Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace escorts Allen Cortez Sims.(Chad Applebaum The Vicksburg Post)

8/5/03]A Jackson resident wanted by authorities there and by U.S. Marshals turned himself in at the Warren County Sheriff’s Department Monday, saying he felt more comfortable here.

Allen Cortez Sims, 26, 586 Lowder Drive, was wanted on warrants by the Jackson Police Department and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department as well as a federal unlawful flight to avoid prosecution charge.

Most notably, he was on the Jackson Police Department’s most-wanted list for his alleged involvement in a February shooting at a fast-food restaurant that left two people injured.

“He called my office about 11:30 a.m. and left a cell phone number for me to return his call,” Sheriff Martin Pace said. “I immediately called him back. He indicated he was in Vicksburg and wished to turn himself in to me.”

Pace said he met Sims on the front steps of the sheriff’s department about 11:40 a.m., and Sims turned himself in without incident.

The only explanation Sims gave for his coming to Vicksburg was that he felt more comfortable with authorities here, Pace said.

Pace said he was familiar with Sims because of a 1997 arrest on felony drug charges in Warren County.

Monday, Hinds County Sheriff’s deputies picked up Sims, who was decked out in a white, orange and blue sweatsuit.

He was taken to the Raymond Detention Center, where he was being held without bond, a spokesman for the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department said.

The February shooting, which reportedly involved semiautomatic weapons at a West Jackson Captain D’s Seafood Restaurant, injured David West, age unavailable, and Lorenzo Clincy, 20, both of Jackson.

A spokesman for the Jackson Police Department said Sims was wanted on two counts of aggravated assault.

“He’s one of the ones we identified as the shooter,” said police spokesman Robert Graham.

The Hinds County warrant was for failure to appear at a July court date on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.