Appeals court upholds murder conviction

A state appellate court has upheld a murder conviction for a man who killed another man in a Hardee's restaurant in Cape Girardeau in 2018.

According to a release from state Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the state Court of Appeals, Eastern District, affirmed the first-degree murder and armed criminal action convictions of Anthony Levar Sinks.

Anthony Levar Sinks

Sinks was convicted in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court in April 2021 of the murder of Derwin Simmons at the restaurant located at 2115 William St.

An altercation between the men erupted shortly after 10:30 a.m. Aug. 1, 2018, inside the restaurant having to do with Sinks's ex-wife's plan to move in herself and her son with Simmons, who lived in Liberty Township, Ohio. Sinks shot Simmons five times, speaking to him briefly afterward. Sinks called 911. Simmons was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 11:15 a.m.

At the trial, before Judge Ben Lewis, defense attorneys claimed Sinks shot Simmons in self-defense, while prosecutors contended Sinks had premeditated the murder. They based their theory on text messages Sinks sent to his ex-wife, his borrowing and practicing with a firearm before the shooting and his retrieving a weapon from his vehicle after he saw Simmons at the restaurant.

The jury sentenced Sinks to life without probation or parole for murder and 30 years in prison for armed-criminal action. The sentences are to run consecutively.

The appeals court denied Sinks's claim to self-defense and ruled he must serve the jury's sentences.

Schmitt praised the work of prosecutors on the case.

"I am extremely pleased with the outcome in this case, which would not have been possible without the tireless work of my Criminal Appeals Unit," he said. "My office is committed to seeking justice for all victims throughout the state of Missouri, and our efforts were affirmed by the Court of Appeals in this ruling."