Michael Dean Coonce says he loved Charles Simmons like his own brother. But what he did to Simmons last year was anything but brotherly.
In the heat of an argument on May 4, 1998, Coonce pumped multiple gunshots into Simmons' chest at close range. One bullet pierced Simmons' heart and another severed his aorta.At the conclusion of a two-day trial Thursday, 3rd District Judge David Young said he found "abundant and clear" evidence to convict Coonce, 21, of murder, a first-degree felony. Coonce had waived a jury trial, opting instead to let the judge alone weigh the evidence.
Coonce faces a life term at sentencing, set for Aug. 20.
Defense attorney Jorge Galvez argued Coonce had not intended to kill Simmons, 27, but rather reacted to a threat and should therefore be convicted of manslaughter, a second-degree felony. But Young agreed with prosecutors Nick D'Alessandro and Jennifer Barton who argued that Simmons had neither initiated the argument nor provoked the shooting.
Coonce testified Thursday he had been living with his sister, Cammy Coonce, on and off since fall 1997 in the West Valley apartment she shared with Simmons, who was her fiance, and her 4-year-old son. During that time, he became close to Simmons, he said.
"He was like my brother. I loved him. He was the only one who stood up for me," Michael Coonce said.
But he also became aware of Simmons' problems with Cammy Coonce and his volatile temper, he said. A bodybuilder, Simmons towered in strength next to Michael Coonce's light frame.
The night of the shooting, Michael Coonce ran into a woman who lived in a first-floor unit of the apartment complex, 3876 W. Rockwood Way, who began to accuse him of stealing her binoculars.
Angered at the accusation, Cammy Coonce also went downstairs to defend her brother despite Simmons' pleadings to stay out of the argument. While Cammy Coonce argued with the woman, Simmons descended the stairs and asked Cammy Coonce to come back upstairs.
As the three climbed back up the stairs to their second-floor apartment, Simmons and Cammy Coonce continued to argue. When the three reached the porch outside the apartment, Michael Coonce told Simmons to "leave my sister alone, stop yelling at her."
Simmons pushed Cammy Coonce out of the way and "started coming toward me," Michael Coonce said. When Michael Coonce took out a 9mm semi-automatic gun he was carrying in his waistband, Simmons said, "What are you going to do, shoot me?"
"That's when he charged at me and I shot him in the chest in reaction," Michael Coonce said. Simmons put his hands to his chest, looked at the blood, and charged again, he said.
"I fired the gun again, and then he fell down," Michael Coonce said. "I didn't know what to do, so I just ran."