JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mario Sims thought he'd gotten away with murder, police said.
Then he wrote a letter from prison.
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Sims has been serving time for dealing in stolen property on a charge connected to a December 2012 armed robbery and murder case in Jacksonville.
Police said letters Sims wrote from prison to an unnamed person were intercepted by authorities and gave detectives enough reason to return Sims to Duval County for a new interview in the murder case.
Lt. Ellis Burns with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said during that interview Sims admitted his role in the murder of 36-year-old Walter Nicholson.
According to police, Sims and Ruben Palmer, who is already serving time for Nicholson's murder, lured Nicholson to a location on Dec. 30, 2012, forced him to withdraw money at an ATM, robbed him and then fatally shot him.
Nicholson was found by police on the porch of a home on Mar Vic Lane. He died at UF Health hospital.
Burns said DNA evidence in Nicholson's car connected Palmer to the case, and he was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison on murder and armed robbery charges.
Burns said Sims sold Nicholson's phone at a pawn shop the day after the shooting, leading to the dealing in stolen property charge.
Sims' recent confession to detectives led to new charges of murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy, Burns said.
“This case shows the dedication of our detectives and the State Attorney's Office and the steadfast commitment to always follow every lead possible to bring cases like these to a successful resolution,” Burns said. “I'm proud of the hard work from all of our detectives and the assistant state attorneys in this case.”
Burns said detectives are investigating whether more suspects might have been involved in the attack on Nicholson.