Man who tampered with ankle monitor days before Dallas murder trial arrested in Oklahoma

By Kelli Smith and Jamie Landers

A man who went on the run days before his Dallas County murder trial was set to start in early June was arrested after a standoff Thursday in Oklahoma, authorities told The Dallas Morning News.

Tyrese Simmons, 23, was expected before a Dallas County jury in connection with the August 2019 slaying of 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett when officials say he tampered with his ankle monitor and fled.

Simmons was apprehended in Tulsa about 4:20 p.m. after a standoff at a hotel in the 1000 block of North Garnett Road, near Interstate 244, police said. He appeared late Thursday in Tulsa County Jail records, where his offenses were listed as resisting arrest and being a fugitive from justice.

He had been on the lam since May 28. The News broke the story that Simmons was on the run.

Simmons’ attorney, Josh Healy, confirmed that he will be extradited to Dallas and a new trial will be scheduled. Healy said he didn’t know when the extradition would take place. Simmons faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder.

A message posted on a Facebook account appearing to belong to Simmons said he didn’t believe he’d get a fair trial.

“I am doing this to bring awareness to my case in hopes that it opens eyes to injustice in the system and lack of investigation,” read the message, which was posted days after Simmons went missing.

Brandoniya — who had a cheerful, joyful spirit and bubbly presence — was fatally shot at home on Aug. 14, 2019, while walking from the kitchen after fetching a snack. She would have started fourth grade the following week.

According to police, Simmons mistook Brandoniya’s home in the 3500 block of Munger Avenue for the apartment of a fellow rapper he had been feuding with.

A day after the shooting, Simmons surrendered to police. He initially faced a capital murder charge, but a grand jury indicted him for murder.

Simmons was released on bond in December 2019 after Mike Snipes, a visiting judge, reduced his bail by half to $250,000.

A second man, Davonte Benton, was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in the shooting. Benton was seen on surveillance footage running through the complex with Simmons.

Brandoniya’s family could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Simmons’ disappearance came just weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law that criminalizes tampering with ankle monitors in Texas. The legislation, which goes into effect Sept. 1, was proposed after people with ankle monitors were accused in multiple Dallas homicides.

The highest-profile case occurred in October when authorities say a parolee with an ankle monitor fatally shot two hospital workers at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Nestor Hernandez had permission to be at the hospital for the birth of his child, but he had previously cut off his monitor after serving 80% of an eight-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery.

The shootings spurred a wider conversation about the effectiveness of ankle monitors, which were criticized by Dallas police, prosecutors, the ACLU and researchers.