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CROWN POINT Lake Criminal Court jurors viewed photos Tuesday taken at a Gary crime scene in 2019 after a 14-year-old girl was found dead in an alley, with her hands bound behind her back and a cord around her neck.

Takaylah Tribitt, 14, was found shot to death Sept. 16, 2019, in an alley near East 20th Avenue and Pennsylvania Street in Gary.

Lake County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Kiel Sopko testified during the second day of Simmons' trial he took the photos and collected evidence in the case while working as an evidence technician with his department's Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

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Tribitt was found facedown and partially covered by thick vegetation on the east side of the alley, Sopko said.

Foilage along the alley was overgrown, and miscellaneous trash was strewn around. Investigators also found tire tread marks in mud near Tribitt's body and two gloves.

Sopko and his partner collected a gold-colored Master Card and a spent 9mm shell casing found near Tribitt's body and a black shower-cap-like hat from under her shoes, he said.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Michael A. Campbell, Sopko said a glove could retrain possible DNA evidence but he and other investigators did not believe either of the gloves seen in crime scene photos had any evidentiary value.

"Those gloves appeared to have been weathered and had been there for some time," Sopko said.

By contrast, the spent shell casing found near Tribitt's body was free from dirt and rust and did not appear to have been stepped on or depressed into the ground in any way, he said.

Sopko said he attempted to lift fingerprints from the spent casing, but found nothing.

According to charging documents, Tribitt died from a single gunshot wound to her head. She also had been sexually assaulted, but prosecutors did not charge Simmons with any sex crimes as part of the case.

Tribitt's body was found by a NIPSCO worker, who drove through the alley before calling 911. The Master Card Sopko collected bore the name of Simmons' relative, records state.

Simmons was found to be a contributor to DNA on one of the cords found with Tribitt's body, according to court documents.

Sopko told the jury he didn't initially collect the cords found around Tribitt's wrists and neck.

Staff at the Lake County Coroner's Office collected those items during an autopsy and later turned them over to Sopko to be documented as evidence in the case. They subsequently were sent to an Indiana State Police lab for DNA testing, he said.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutors Douglas Shaw and Arturo Balcazar were expected to continue presenting evidence and testimony Wednesday.

Some of the testimony might include that Simmons knew Tribitt and gave her rides and food and paid for her to get her hair and nails done. Jurors also may see videos of two statements Simmons gave to police while in custody in Chicago in 2020 on unrelated matters.

Tribitt was living in a Chicago shelter and had been reported missing by a shelter representative about two weeks before she was found dead, according to Chicago police.

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Residence:Gary, IN

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Booking Number(s):2201817

Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

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Booking Number(s):2201827

Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

Offense Description:DEALING - COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG

Highest Offense Class:Felony

Age: 49

Residence:Gary, IN

Booking Number(s):2201832

Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

Offense Description:OPERATING A VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING PRIVILEGES ARE SUSPENDED

Highest Offense Class:Felony

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Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

Offense Description:DEALING - METHAMPHETAMINE

Highest Offense Class:Felony

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Residence:East Chicago, IN

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Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

Offense Description:BATTERY

Highest Offense Class:Misdemeanor

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Residence:Chicago, IL

Booking Number(s):2201801

Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

Offense Description:ROBBERY

Highest Offense Class:Felony

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Residence:Chicago, IL

Booking Number(s):2201789

Arrest Date:March 9, 2022

Offense Description:DOMESTIC BATTERY

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Booking Number(s):2201808

Arrest Date:March 10, 2022

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Residence:Chicago, IL

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Residence:Cedar Lake, IN

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Jury views photos of teen girl found bound, shot to death in alley - The Times of Northwest Indiana