Would-be robber pretending to be a stranded driver Murdered a college student in Florida Officials say he drew his weapon in self-defense during a shootout in Alabama.
Adam Simjee, 22, and his girlfriend Mikayla Paulus, both students at the University of Central Florida, were driving through. Talladega National Forest shortly Chiaha State Park The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement when they were flagged on Sunday by suspect Yasmine Haider.
According to the sheriff, Haider said her car had broken down, and when the victim called for help, she “made a gun and sent the couple back into the woods.”
Simsey then pulled out a concealed handgun and wounded Haider “several times” before he was also shot and died at the scene, the sheriff said.
Paulus, who was uninjured in the shootout, called 911 and told authorities there was another woman with Haider. Search parties eventually found the suspect’s camp about half a mile away, where they “lived off the grid,” according to a sheriff’s statement.
At the location, police officers and deputies found a second suspect, Crystal Diane Pinkins, and her young child.
“A five-year-old ran out of the woods with a loaded shotgun when officers ordered her to the ground,” the sheriff said. “Law enforcement told the child to put the shotgun down, but the child continued to go to the woman’s location before putting the gun on the ground.”
Pinkins, 36, remained in custody Friday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, murder, two kidnappings and two robberies. prison records showed.
Hyder was taken to a Birmingham hospital and eventually jailed on charges of murder, two kidnappings and two robberies, the sheriff said.
Clay County District Court Judge David Lowe issued a silence order Wednesday barring both law enforcement and defense counsel from commenting on the case.
His order also directed Clay County Sheriff Jim Studdard to remove from social media statements his office had previously made about the incident.
Simjee is a finance major at UCF and has been there since last fall, a school representative said Friday. Paulus was embarking on his first semester at UCF to pursue a Master’s degree in Counselor Education.