A St. Louis man has been charged in an assault at the City Justice Center downtown that left a corrections officer unconscious.
Court documents say that around 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11, Damorieon Simms. 23, got out of his cell after the door "inadvertently opened" and attacked the officer, who was delivering meals. Surveillance footage showed Simms also took the victim's radio and prevented him from leaving the room.
Prosecutors on Wednesday filed kidnapping and robbery charges against Simms. He has been detained since 2024 in multiple criminal cases.
A St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department report identified the victim as Jerome Dunning. He was transported to the hospital with what the report called "possible internal injury." Dunning's current condition wasn't immediately available.
Simms had a history of behavioral problems while in custody. On Feb. 8, he was accused of throwing a cup of feces at a corrections officer distributing meals. In a separate incident the same day, he was accused of throwing a cup with an unknown substance at a second officer distributing medication.
In July, then-Commissioner Doug Burris sent Calea Stovall-Reid, the judge overseeing Simms' cases, a letter calling the defendant "one of our largest problems at the jail."
"He is known for being aggressive and hateful," the letter said. "Simms is a danger to himself, the staff and the outside agencies that have to come into the facility at crucial times."
Burris asked Stovall-Reid to avoid all future delays on Simms' court cases.
"He is making the jail unsafe and destroying staff morale," Burris wrote.
A spokesman for the 22nd Circuit said he could not comment on pending cases. In August, Stovall-Reid issued an order for a mental health exam, which has not been completed. The next hearing in Simms' 11 earlier cases in the city is scheduled for January. He also has pending criminal cases in St. Louis and St. Charles counties.
Dunning's beating happened the day after a detainee died of a medical emergency at the jail.
Copyright 2025 St. Louis Public Radio
