VAN NUYS : Man Charged in Shootings Testifies

A city parking enforcement officer testified Tuesday that he did not mean to shoot anyone when he entered a North Hollywood apartment in an Aug. 30 incident in which two people were wounded.

Troyal (Troy) Lee Sims testified that he fired only after a man pulled a gun on him.

He is on trial in Van Nuys Superior Court on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnaping and rape. If convicted in the incident that occurred while he was off duty, he could be sentenced to three life prison terms.

Testifying on his own behalf, Sims said he was looking for his girlfriend, who had become involved with a group of forgers. Sims, 25, testified that he kicked open the front door of an apartment in the 11000 block of Hesby Street after being shoved out of the dwelling. He said a man whom he knew, Anthony Pierson, pulled a large 9-millimeter weapon and raised it to fire.

“I fired, but I was retreating out the doorway at the same time,” Sims said.

Pierson, 25, was hit once in the chest.

While he was outside the apartment, Sims said, he heard a door close and he went back inside. During a search of the residence, Sims said, he heard “the slide action” of an automatic pistol, so he fired several rounds from his weapon into a closed bathroom door.

Moments after that, he heard a noise behind him and immediately turned and fired at a figure, he said.

“I saw the person (but) I couldn’t see the hands,” he said. “That’s why I fired.”

Kelly Walker-Banks, 28, was struck once in the abdomen.