Charges filed, names released in connection with fatal shooting in Talladega National Forest
Aug. 18—A Florida student, Adam Simjee, was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in the Talladega National Forest near Cheaha State Park on Sunday, authorities said.
Tuesday afternoon, the Clay County Sheriff's Office released the names of suspects and victims involved, as well as a more complete narrative of events.
In a press release, the sheriff said Yasmine Hider and Krystal Pinkins were being charged with one count of murder, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of robbery.
The ages and addresses of the two were not included in the report.
The sheriff's office and the Shinbone Valley Volunteer Fire Department were called to the scene at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Talladega National Forest Service Road 600-3 for a 22-year-old man who had been shot in the back. The shooting did not occur in Cheaha State Park, but about a mile away from it, authorities said.
Emergency personnel found the shooting victim's girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, performing CPR on the victim, her boyfriend, Simjee.
The couple's address was not in the report, but other media reports said the two were from Florida. Simjee was about to begin a finance program at the University of Central Florida, according to al.com. Paulus, 20, was beginning work on her master's degree in counseling, also at UCF.
Also found at the scene was Hider, who was found to have suffered several gunshots to her torso, and it was determined that Hider had attempted to rob Simjee, who died at the scene.
Authorities say Hider had attempted to rob the couple at gunpoint after flagging them down asking for assistance to get her car started. After Hider forced the couple into the woods, Simjee produced a handgun he had concealed and both began shooting.
Hider called out to Pinkins for help, but Pinkins subsequently fled the scene on foot, according to the sheriff's report.
Pinkins was later discovered with the help of K9s in a large group of tents that had been set up in the National Forest in what officials called a "base camp" approximately one-half mile from the scene of the robbery.
Authorities said they had reason to believe the group of people at the camp were "armed and potentially violent." (The press release noted that camping is allowed in the national forest for no more than 21 days at a time. This particular camp has been turned over to authorities and will be "dismantled," according to the release.)
As officers were ordering Pinkins to the ground, a 5-year-old child ran from the woods holding a shotgun.
It was determined the child was Pinkins' son and she was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The Department of Human Services was notified and took custody of the child.
Pinkins is in custody at the Clay County Jail, and Hider is recovering from surgery at a Birmingham hospital.
Clay County Sheriff Jim Studdard thanked all the agencies that helped respond, including the Lineville, Ashland and Heflin police departments, the Shinbone Valley Volunteer Rescue Squad, forestry and park rangers and ALEA.
