Authorities arrest suspect in Bloomington man’s murder

Authorities with the Owen County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), with assistance from the Bloomington Police Department (BPD), have arrested and charged 25-year-old Quentin Porter, Jr. of Bloomington in connection with the murder of Malik Darea Sims.

The body of Sims was discovered off of Stephenson Road near the Owen-Monroe county line by a passerby on July 15.

An autopsy later revealed the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the head. The death was ruled a homicide by the examining pathologist.

Porter, who had been sought on an arrest warrant issued by the Owen County Circuit Court, faces charges of murder and auto theft in connection with the death of Sims.

Authorities have not said what they believe may have led to the shooting.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, at approximately 2:21p.m. on July 15 deputies from the OCSD responded to a location on Stephenson Road regarding an unresponsive male discovered by a passerby. Owen County Emergency Medical Services personnel also responded and upon arrival, a black male was located and determined to be deceased.

The deceased male was reportedly found approximately 20 feet north of the gravel roadway, wearing red gym shorts, a white tank top, no shoes, and had a black plastic bag pulled over his head. Evidence technicians also found suspected blood and glass fragments.

While on the scene, authorities reported that an individual appeared and said he and Sims share their location with one another through "Find My iPhone," and Sims' last known location through this feature was in immediate proximity of where the crime scene had been established. Authorities noted that individual indicated this location stayed constant as Sims' location for over the past 20 hours, indicating Sims had been in that location since the afternoon of Sunday, July 14.

Law enforcement was able to preliminarily identify the deceased black male as Sims, 23, of Bloomington.

Authorities further noted that a second male subject, who was found to be a long-time friend and a current roommate of Sims, arrived at approximately 5:25 p.m. from the west end of the established crime scene. According to the probable cause affidavit, that individual stated the last time that he saw Sims was on Sunday, July 14, at approximately 1:00 p.m. Later in the investigation the roommate stated he was leaving the apartment and saw Sims after 2:00 p.m. on their front porch with another male that he knew as Quentin Porter, Jr., aka "QP."

A person who was later identified as the girlfriend of Sims provided detectives with information that she received a Snapchat message from Sims on July 14 at 3:15 p.m., according to the probable cause affidavit. This message thread was later viewed from Sims’ Snapchat account. In this message the Snapchat account identified as belonging to Sims stated, "Be this ni**a QP got me going through some bulls***."

The investigation led authorities to determine that Sims had a gray 2012 Audi A4 registered in his name. The registration for this vehicle was searched through Flock Safety, a system of solar-powered cameras that utilize license plate and vehicle recognition technology and real-time alerts, throughout the investigation. The results of these searches identified a dark colored Audi bearing the same registration traveling northeast near The Village at Muller Park on South Muller Parkway on Sunday, July 14, at 5:41p.m. in Bloomington.

The searches using Flock Safety then identified the same vehicle at the intersection of State Road 46 and Stinesville Road in Monroe County at 6:24 p.m. on July 14. Authorities say the next time this vehicle is seen by cameras is at 10:43 p.m. on July 14, traveling northbound at the intersection of South Harding Street and W. Troy Avenue in Indianapolis. The same Audi is then seen on camera at the eastbound exit ramp of Interstate 70 to North Post Road at 11:11 p.m.

Sims' vehicle was later located on the evening of July 16, according to the probable cause affidavit, on the northeast side of Indianapolis, parked outside of an address registered to the grandmother of Quentin Porter. On the evening of July 16, law enforcement officers served a search warrant at the grandmother’s residence to search for evidence related to this crime. Porter was not found at the location during the execution of the search warrant.

During that search, the probable cause affidavit indicates the grandmother and other family members all stated that Porter arrived at approximately 11 p.m. on July 14. He reportedly arrived alone and was driving the Audi A4 that belonged to Sims. Authorities reportedly asked Porter if the vehicle was his and he responded vaguely that, "it was going to be his."

The vehicle was processed on the morning of July 17 by evidence technicians with the Indiana State Police (ISP). During the search of the vehicle, evidence technicians with the ISP stated a large amount of blood was found inside the vehicle. There were also signs of an attempted clean-up of the blood based upon traces of bleach found and areas on the interior that had been spray painted. There were also seat covers placed over the car seats, likely to conceal or cover the blood.

An evidence technician from the ISP also located a purchase receipt from O'Reilly Auto Parts dated July 15, at 10:22 a.m. which showed the purchase of seat covers and duct tape. The receipt from O'Reilly Auto Parts contained the last four digits of the credit card used to make the purchase. These items were reportedly found inside of Sims' vehicle at the time of the search by ISP and also observed inside the Audi A4 prior to the recovery on the date the vehicle was located. O'Reilly Auto Parts was contacted, and an employee viewed the surveillance video and confirmed that a single black male entered the O'Reilly Auto Parts and conducted the purchase. Photographs of the black male completing this transaction at O'Reilly Auto Parts matched a known photograph of Porter.

The probable cause affidavit further reveals that on July 17, at approximately 9:00 p.m., an individual called JL Transport Towing and Recovery in Bloomington. The person stated that their car needed to be towed from the grandmother’s address in Indianapolis to either Midas or Firestone in Bloomington. This person stated the vehicle that needed to be towed was a 2012 or 2013 Audi and paid $400 in advance and the payment was made with a credit card identified as the same credit card that was used to purchase the seat covers at O'Reilly Auto Parts for Sims' vehicle.

An initial hearing in the case was held in Owen Circuit Court on July 25, where a not guilty plea was entered on Porter’s behalf. Jacob Fish was appointed as his public defender. Pre-trial conference dates are set for Sept. 5 and Dec. 13, and a jury trial is slated to begin on Jan. 21, 2025.

“This is an example of what law enforcement can do when we work together,” Owen County Sheriff Ryan White said. “All the agencies involved have worked endlessly since we first received the call on July 15th. We put our resources together in one cohesive effort to bring justice for Malik. I cannot thank our partner agencies enough for their assistance with this case. We may not be a large agency with many resources, but we know we are never alone. Agencies like Bloomington Police Department, Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, and the Indiana Conservation Officers are always willing to lend a hand to serve the people of our community, and we are always willing to do the same for them.”

Detectives with the OCSD were assisted in the investigation by Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the BPD.

Owen County Prosecutor Benjamin Kim issued a reminder that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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