Jamie C. Simpson, Arrested After SWAT Stand-Off, Convicted Of Burglary, Kidnapping, Strangulation, Assault, Witness Tampering, & Persistent Felon
COVINGTON- Kenton Circuit Judge Mary Kate Molloy followed a trial jury’s recommendation and sentenced Jamie Simpson, 49, to 60 years in prison. In February, the jury convicted Simpson of 1st Degree Burglary, Kidnapping, 2nd Degree Assault, 1st Degree Strangulation, and Tampering With a Witness. Simpson was found not guilty of the Sexual Abuse charge. Simpson was also convicted of being a 1st Degree Persistent Felony Offender. Simpson’s criminal history included multiple prior convictions for burglary, assault, drug possession, and numerous misdemeanor offenses dating back to 1994.
On February 22, 2023, Jamie Simpson’s wife went to St. Elizabeth Medical Center for treatment of injuries and asked the ER staff to call police. His wife reported being punched, strangled, beaten with a heavy candle, struck with a glass drinking mug, and threatened with a knife. The woman reported being awoken by Simpson sitting on her chest demanding to know who was depicted in the background of a photo of his wife located on a tablet device and accusing her of cheating. The woman said when she refused to answer, Simpson began to beat and strangle her. Simpson also began going through her social media accounts looking for more evidence of alleged infidelity. The woman said her husband refused to let her leave the room and continued to assault her for several hours. The woman said she was only allowed to leave after her alarm went off and she told Simpson it was time for her to leave to go to their family court case. She also said if she did not appear, social workers would come looking for her, so Simpson let her go, but only after making her cover her cuts and bruises in make-up.
Officer James Miskanin, who took the report, also learned Simpson was already court ordered to remain at least 500 feet from his wife due to an earlier domestic violence charge. Miskanin alerted his supervisor, Sgt. Derek Uhl, that Simpson was still in the victim’s home as evidenced by alerts on the victim’s motion-activated security cameras. Uhl and several other Covington Police officers responded to the home. As officers approached, Simpson came out the front door headed towards his car. As Officer Sean Sinacori used his patrol vehicle to block Simpson’s car in the driveway to prevent his escape, Simpson retreated back into the residence. Simpson then fled out the rear door but was confronted by Officer Timothy Cochran. Simpson ignored Cochran’s commands to stop and, again, fled into the house. After Simpson ignored repeated commands to surrender given over a loud speaker, the Covington Police SWAT team was activated. After a four hour standoff, the SWAT team began filling the home with pepper spray canisters. Simpson was flushed out by the chemical irritant and surrendered to the SWAT team.
Simpson was indicted by the Kenton County Grand Jury for 1st Degree Burglary, Kidnapping, 2nd Degree Assault, 1st Degree Strangulation, 1st Degree Sexual Abuse, and Tampering With a Witness. The case was called for trial on January 30, 2024 before Kenton Circuit Judge Kate Molloy. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily Arnzen presented testimony from Miskanin, Uhl, Sinacori, Cochran, SWAT officer Ryan Jones, SWAT Medic JP Navin, Detective Greg Andrews, Forensic Computer Examiner Ron Trenkamp, and the victim, over the course of a four day trial. The jury also heard recorded jail calls wherein Simpson asked his wife not to show up to court, or if she did, to lie and say the assaults never happened. When Simpson testified in his own defense, he admitted entering the home in violation of the court order and to assaulting his wife, but essentially denied everything else. His defense attorneys claimed the case was “over-charged and under-investigated.” After over seven hours of deliberations, the jury returned verdicts finding Simpson guilty of 1st Degree Burglary, Kidnapping, 2nd Degree Assault, 1st Degree Strangulation, and Tampering With a Witness. Simpson was found not guilty of the Sexual Abuse charge.
After the sentencing phase of the trial, Simpson was also found guilty of being a 1st Degree Persistent Felony Offender. The jury then recommended a sentence of 60 years in prison. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said the jury’s sentence sends a stern message to repeat offenders like Simpson, saying “Jurors have little patience for felons who continue to commit crimes, especially when the crimes are a violent nightmare as in this case.” Sanders, who refused to make any plea offers in this case, continued “Jamie Simpson’s wife will finally be safe from his beatings, and his children will know this behavior was entirely unacceptable. We don’t want little boys thinking it’s ok to hit a girl any more than we want little girls thinking acceptable if they get hit.”
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact The ION Center for Violence Prevention at www.ioncenter.org. You can also call or text the ION Center at (859) 491-3335.
For additional information contact:
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders
Posted on Monday, March 4th, 2024 @ 12:31AM
Categories: Blog, Commonwealth's Commentary, Media/Press Releases, Press Room
