On a summer evening in July 2007, a house party in Franklin Township was winding down after a noise complaint brought police to the scene. For 18-year-old Ammar Malik Simmons, the night was far from over, as he and a group of others made their way to the DeKalb Avenue little league baseball complex. It was there that a fateful confrontation would unfold, ending his life.
At the baseball complex, an argument broke out involving Simmons.
The situation quickly escalated into a violent assault. During the altercation, Simmons was shot. An autopsy would later reveal that a single bullet wound to his lower back caused extensive internal bleeding, which was determined to be the cause of his death. The examination also found bruises on his chest and hand, and a cut on his head.
The investigation into the homicide revealed a grim motive. Ammar Simmons was attacked and ultimately killed for attempting to falsely present himself as a member of the Bloods street gang. This act was seen as a serious transgression deserving of a violent penalty.
Authorities identified two key individuals responsible for Ammar's death. Xavier Bailey was identified as the person who fired the fatal shot. The order to shoot Simmons, however, came from another man, Fabian B. Austin. According to court documents, Austin, a member of the Bloods, deemed Simmons as 'food,' a term used to mark someone for death, and instructed Bailey to shoot him. In the legal proceedings that followed, Fabian B. Austin was convicted of reckless manslaughter for his role in the killing and was sentenced to a ten-year prison term.
