Herschel Sims pleads not guilty to two felony counts
BY KELLY HINES World Sports Writer
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Former Oklahoma State running back Herschel Sims pleaded not guilty Thursday to two felony counts of second-degree forgery in connection with another football player's claim that $700 was stolen from his bank account.
Sims, who was dismissed from the Cowboy football team three weeks ago for a violation of team rules and is no longer enrolled at OSU, appeared in Payne County District Court on Thursday afternoon with attorney Rebecca King.
The case will resume July 11. Sims was charged June 5 with second-degree forgery, which is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years for each count.
Sims is accused of forging a bank withdrawal slip with the account number of OSU linebacker Jeremiah Tshimanga, first for $500 and then for $200, according to court documents.
On May 18, Tshimanga reported to campus police that his identification card was stolen, taken to Stillwater National Bank on April 27 and used to withdraw money from his account twice, according to an incident report.
Tshimanga was shown snapshots of the suspect and identified him as Sims, according to a police affidavit. The police report states that Tshimanga said he confronted the suspect and asked for the money back, and the suspect confessed but has failed to repay him.
According to the affidavit, an officer questioned Sims on May 30 and he admitted to using Tshimanga’s ID to withdraw money from his account and forging his signature on the withdrawal slips.
Steve Warren, Sims' coach at Abilene (Texas) High School, said last month that Sims told him: "I made the mistake of getting the money myself, coach. I should have let him do it and I didn't. But we had an agreement that I was going to borrow that money from him and pay him back."
As a freshman, Sims played in the final nine games last season, rushing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. He is the only five-star recruit to play for the Cowboys immediately after high school.
Associated Images:
Herschel Sims. COURTESY
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