A state appeals court Wednesday overturned the decades-old murder conviction of Anthony Sims, a Brooklyn man found guilty in 1999 of gunning down a Chinese restaurant worker over an order of uncooked chicken.
In vacating the murder conviction of Sims, 50, the court found that a Supreme Court judge got it wrong by rejecting new witness testimony implicating the man’s best friend as the potential killer.
“Today, my 28-year nightmare is finally over. The court’s decision to reverse my wrongful conviction is not just a victory for me, but also a testament to the power of unwavering support. I am eternally grateful to my incredible family, the tireless legal team, and every supporter who stood by me and never lost faith,” Sims said in a statement to the Daily News Wednesday.
He’s been free on parole since December 2022.
“While I am overjoyed to finally walk free, my relief is tempered by the profound frustration I feel toward a judicial system that took over two decades of my life. This system needs a lot of work, and my hope is that my case will serve as a stark reminder of the urgent need for reform so that no other innocent person has to endure what I have.””
Sims has maintained his innocence, saying that the killing inside Mr. Hing’s Kitchen in Bushwick was actually committed by his former pal Julius Graves — who testified at his trial.
Graves has not been charged in the crime.
Anthony Sims
Obtained by the Daily News
Anthony Sims (left) and Julius Graves
“It’s a great day for justice. Anthony is an innocent man. He has always been an innocent man. He never should have been arrested. He never should have been prosecuted. He never should have been convicted. This is vindication,” said his lawyer, lawyer, Ilann Maazel of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel.
“The police labeled Anthony as the perp the day after the murder based on a tip from one of Julius Graves’ relatives. And then it was tunnel vision.”
Sims got a hearing before Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun, after a witness, Rachel Lewis, came forward to say that she saw Graves carrying a “long gun” as he ran from the restaurant. She also said police never followed up on her tip after they told her she was wrong about what she saw.
Despite hearing testimony from Lewis as well as a trial witness, Shalema R., who recanted her original testimony, Chun ruled in March 2023 that Sims “failed to provide clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is actually innocent.”
On Wednesday, the Appellate Division Second Department reversed Chun’s ruling, ordering a new trial for Sims.
“(Lewis) acknowledged that she initially denied that she saw anything and asserted that she was reluctant to testify at the hearing, explaining that she feared for her safety,” the four-judge appeals panel wrote. “When (Lewis’) testimony is considered in light of Graves’s trial testimony and Shalema R.’s recantation, there is a reasonable probability that had such evidence been received at trial, the verdict would have been more favorable to the defendant.”
Prosecutors said the killing of 27-year-old worker Li Run Chen at Hing’s Kitchen on May 18, 1998 stemmed from an earlier confrontation between Sims and Chen, during which the restaurant worker pulled a handgun on Sims after he complained about being served uncooked chicken.
Graves testified that Sims drove him and two other friends to Hing’s for revenge, walked into the restaurant with a sawed-off shotgun, killed Chen, then got back into the car and drove off.
The two other passengers, both teenagers, testified Sims jumped back into the car after the shooting with the shotgun, but Sims’ lawyers said the teens’ family ties to Graves led them to lie.
Graves admitted he cleaned fingerprints off the gun, but he was never charged in the case. Lewis had said in a court filing that wanted to “scare” Chen for rubbing his girlfriend’s hand the day of the killing.
In an interview with The News in 2021, Graves insisted Sims was the killer but said he held no animosity toward him for trying to have the conviction overturned.
After Chun’s ruling Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez’s office said in a statement, “After a lengthy and thorough proceeding, the judge issued his ruling, and we agree with his decision.”
On Wednesday, Gonzalez spokesman Oren Yaniv said of the appeals court decision, “We are reviewing the decision.”