The jury trial for Gregory Simpson, center, started in Allen County Common Pleas Court on Monday.
LIMA — The trial of former basketball star Gregory E. Simpson, accused of breaking into an ex-girlfriend’s apartment last July, started Monday in Allen County Common Pleas Court.
Simpson is charged with a single count of burglary, a second-degree felony.
Assistant Prosecutor Cecily Stewart told jurors evidence would show Simpson forced his way into his ex-girlfriend Hillary Weis’s bedroom window while the woman was on the phone with 9-1-1.
Simpson, a former basketball star at Lima Senior, Ohio State and West Virginia, reportedly confronted the woman and left with her car keys and a pair of basketball shorts, which Allen County Sheriff’s deputies found inside Simpson’s car, Stewart said during opening statements.
Assistant Public Defender Megan McLean offered a different take: Evidence will show the woman “lied” about the events, McLean said during opening statements.
McLean told jurors that Simpson ended his relationship with Weis on July 27. Weis retrieved her things from Simpson’s home, they had a conversation and Simpson went to Weis’s apartment to collect his things, she said.
“We believe that the evidence will show there was no breaking in through the window,” McLean said, “and that any keys or anything that was taken (from Weis’s apartment) was not taken purposefully.”
The state called Weis as its first witness.
Weis described her relationship with Simpson as casual.
“We slept together,” she said. “We were friends with benefits.”
Assistant Prosecutor Kyle Thines asked Weis whether Simpson ever spent the night at her apartment. “No,” Weis said.
Asked to describe the events of July 27, 2023, Weis said she went to Simpson’s home to retrieve her phone. The two reportedly argued about other belongings before Weis returned home, but Weis denied inviting Simpson to her apartment to collect his things.
Weis said she awoke to the sound of Simpson pounding on her door and window.
Thines played an audio recording to a 9-1-1 call from Weis.
“He’s at the house pounding on the door,” Weis said on the call.
Minutes later, Weis screams: “Get off me” and “get out of my house.” A man’s voice is audible in the background.
Weis remained on the phone with the dispatcher after Simpson reportedly left her apartment.
“He walked out the front door,” Weis said.
Later, the dispatcher informed Weis deputies spotted Simpson’s vehicle, and Weis said she couldn’t find her car keys.
The call ended when deputies arrive to Weis’s apartment.
Weis told jurors she hid in the bathroom, while she was on the phone with 9-1-1. She said Simpson forced his way into the bathroom and asked for his son’s basketball shorts, which Weis was wearing. Weis said she removed the shorts and gave Simpson $5.
Weis said she keeps her car keys on her dresser but couldn’t find them after Simpson left. Deputies returned her keys after finding them in Simpson’s vehicle, she said.
“You didn’t hand those to the defendant?” Thines asked.
“No,” Weis said.
“They were not in the pocket of those shorts?” Thines asked.
“No,” Weis said.
Asked about her communication with Simpson after the alleged break-in, Weis said Simpson called her in November to ask her to pick him up from jail.
“Did you pick him up?” Thines asked.
“No,” Weis said.
Weis admitted to sleeping with Simpson after the July 27 incident, alleging Simpson “blackmailed” her.
On cross-examination, McLean asked Weis if Simpson ended the relationship on July 27.
“No,” Weis said. “I had already ended it.”
McLean asked if Simpson told her he was coming to get his things. “No,” Weis said.
McLean asked if Weis texted Simpson this past weekend, but Weis denied it.
McLean then asked about a voice record Weis reportedly sent Simpson. Weis said the audio sounds like her voice but said she did not recall sending it.
McLean asked about a photo in which Weis reportedly photoshopped an image of Simpson breaking into her bedroom window. “I don’t Photoshop,” Weis said.
“You didn’t post that picture on Facebook?” McLean asked. Weis shook her head no.
Jurors did not see the photo or listen to the voice recording.
Under redirect, Thines asked Weis if she heard the defendant take her car keys. “Yes,” Weis said. The only thing she handed Simpson was a pair of basketball shorts, Thines asked. “Yes,” Weis said.
The final witness called Monday was third-shift patrolman Deputy Ryan Ream, one of several Allen County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the alleged break-in.
Jurors watched video of a traffic stop captured by Ream’s dashboard camera when the deputy stopped Simpson near Weis’s apartment on July 27 and viewed photos taken from inside Weis’s apartment.
Ream described Weis as “distraught” and “emotional.” He said he found Weis’s bedroom window wide open with a broken lock and blinds on the floor. Ream said he briefly helped Weis look for her car keys but did not find them while he was at her apartment.
Testimony will resume Tuesday in Allen County Common Pleas Court.
