SPARTANBURG MAN RECEIVES TWO LIFE PRISON SENTENCES FOR MURDER & BURGLARY

A Spartanburg man received two life prison sentences today for killing a local man during a residential break- in.

Howard Lee Sims, 35, was found guilty of murder and first-degree burglary at the conclusion a three-day jury trial. He will serve every day of Circuit Judge Derham Cole’s prison sentence. He is not eligible for parole.

Sims brutally stabbed 56-year-old John W. Lammers to death on June 1, 2007. The homicide occurred at the victim’s Carlton Drive home.

Principal Deputy Solicitor Barry Barnette partnered with Assistant Solicitor Zach Ellis to prosecute the case.

Sims entered the home through a partially open window in the bathroom and attacked the victim in a nearby bedroom. The victim’s brother, David Lammers, testified that he was asleep in another bedroom when the attack started. David Lammers told jurors he fought with Sims briefly before the assailant fled the home.

Jurors heard testimony from a State Law Enforcement Division forensic DNA analyst who said blood on the shoes, socks and shorts of Sims matched the victim.

Dr. David Wren, the pathologist who performed the autopsy, testified that John Lammers sustained 16 stab wounds and he died after going into cardiac arrest due to blood loss. The victim could have been lying down or sitting at his computer when he was attacked, according to Wren. Wren also said he didn’t see any sign of a defensive wound on the victim.

“It was like a scene out of a horror movie but it happened here in the city of Spartanburg,” Barnette said. “John Lammers never had a chance to defend himself.

“I hope today’s verdict provides the Lammers family some closure,” Barnette added. “They can rest easier knowing the person responsible for this crime will spend the rest of their life behind bars.”

Sims’ prior criminal record included convictions for armed robbery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and violation of parole.