Sims

NEW CUMBERLAND — A former Columbiana County man won’t be getting out of jail for free, after his initial arraignment on charges related to a decade old suspicious death case.

Lucas Sims, formerly of East Liverpool, had his initial court appearance Friday morning in Hancock County Circuit Court.

Hancock County prosecutor Steve Dragisich confirmed Tuesday that Lucas Sims, no address listed, is being held on a 2017 malicious assault charge in the death of James Perl. Sims is set to return at 2 pm. Feb. 9 to county Circuit Court for a status hearing.

Hancock County deputies picked up Sims on Jan. 2 at Belmont Correctional Institution, where he was preparing to be released while completing a sentence on another unrelated crime on a detainer in conjunction with the Perl death case.

As of Friday afternoon, a spokeswoman at West Virginia’s Moundsville jail confirmed Sims was still incarcerated at the facility on two circuit court warrants, specifically for failure to appear and malicious assault in conjunction with the case.

Perl’s daughter Ashley shared that he was granted a $250,000 cash bond despite her request for him to not be granted bond. She added that he was scheduled to return Feb. 9.

Sims had just wrapped up a seven-year prison sentence for severely assaulting another man.

Perl had died in August 2016 at an East Liverpool emergency room, after suffering blunt force injuries during a fishing trip with Sims at the New Cumberland Locks and Dam.

Jurisdictional issues caused some confusion regarding whether it would be an East Liverpool case, as that is where the death is believed to have happened, or a Hancock County one, as it is believed that is where the injuries were sustained.

If convicted of malicious assault, he would face up to 10 years in prison.