Four Yuma Suspects Arraigned in Murder Case of Jacob Sims

Four suspects charged in connection with the death of 23-year-old Jacob Sims entered not guilty pleas Thursday at an arraignment held in El Centro, moving the case into its next legal phase.

Gabriel Mills Sr., 42, his son Gabriel Mills Jr., 21, Daniel Martinez, 35, and Sadie Hiatt, 21, all appeared in court on March 19 and each pleaded not guilty. Sims, a Yuma resident, was 23 years old at the time of his death.

The case spans two generations of the Mills family and includes two defendants in their early twenties, a mix that underscores the breadth of the alleged criminal involvement. The arraignment in El Centro, rather than a Yuma-area court, reflects the jurisdictional circumstances surrounding the case.

With not guilty pleas entered for all four defendants, the case will proceed toward pretrial proceedings, where attorneys on both sides will begin shaping the arguments that could ultimately determine the fate of each suspect in the killing of a young Yuma man.