Carjacking Rape

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A Monroe man is behind bars after he allegedly committed criminal acts against multiple individuals over an hours-long crime spree at several locations. According to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office, on August 23, 2024, around 9:00 AM deputies responded to a carjacking incident on Smith St. in West Monroe LA. The victim of the carjacking said an individual who would later be identified as 51-year-old Rodney L. Sims, approached him and forcibly removed him from his vehicle. A cell phone was allegedly taken from the victim as he drove away in the victim's vehicle. Authorities said that on the same day around 6:00 PM deputies responded to a call on Keller Street where a female victim advised officers that an individual matching the description the carjacking suspect (Sims) into her residence. The female victim advised deputies that the suspect armed himself with weapons from her residence and allegedly raped two females and committed a battery on a male victim. The suspect stayed at the residence for several hours, then fled the scene taking one of the victim's vehicles and some weapons. Officers of the OPSO SCAT team saw the suspect in the stolen vehicle while travelling on Hwy 34. An attempt was made to stop the suspect, as a pursuit began that ended with Sims exiting the vehicle at the Bawconville Recreation Area on King Lake Road. A search began as multiple enforcement units consisting of the OPSO Patrol Unit and K-9's, LSP Troop F, and LSP Aviation Unit conducted a search over a large area for Sims. As the search went well into the morning, deputies received a call from a resident advising them that an individual matching Sim's description was trying to break into his residence. Officers quickly converged on the scene. A OPSO K-9 was deployed and found Sims in the woods behind the residence. Sims was apprehended and charged with the following: Two Counts of Second-Degree Battery, One Count of Home Invasion, Two Counts of Simple Battery, Seven Counts of First-Degree Rape, Two Counts of Second-Degree Kidnapping, and Two Counts of Aggravated Kidnapping. The Sheriff's Office also said the three victims on Keller Street received treatment at a local hospital. There are three sides to every story. This was one side of this story. The Monroe Dispatch welcomes another or the other side of this story.