from Malik Sims Snapchat account. 

An autopsy found that Sims suffered a gunshot wound to his head. The death was ruled a homicide by the examining pathologist.

It was determined that Sims had an Audi A4 registered to him. The registration for this vehicle was searched through Flock Safety throughout the investigation. The results of these searches identified a dark colored Audi bearing the same registration traveling northeast near The Village at Muller Park on South Muller Parkway on Sunday, at 5:41 p.m. in Bloomington.

The vehicle was finally stopped and seized in Indianapolis.

The vehicle was processed by evidence technicians with the Indiana State Police. During the search of the vehicle evidence technicians with the Indiana State Police stated a large amount of blood was found inside the vehicle. There were also signs of an attempted clean-up of the blood based upon traces of bleach found and areas on the interior that had been spray painted. There were also seat covers placed over the car seats likely to conceal or cover the blood.

An evidence technician from the Indiana State Police also located a purchase receipt from O'Reilly Auto Parts dated July 15, at 10:22 a.m. which showed the purchase of seat covers and duct tape. The receipt from O'Reilly Auto Parts contained the last four digits of the credit card used to make the purchase (VISA 8611). These items were found inside of Sims' vehicle at the time of the search by ISP and also observed inside the Audi A4 prior to the recovery on the date the vehicle was located. O'Reilly Auto Parts was contacted, and an employee viewed the surveillance video and confirmed that a single black male entered the O'Reilly Auto Parts and conducted the purchase. Photographs of the black male completing this transaction at O'Reilly Auto Parts matched a known photograph of Quentin Porter.

On July 17, 2024, about 9 p.m., an individual called JL Transport Towing and Recovery in Bloomington. The person stated that their car needed to be towed from the grandmother’s address in Indianapolis to either Midas or Firestone in Bloomington.. This person stated the vehicle that needed to be towed was a 2012 or 2013 Audi and paid $400.00 in advance and the payment was made with a credit card identified as a "VISA 8611." which is the same credit card that was used to purchase the seat covers at O'Reilly Auto Parts for Sims' vehicle.

Detectives with the Owen County Sheriff’s Office were assisted in the investigation by Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and Bloomington Police Department. 

"This is an example of what law enforcement can do when we work together. All the agencies involved have worked endlessly since we first received the call on July 15. We put our resources together in one cohesive effort to bring justice for Malik. I cannot thank our partner agencies enough for their assistance with this case. We may not be a large agency with many resources, but we know we are never alone. Agencies like Bloomington Police Department, Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, and the Indiana Conservation Officers are always willing to lend a hand to serve the people of our community, and we are always willing to do the same for them. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Malik Sims during this difficult time," said Owen County Sheriff Ryan White.