Con Woman Agrees to 30 Years in Prison for Fatal Shooting of Florida College Student
A con woman has agreed to a plea deal that could land her behind bars for three long decades. Her crime? Fatally shooting a Florida college student in front of his girlfriend after they stopped to lend her a helping hand.
Yasmine Hider, 21, has opted to plead guilty to murder, robbery, and kidnapping charges in an Alabama federal court. This all stems from the tragic incident that occurred on August 14, 2022, when she attacked Adam Simjee and Mikayla Paulus. However, it’s essential to note that a judge still needs to give the green light to this agreement.
Right before Hider made this deal, Paulus paid a touching tribute to her late boyfriend, Adam Simjee, who was just 22 years old at the time of his murder. She shared her feelings on Facebook, saying, “This is just the first year of many without him, but I see him everywhere. There is never a moment that goes by where he’s not on my mind. The rest of my life will be a love letter to him. I’ll miss you and love you forever, sweet boy.”
The tragic incident unfolded when Hider flagged down the two University of Central Florida students while they were on a drive through Alabama’s Cheaha State Park, in search of waterfalls.
Hider approached them, claiming her car had broken down about an eighth of a mile away, and she asked for their assistance.
The compassionate students followed her to her car and attempted to use jumper cables to get it started. Meanwhile, Hider remained seated in the driver’s seat.
Paulus even reached out to her dad, who happens to be a mechanic, for some advice. What they didn’t realize was that the Scion had been broken down for weeks, and this whole scenario was a sham to rob them.
But then, Hider pulled out a gun and ordered the couple to “empty their pockets and walk further into the woods,” as stated in the plea agreement.
Simjee, valiantly, told her, “Everything we have is in the van. You can have it.” Then, he drew his own pistol and told Hider to drop her weapon.
“Are you serious?” Hider retorted before opening fire. A chaotic shootout erupted, resulting in injuries to both Hider and Simjee.
“Why did you shoot me?” Hider asked while slumped against a fallen pine tree, with three gunshot wounds to her abdomen and one to her leg. She added, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Another person involved, Krystal Pinkins, briefly emerged from the woods and then fled the scene.
In the midst of the chaos, Paulus called 911, desperately trying to save Simjee, who had been shot in the abdomen. As Simjee lost consciousness, Paulus used her shirt to try and stop the bleeding and began chest compressions. Sadly, Simjee stopped breathing.
The suspects had been living “off the grid” in the Talladega National Forest, close to the crime scene. They were alleged to have connections with cult leader Rashad Jamal White.
Investigators eventually tracked down Pinkins to a base camp of tents. Shockingly, her five-year-old son emerged from the woods, holding a loaded gun. Fortunately, he put the weapon down, and the police arrested Pinkins.
Pinkins allegedly told FBI agents that she had given the gun to Hider. They had attempted the same trick on an older woman the day before, but their target had refused to follow them to the car.
Pinkins’ case is still pending, and we’ll be keeping an eye on the developments.